Knowledge overview for agents (GitHub Copilot)

Knowledge sources ground your agent in real data, enabling it to answer questions using your organization's content rather than relying solely on its general training. You configure knowledge from the Build tab.

What is knowledge?

Knowledge sources are the data your agent can access when answering user questions. Without knowledge, the agent relies only on its general training and instructions. With knowledge, the agent can reference specific documents, websites, organizational data, and structured databases.

The orchestration runtime automatically determines which knowledge sources to search based on the user's question.

Why add knowledge to your agent?

  • Ground responses in specific, accurate information
  • Keep answers current with your organization's latest content
  • Scope the agent to answer only from approved sources
  • Allow the agent to reference internal documents, policies, and procedures

How the agent uses knowledge

  • When a user asks a question, the orchestration runtime evaluates whether knowledge sources are needed
  • The agent searches relevant sources, retrieves content, and uses it to formulate a response
  • In chat conversations, responses can include citations that link to the knowledge source used. Citations aren't shown in voice conversations.
  • The agent's instructions influence how it interprets and presents knowledge
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