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[This article is prerelease documentation and is subject to change.]
You can create custom skills for your agent from the Build tab. Skills define reusable capabilities that the agent can activate when a user's request matches the skill's purpose. Agents powered by the Customer Conversation harness support two types of skills: Generative and Topic.
Generative skills
A Generative skill is instructions-based: the agent reasons over your instructions to handle the request in the moment. Use a Generative skill when you want the agent to flexibly interpret and respond to a scenario, similar to how skills work for other agents.
Open your agent in Copilot Studio, and select the Build tab.
Select the primary agent's card to open its configuration panel. If you've added any sub-agents, select a sub-agent's card instead to configure that sub-agent.
In the Skills section, select Add skill.
In the Add skill dialog, select the Generative tab.
Define the skill:
- Skill name: Enter a name in kebab-case, up to 64 characters (for example,
order-lookup). - Description: Describe what the generative skill handles, up to 200 characters. This description helps the orchestrator route requests to the right skill.
- Instructions: Tell the agent what to do when this skill runs. Type
/to add tools or variables directly into the instructions. Include specific steps the agent should follow, such as greeting the customer, asking for information, and how to handle edge cases like delays or escalations.
- Skill name: Enter a name in kebab-case, up to 64 characters (for example,
Select Add skill. The new skill appears in the Skills list for this agent.
Topic skills
A Topic skill is a deterministic, authored flow of steps and conditions you control - the same concept as Topics elsewhere in Copilot Studio. Use a Topic skill when you need predictable, repeatable logic rather than in-the-moment AI reasoning.
Open your agent in Copilot Studio, and select the Build tab.
Select the primary agent's card to open its configuration panel. If you've added any sub-agents, select a sub-agent's card instead to configure that sub-agent.
In the Skills section, select Add skill.
In the Add skill dialog, select the Topic tab.
Under Topic, pick an existing topic or leave Create topic selected to author a new one.
Define the skill:
- Skill name: Enter a descriptive name (for example,
order lookup). - Description: Explain what the skill does. This description is used for routing.
- Skill name: Enter a descriptive name (for example,
Select Add skill. The tool opens the new topic in an editing canvas, where you define its steps and logic.