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Configure where computer use runs (preview)

[This article is prerelease documentation and is subject to change.]

Computer use is a tool in Copilot Studio that lets your agent interact with and automate tasks on a Windows computer. It works with websites and desktop apps by selecting buttons, choosing menus, and entering text into fields on the screen. Describe in natural language what you want computer use to do, and it performs the task on a computer you set up by using a virtual mouse and keyboard. With computer use, agents can complete tasks even when there's no API to connect directly to the system. If a person can use an app or website, computer use can too. You can use computer use for tasks like automated data entry, invoice processing, and data extraction.

Important

This article contains Microsoft Copilot Studio preview documentation and is subject to change.

Preview features aren't meant for production use and may have restricted functionality. These features are available before an official release so that you can get early access and provide feedback.

If you're building a production-ready agent, see Microsoft Copilot Studio Overview.

To interact with websites and desktop apps for task automation, computer use runs on a Windows machine. When you add computer use to an agent, you have the following options:

Hosted browser (powered by Windows 365 for Agents)

The hosted browser lets you get started quickly without any machine setup. It provides both web automation using Microsoft Edge and access to built-in Windows applications.

The hosted browser runs in a Microsoft-managed environment. It isn't Microsoft Entra joined to your tenant or managed by your Intune policies. It's designed for quick web automation and early experimentation, but it doesn't support enterprise resource access, custom desktop apps, or organization-specific device management.

Note

The hosted browser lets you get started quickly with computer use. However, it's not recommended for production use. Usage might be throttled based on demand. For more information, see Hosted browser limitations.

Cloud PC pool (powered by Windows 365 for Agents)

Cloud PC pools, powered by Windows 365 for Agents, provide scalable, secure compute resources for computer-using agents without needing to bring your own machines.

Here are some of the key features of Cloud PC pool:

  • Run computer use tool as part of your agent in Copilot Studio without needing to bring your own machine
  • Auto scale the number of Cloud PCs in your Cloud PC pool based on current workloads
  • Work or school account integration enables access to resources that are linked to your organization, such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Azure.
  • Entra joined and Intune enrolled enables full governance of the Cloud PC pool, ensuring that it is always in compliance with your organization's policy

Refer to use Cloud PC pool for computer use runs for more information.

Bring-your-own-machine

This option lets you use Windows machines that you own and manage. You register and manage machines in Power Automate.

Here are the key requirements to use a machine for computer use:

  • Install Power Automate for desktop version 2.59.169.25241 or later. Include the Power Automate web extension installation for web browser interactions.

  • After registering the machine, turn on computer use in the machine settings.

Learn more in prerequisites and limitations.

Register a new machine

Because computer use runs on the machine, dedicate a machine to computer use to avoid interruptions.

Note

If your environment has Power Automate Hosted Process capacity, create a hosted machine that already has Power Automate for desktop installed and automatically registered to the environment.

To register a new machine:

  1. Install the latest version of Power Automate on your machine. During installation, make sure you check the Install the machine-runtime app to connect to the Power Automate cloud portal option.

  2. Open the Power Automate machine runtime app and sign in.

  3. Register the machine to the environment you want to use with computer use.

Learn more about registering machines in register a new machine.

Enable computer use

After you register your machine, enable it for computer use.

  1. Sign in to Power Automate.
  2. Go to Machines.
  3. Select the machine you registered.
  4. On the machine detail page, select Settings.
  5. Turn on Enable for computer use.
  6. Select Save.

Run scheduling and queuing

When a Machine is in use, run requests targeting the same machine are queued and executed sequentially:

  1. The first run executes on the target machine.
  2. Subsequent runs are added to the queue and marked as Queued.
  3. When a run completes, the next run starts and is marked as Next to run.

To monitor the run queue:

  1. Sign in to Power Automate.
  2. Go to Machines.
  3. Select the machine.
  4. On the machine detail page, select Run queue.

FAQ for the computer use tool

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