Manage your agents
In the modern digital landscape, the ability to apply automation and artificial intelligence without deep technical expertise is a transformative capability for organizations. Agents in SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat are at the forefront of this evolution, enabling everyday business users to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and foster dynamic interactions without the need for any programming knowledge.
Microsoft 365 Copilot makes it simple for users of any skill level to not only build agents directly within SharePoint and Copilot Chat, but to maintain them as well. Effective management of agents requires ongoing monitoring and optimization to ensure they deliver the desired outcomes. Doing so involves tracking performance, updating configurations, and addressing any issues that arise.
Effective management of agents in Copilot Chat and SharePoint is crucial for several reasons:
- Consistency and reliability. Properly managed agents ensure that automated processes run consistently and reliably, minimizing the risk of errors and disruptions.
- Scalability. As your organization grows, well-managed agents can be scaled to handle increased workloads, ensuring that your processes remain efficient and effective.
- Compliance and security. Managing agents helps maintain compliance with industry standards and regulations. It does so by ensuring that automated processes adhere to security protocols and data protection policies.
- Optimization and improvement. Regular management and review of agents allow for continuous optimization and improvement of automated processes. Doing so ensures they remain aligned with business goals and objectives.
- Resource allocation. Effective management ensures that resources are allocated appropriately. Doing so prevents bottlenecks and ensures that critical processes receive the necessary attention and support.
Organizations should consider the following best practices when managing agents in SharePoint and Copilot Chat:
- Plan your automation. Carefully plan your automation to ensure it aligns with your business goals. Identify the tasks that can be automated and determine the desired outcomes.
- Keep flows simple. While it might be tempting to create complex flows, it's best to keep them as simple as possible. Doing so makes them easier to manage and troubleshoot.
- Document your flows. Maintain clear documentation of each flow, including its purpose, triggers, actions, and any notes on customization. Doing so helps you and your team understand and manage the flows effectively.
- Regularly review and update your flows. Periodically review your flows to ensure they're still relevant and functioning as intended. Update them as needed to accommodate changes in business processes or SharePoint updates.
The following sections explore the various ways in which users can manage agents.
Set an agent as a SharePoint site's default agent
Every SharePoint site can be assigned a default agent, which is the first agent that loads up for site members and visitors when they launch the site's chat pane. By default, Microsoft 365 Copilot automatically sets every site's ready-made agent as the site's default agent at the time the site is created. However, a site owner or site administrator can change the default agent for a site by setting a custom agent as the site's default agent.
To do so, select the ellipsis (the three dots) next to the agent. Then select Set as site default from the drop-down menu that appears.
Note
The ready-made agent can always be reset as the default agent for a site.
Uninstall and delete agents
The process of removing agents differs between Copilot Chat agents and SharePoint agents.
Warning
While the processes are different, there's one similar characteristic concerning agent deletion: that is, deleting an agent is permanent and can't be reversed, whether you do it in Copilot Chat or SharePoint.
Copilot Chat agents
In Copilot Chat, uninstalling an agent and deleting an agent are two different things. Uninstalling an agent removes it from the agent pane on your Copilot Chat page, but it doesn't delete the agent. Uninstalling an agent in Copilot Chat can be beneficial for several reasons:
- Temporary removal. If you only need to remove the agent temporarily, uninstalling it allows you to do so without losing all the configurations and data associated with it. In this case, uninstalling can be useful if you plan to use the agent again in the future.
- Testing and troubleshooting. Uninstalling an agent can be part of a troubleshooting process. If you suspect that an agent is causing issues, you can uninstall it to see if that resolves the problem. If it does, you can then decide whether to delete the agent permanently or reinstall it after making necessary adjustments.
- Resource management. Sometimes, you might want to free up resources or declutter your Agent library without permanently losing the agent. Uninstalling achieves this goal by removing the agent from active use while keeping it available for future reinstallation.
- Preserving customizations. If you spent significant time customizing an agent, uninstalling it preserves these customizations. Deleting the agent would mean losing all the work put into configuring it, which could be a significant loss if you need the agent again later.
- User access control. In some cases, you might want to temporarily restrict access to an agent. Uninstalling it can help control who can use the agent without deleting it entirely.
Perform the following steps to uninstall an agent in Copilot Chat:
Sign in to Microsoft 365 Copilot with your work or school account. The Microsoft Copilot Chat page appears by default.
If the agent that you want to uninstall appears in the list of pinned and unpinned agents, then hover over the agent and select the ellipsis (More) icon that appears. In the drop-down menu that appears, select Uninstall.
If the agent that you want to uninstall doesn't appear in the list of pinned and unpinned agent, then select All agents in the navigation pane. This option opens the Agent Store, which displays your agents and the prebuilt agents that you used, along with the prebuilt agents that were created by Microsoft. In the list of Your Agents, select the ellipsis icon that appears for that agent, and in the drop-down menu that appears, select Uninstall.
Uninstalling an agent provides flexibility and preserves the option to reuse the agent in the future without having to set the agent up again. In contrast, deleting an agent is a more permanent action. It removes all configurations associated with the agent, such as instructions, starter prompts, interaction history, integration settings, and so on.
Perform the following steps to delete an agent in Copilot Chat:
On the Copilot Chat page, in the navigation pane, select Create agent. Doing so opens Copilot Studio.
The top of the Copilot Studio page displays the following navigation thread: My agents > New Agent. Select My agents.
On the My agents page, hover over the agent that you want to delete. Doing so displays the ellipsis (More) icon. Select this icon.
Select Delete from the drop-down menu that appears and then confirm the deletion.
SharePoint agents
In SharePoint, there's no distinct uninstall process. Instead, SharePoint focuses on managing and deleting content directly within its interface. SharePoint's approach to content management and deletion is designed to be straightforward and integrated, eliminating the need for a separate uninstall process. As such, site owners and members can delete agents, apps, or other content just as they would with any other file or document.
As a SharePoint site owner or member, you can delete any agents just as you would other files in SharePoint. Perform the following steps to delete an agent in SharePoint:
- Locate the agent on its respective SharePoint site or folders. Alternatively, select the Copilot icon from the ribbon to view the agent in the sidecar pane. To switch to another agent, use the drop-down menu.
- Once you select the agent, select the ellipsis icon (three dots), choose Delete, and then confirm the deletion.