What are AI agents?

  • 6 minutes

Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot are specialized AI assistants designed to help users automate tasks, answer questions, and streamline business processes. Think of them as expert teammates embedded in your Copilot experience—each one focused on a specific type of work. These agents are accessible directly from the Copilot Chat interface and work alongside you in apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.

Agents are created and managed through the Copilot Chat interface, either in the browser or app version of Microsoft 365. You can describe your agent in natural language or configure it manually using available templates. Alternately, you can access the Agent store to view prebuilt agents from Microsoft, partners, and internal teams.

  • Agent store: Accessible via the Copilot App, the Agent Store provides a curated marketplace of prebuilt agents from Microsoft, partners, and internal teams. These agents are validated for enterprise use and can be deployed quickly to improve productivity.
  • Create a new agent: When you need a custom solution tailored to specific workflows or business processes. This option allows for greater control over the agent's behavior, knowledge sources, and instructions.

Microsoft provides several prebuilt agents in the Copilot Chat application interface to help you get started quickly. Two of the most popular are:

  • Researcher: This agent helps you gather, analyze, and summarize information from both your work documents and the web. It's ideal for preparing client briefs, market research, or learning resources. Researcher asks clarifying questions to tailor its output and delivers structured reports with source citations, making it easy to edit or share.
  • Analyst: Acting like a virtual data analyst, Analyst helps you make sense of complex spreadsheets, databases, and other data sources. You don't need to be a data expert—just ask a question, and Analyst calculates statistics, identifies trends, and generates visuals like charts and tables. It's perfect for comparing sales performance, spotting anomalies, or summarizing financial data.

These agents are built into the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience and are available to most users without needing a separate license. They're designed to save time, reduce complexity, and empower business users to work smarter with AI.

Why create your own agent?

Custom agents allow you to tailor Copilot to your unique workflows. Instead of relying only on prebuilt agents, you can design one that understands your team's processes, uses your organization's knowledge sources, and responds in a style that fits your needs.

How to create an agent

  1. Open Copilot Chat.

  2. Select Create Agent from the left navigation or under the Agents tab.

  3. Describe your agent or choose a template:

    • Template: Predefined structures for common functions like Career Coach, Idea Coach, or Customer Insights.
    • Natural language: Type a description like An agent that helps draft marketing emails and checks tone.

  4. Select to Configure your agent.

Configuration settings

When creating or editing an agent, you need to define the functionality of the agent. Use the Configure tab to apply settings, including:

  • Details
    Add a name, description, and optional icon for easy identification.

  • Instructions
    Custom instructions are the heart of your agent. They tell Copilot how to define the agent's identity and behavior:

    • Who the agent is (its persona). "Act as a financial analyst."
    • What it should do (tasks and goals). "Analyze quarterly sales data, identify trends, and generate summary reports with visual charts."
    • How it should respond (tone, format, level of detail). "Respond in a clear, professional tone using bullet points. Include actionable insights and avoid technical jargon."

  • Knowledge
    Attach up to 20 sources:

    • SharePoint pages
    • OneDrive files
    • Teams chats
    • Public websites
      These sources help the agent give accurate, context-aware answers.

  • Capabilities
    Enable or disable capabilities:

    • Code Interpreter: Lets the agent run Python code for calculations, data analysis, or automation. Use this for calculating metrics, generating charts, and automating repetitive tasks.
    • Image Creator: Generates visuals (charts, diagrams, concept art) based on prompts. Use this for visual storytelling, creating diagrams for presentations, and designing quick mockups.

  • Suggested prompts
    Provide examples of how users can interact with the agent.
    Example: Summarize this report, Create a project timeline.

Share your agent

Once your agent is created, it's available in your Copilot Chat app under the Agents tab. The agent remains private until you choose to share it. You can share the agent within your organization, and don't need administrator approval to do so.

How to share your agent

  1. Open the Agent in Copilot Chat.
  2. Go to Settings > Share.
  3. Choose:
    • Specific People or Groups: Assign permissions to individuals or Teams groups.
    • Organization-Wide: Make the agent available to everyone in your tenant.
  4. Set roles:
    • Viewer: Can use the agent.
    • Editor: Can modify instructions, prompts, and sources.

Note

If you edit suggested prompts after sharing your agent, any user with access must reinstall the agent to see the updated suggested prompts.

Note

We recognize that different people like to learn in different ways. You can choose to complete this module in video-based format or you can read the content as text and images. The text contains greater detail than the videos, so in some cases you might want to refer to it as supplemental material to the video presentation.