Add a connected agent to an agent

Use connected agents to let your primary agent delegate specific tasks to specialized agents. This article shows you how to add a connected agent and verify that delegation works as expected.

Note

Features in this article are powered by the GitHub Copilot harness, which uses Copilot Credits for usage-based billing. Learn more about Copilot Credits in Overview of billing for agents powered by the GitHub Copilot harness.

Usage-based billing applies to using, building, testing, and evaluating agents. These actions might consume Copilot Credits.

Prerequisites

  • An agent created with the GitHub Copilot harness to be the primary agent. See Create an agent (preview).
  • At least one other agent powered by the GitHub Copilot harness in the same environment. The other agent must be published and configured as available to connect.
  • The maker for the primary agent must either be the owner of the connected agent or have the agent shared with them.

Add a connected agent

  1. Sign in to Copilot Studio.

  2. Choose and open the agent you want to use as the primary agent.

  3. In the agent navigation bar, select the Build tab.

  4. In the components panel, select Connected agents to open the Add a connected agent dialog.

  5. From the Add a connected agent dialog, browse or search the available agents and select the agent you want to connect.

  6. Review the agent's capabilities, then add a clear description of when the connected agent should be used.

  7. Select Connect.

  8. Confirm the connected agent appears in the components panel.

How the orchestrator routes to connected agents

After adding a connected agent, the orchestration runtime automatically determines when to delegate to it. The routing decision is based on:

  • The connected agent's name and description
  • The user's message and conversation context
  • Your primary agent's instructions

Tip

Write a clear, specific description for each connected agent so the orchestrator can accurately determine when to route requests to it. Avoid overlapping descriptions between connected agents.

Test delegation

After adding a connected agent:

  1. In the agent navigation bar, select the Preview tab.

  2. Send a message that matches the connected agent's domain.

  3. Verify that the response comes from the connected agent and is appropriate.

  4. Send a message outside the connected agent's domain to confirm it's handled by your primary agent.

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