Add a connected agent to an agent (GitHub Copilot)

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

Note

The harness used to build this agent uses usage-based billing. Using, building, testing, and evaluating agents might consume Copilot Credits. Learn more in Overview of usage-based billing.

You add every connected agent from the same Add a connected agent dialog. This guidance applies regardless of whether the agent is built in Copilot Studio, hosted in Microsoft Foundry, or reached over the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol. This article covers connecting a Copilot Studio agent. To connect a Microsoft Foundry agent instead, see Add a Foundry agent as a connected agent. To connect a remote agent over the A2A protocol, see Add an A2A agent as a connected agent. To connect an agent built with the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK, see Add a Microsoft 365 Agents SDK agent as a connected agent.

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.

Note

Access to a parent agent doesn't automatically grant access to its connected agents. Share each connected agent separately with every intended user or group.

Add a Copilot Studio 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 Copilot Studio 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 your primary agent handles it.

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