Create and configure declarative agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot

  • 5 minutes

A declarative agent is a customizable, no‑code extension of Microsoft 365 Copilot where users define the agent’s goals, knowledge, and capabilities, and Copilot automatically handles reasoning, planning, and execution using the built‑in orchestrator.

Declarative agents use the same infrastructure, orchestrator, foundation models, and security controls as Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Declarative agents allow business users to:

  • Build Copilot extensions without complex code
  • Control what the agent knows and how it behaves
  • Empower nondevelopers to create tailor‑made assistants
  • Scale expert knowledge across teams

Key characteristics of declarative agents

Declarative agents:

  • Require no code — you configure them with instructions, knowledge sources, and actions
  • Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot rather than replace it
  • Are goal‑oriented — you define capabilities, and the orchestrator plans the steps
  • Use Microsoft’s Copilot and orchestration engine for reasoning, planning, and tool selection
  • Share the same UI, security, and compliance boundaries

Declarative agents can be created using:

  • Agent Builder inside Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
  • SharePoint
  • Copilot Studio

How to create a declarative agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Declarative agents can be created in multiple ways. You can describe what your agent needs to do. You can install a managed agent. You can use one of the several prebuilt templates.

You start from the Microsoft 365 Copilot agent store where you can see all agents that you have access to, managed agents, and agent templates.

Screenshot of Microsoft 365 Copilot agents.

Install a managed agent

In the Microsoft 365 Copilot agent store, select a managed agent provided by Microsoft and third-parties.

Screenshot of Microsoft 365 Copilot agent store.

In the popup dialog, select Add. The agent is added to the list of agents that you can use.

Note

Managed agents can't be edited. Microsoft 365 Administrators can control which managed agents are available for users.

Create an agent from a template

Microsoft 365 Copilot has several templates that you can use to quickly create a declarative agent.

Select Create agent and Agent Builder is displayed. In the Configure tab, you find a drop-down list of templates:

Screenshot of declarative agent templates.

  1. Selecting a template prefills the name, description, instructions, suggested prompts, and other capabilities.

    Screenshot of declarative agent template example.

  2. You can change these and then select Create.

Create your own agent

Select Create agent and Agent Builder is displayed. You then have two options to create the agent:

  • Configure - Enter the name, description, and instructions manually.
  • Describe - Use natural language to describe the purpose of the agent and what it should do. You describe what the agent knows and what it should do, and Copilot figures out the rest.

Screenshot of the tabs in Agent Builder with the Configure tab selected.

Enhance an agent created in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Once the agent is created, you can interact with it in the test chat or add more capabilities and knowledge to it. Its only source of information is what you provided in the instructions. The agent doesn't have access to enterprise knowledge or any other tools at this time, so any responses come from the generative AI's own knowledge.

You can add knowledge from SharePoint and Copilot connectors.

You can see the newly created agent under the Agents tab in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. Because the declarative agent isn't a custom agent, it doesn't appear in the Agents list in Copilot Studio.

A declarative agent can be published to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams.

To discover more about creating agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, see Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot with agents.

Copy a declarative agent to Copilot Studio

If you start building an agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot and want to add more capabilities that are only available in Copilot Studio, use the Copy to Copilot Studio button in the More options (…) menu when editing the agent. This option copies your agent to Copilot Studio so you don't need to recreate it.

Screenshot of the Copy to Copilot Studio option.

To Learn more about enhancing declarative agents in Copilot Studio, see Copy an agent to Copilot Studio.

Now that you understand what a declarative agent is, you concentrate on creating agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot Studio.