Create your first agent
1. Create your first agent
Let's have a look at how to build an agent in Copilot Studio and give it a clear brief. A customer care team answers the same questions about returns and gift cards every day, and an agent can help with that. Every agent has a name, a short description of what it's for, and instructions that set its job, its tone, and its limits.2. Open Agents
In the Copilot Studio maker portal, you start from Agents in the left rail.3. Choose Agent Standard
The big New agent button is tempting, but it creates a type that uses credits. Open the arrow beside it instead, and choose Agent, Standard.4. Name and create it
Name it Customer Care Assistant, then select Create. The Details card holds the name and description, and the status reads Setting up for about a minute, so wait until it says Ready.5. Write the instructions
On the Overview tab, select Edit in the Instructions section. A vague brief like "help people" gets vague answers, so say who the agent helps, what it covers, and how it should sound. Here, we'll type: You help customer care staff answer questions about returns, gift cards, and store policies. Be friendly and clear. If you're unsure, say so and suggest checking with a team lead. That last sentence matters most, because it stops the agent from making up an answer.6. Save the brief
Select Save, just above the box. Instructions don't save themselves, and the agent always works from the saved version.7. Test it
The Test panel on the right is where you check the brief. Ask it what a colleague would: what's our return window for items bought in the summer sale?8. Read the reply
It doesn't have the store's returns policy yet, so instead of guessing, it suggests checking with a team lead. That's the brief doing its job. The main pane has also switched to an activity map, a step-by-step record of what the agent did. Select Overview to bring the instructions back.9. Tighten the brief
The reply is right, but it's longer than a busy colleague needs, so let's adjust the instructions. Select Edit again, and add one sentence: Keep every reply to two sentences. Then select Save.10. Test again
Select New test session, so the test starts from a clean chat, and ask the same question again: what's our return window for items bought in the summer sale? This time the answer is two sentences, and it still points to a team lead.11. Let's practice!
Now build an agent of your own, and see how its brief holds up in the Test panel.Create Your Free Account
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