Building your first Copilot agent
1. Building your first Copilot agent
Welcome back! In this video, you'll build a simple agent in Microsoft 365 Agent Builder and learn how to streamline your tasks further. We'll illustrate this by building a product launch question answering bot.2. What is Agent Builder?
Agent Builder is a guided tool inside the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. It lets you create a custom Copilot that understands your business content and answers questions based on it. Think of it like creating a specialist Copilot, one trained to focus on a single job or domain, such as handling FAQs or analyzing product launch materials.3. What is Agent Builder?
It's important to note that Agent Builder isn't available in all Microsoft 365 plans. Currently, this feature is included in enterprise-level versions of Microsoft 365 Copilot. If you're using a personal or small business plan, you may not see this option yet. When it is available, Agent Builder gives you the power to shape Copilot into something unique for your team; not just a general assistant, but a dedicated expert built around your needs.4. What's involved in building an agent
Before you start building, it helps to understand what's involved. In Agent Builder, every agent needs three things: First, a name that reflects its role or purpose.5. What's involved in building an agent
Second, a description that explains what it should do and how it should help users.6. What's involved in building an agent
And third, a knowledge source, like a SharePoint site or a document library, that provides the information it will rely on to answer questions. These are the building blocks of your Copilot agent, and they connect well to the GCSE framework you'll use next.7. Plan your agent with GCSE
The GCSE framework helps you define your agent with clarity and purpose: Goal: What do you want the agent to do? Context: Who will use it and why? Source: What content should it rely on? For example, a SharePoint site. Expectation: How should responses be formatted? Think of it like writing a job description for a new team member. The clearer you are, the better they'll perform.8. Plan your agent with GCSE
Unlike a one-time Copilot chat, agents are persistent; people will return to them again and again. That's why clarity in your Goal and Source is critical. A quick tip - use the GCSE framework to structure your agent's instruction set. This gives you a repeatable system that helps your agent stay focused, relevant, and reliable.9. Describe your agent
Open Agent Builder, give your agent a name, description, and instructions. Example name: "Launch FAQ Helper". Example description: "Provide clear, concise answers about the EcoGreen launch for employees". Short, focused descriptions work best. And clear instructions on what the agent should do and how to respond to questions.10. Add a knowledge source
Now let's add knowledge to the agent. Click Add knowledge, then paste the SharePoint URL for your launch documentation. Start with just one trusted source; this helps your agent stay accurate and focused. Using a single authoritative source also reduces the risk of hallucinations or conflicting answers. Later, you can always expand to more files or sites, but starting small gives your agent a strong, reliable foundation.11. Test and refine
Now it's time to test your agent. Use the Try panel to ask a real question. for example: "What are the top 3 benefits of EcoGreen for customers?" If the answer doesn't look right, don't worry. You can adjust the agent's instruction or update the knowledge link to improve it. You're not locked into the first version. Agents are designed to evolve. You can come back at any time, test again, and make small tweaks to your instruction or sources.12. Let's practice!
Over time, refinements make your agent more reliable and valuable in real-world use. Now, it's time for you to try building your own agent in the exercises ahead!Create Your Free Account
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