> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Create an Agent in Copilot Chat
> Guide to creating and configuring custom chat agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio and Copilot Chat, covering authoring modes, knowledge sources, triggers, testing, and publishing for enterprise governance
Creating an agent in Copilot Studio.
This guide shows how to create a custom agent using Microsoft Copilot Studio (the full authoring experience) or the quicker Copilot Chat flow. You can start in Copilot Chat — for example, create a "US Holidays in 2026" agent directly from chat — and then move into Copilot Studio for full configuration, governance, and publishing.
When you click Create an agent in Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio opens under the hood to build the agent. All authoring and configuration occur in Copilot Studio.
There are two primary approaches for creating a new agent in Copilot Studio:
* Describe experience — Describe in natural language what you want the agent to do and Copilot Studio converts that into structured instructions and a baseline configuration. Use this for rapid prototyping and simple use cases (for example: “Create an agent that answers HR questions and helps employees find company policies”).
* Configure experience — Use this mode to manually adjust name, description, instructions, knowledge sources, model selection, triggers, behavior rules, and other advanced settings. This experience is better for governance, auditing, and repeatable, predictable behavior.
| Approach | When to use it | Outcome |
| - | - | - |
| Describe | Fast prototyping, conversational entry point | Automatic instructions and baseline config you can refine |
| Configure | Production-ready design, governance, and auditing | Full control over settings, models, knowledge sources, and triggers |
Information entered via the Describe experience is converted into the structured instructions that you can view and refine in the Configure tab. This lets you start with a simple conversation and then switch to a detailed, auditable configuration for production use.
Start with the Describe path for fast prototyping; then switch to Configure to review, refine, and apply governance controls before publishing.
For enterprise deployments, the Configure experience is typically preferred because it enables review, auditing, troubleshooting, and governance. Configure exposes the logic that drives the agent and supports consistent management practices across the organization.
To open Copilot Studio, browse to `copilotstudio.microsoft.com`. If you're signing in for the first time you may see a licensing prompt; you can sign up for a trial to evaluate Copilot Studio for learning and testing.
If you don’t have the required license, Copilot Studio will prompt you to sign up for a trial. Trials are intended for evaluation—confirm your organization’s licensing before deploying production agents.
The Copilot Studio start page gives you options to create an Agent or a Workflow and includes starter cards and recently-used items. You can create an agent from scratch or begin with a Describe prompt.
Key capabilities of the Copilot Studio authoring experience include:
| Capability | Description |
| - | - |
| Integrated test chat | Interactively test prompts and behavior while authoring |
| Model selection | Choose supported models (OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, and other supported LLMs) |
| Instruction authoring | Define agent behavior, tone, constraints, and guardrails |
| Knowledge sources | Connect enterprise content stores and upload documents |
| Advanced settings | Enable web search, Work IQ (Office 365 content), and other integrations |
| Triggers & automation | Schedule or event-based automation to run agents without direct chat |
Adding knowledge sources is straightforward. You can upload documents or connect to enterprise stores so the agent can reference relevant content when responding.
Common knowledge sources to connect:
| Source Type | Typical Use |
| - | - |
| OneDrive / SharePoint | Organization documents, policies, and shared drives |
| Azure AI Search | Semantic indexes for large document sets |
| Dataverse / Dynamics 365 | CRM and structured business data |
| Salesforce / ServiceNow | External service and ticketing systems |
| Azure SQL | Structured relational data |
| Local uploads | PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets for targeted knowledge |
Advanced options let you extend the agent’s reach and behavior:
* Web search — allow live web lookups for up-to-date facts.
* Work IQ integration — surface content from Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and other Office 365 sources.
* Triggers — create autonomous agents using event-based triggers (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Outlook, Forms, Dataverse, Planner, etc.) or scheduled recurrences. This enables agents to run workflows or take action without a manual chat prompt.
Copilot Studio also supports multi-agent scenarios. You can chain agents, hand off tasks (for example, an HR agent transferring a finance question to a Finance agent), and define topics and suggested prompts to guide users toward the best interactions.
Use the integrated test pane to validate responses, edge cases, and how knowledge sources are used. When the agent meets your requirements, publish it to your organization. Published agents can be managed, monitored, and updated centrally — making it easier to apply governance, measure usage, and iterate.
Further reading and resources:
* Microsoft Copilot Studio documentation: [https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot/copilot-studio](https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot/copilot-studio)
* Licensing and trials: [https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/collaboration/copilot-licensing](https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/collaboration/copilot-licensing)
Further topics you may want to explore next: managing published agents, monitoring usage and telemetry, applying governance policies, and designing multi-agent workflows.
This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.