Copilot 101: What Are Copilot Agents?
In this episode of the “Copilot 101 Podcast,” Shawn Dorward, Vice President, sa.global, UG Expert, gives an overview of Copilot agents, which can be built in Copilot Studio.
This episode is sponsored by the AI Copilot Summit NA, taking place March 17-19, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Key Takeaways
- Overview: Copilot agents, part of Microsoft’s AI digital assistant, are enhancing various Microsoft products with advanced AI capabilities. However, users may find that the specific functionalities they desire, such as leveraging information from SharePoint or Outlook, might not always align with what Microsoft has integrated into its in-product Copilots.
- Building agents: Copilot Studio is a toolkit that allows you to build custom Copilot agents for your organization, automating routines and enhancing productivity. These agents can help manage tasks like email inboxes, reducing lead time and increasing response efficiency, ultimately boosting overall success.
- Better automation and insights: Copilot agents can be customized with specific data to provide more precise responses and can be controlled using parameters to manage risk. They should be seen as colleagues whose level of autonomy depends on the task and their experience, allowing for a balance between automation and human oversight.
- Example: A great example of using Copilot agents is automating the process of handling customer emails requesting quotes. By building an agent to process these emails, pull necessary information from various sources, and either send the quote automatically or queue it for review, businesses can significantly reduce lead time and improve efficiency. This approach can be applied to many operational tasks, including employee onboarding.
- Agents in Biz Apps: Microsoft is actively promoting its Copilot agents, including a new sales order agent for Business Central, which monitors emails and creates response queues while updating ERP systems. Users can try Copilot Studio for free with a developer’s license to build custom agents using various data sources.
Stream the audio version of this episode here:
