Copilot 101: What Is Copilot Studio?
In this episode of the “Copilot 101 Podcast,” Shawn Dorward, Vice President, sa.global, UG Expert, gives an overview of Copilot Studio, a tool that allows users to create custom AI agents for business processes, extending beyond Microsoft’s native AI tools.
This episode is sponsored by the AI Copilot Summit NA, taking place March 17-19, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Key Takeaways
- Overview: Copilot Studio, formerly known as Power Virtual agents, allows you to create custom Copilots and AI agents for business processes, enabling AI use in areas not specifically covered by Microsoft. You can start using Copilot Studio for free, though sharing custom Copilots with others requires a paid plan.
- Use cases: Copilots which are built in Copilot Studio can analyze customer emails, check order history, and other analytics to make decisions within set guidelines, boosting organizational productivity by automating responses and actions. Its drag-and-drop UI, similar to Power Apps and PowerPoint, makes it easy to build these autonomous agents.
- Reduced manual effort: Copilot Studio allows you to set triggers for emails and other events, leveraging AI to gather information like order history and account managers, and automate responses and actions. This process reduces manual effort and enhances productivity by using familiar flows and decision trees, similar to Power Automate, to handle complex tasks and make intelligent decisions.
- Accessible AI use: Copilot Studio offers a powerful and secure AI tool within the Microsoft ecosystem, allowing users to build custom Copilot agents using both public and private data. The availability of pre-built agents and familiar triggers makes it accessible and reduces the intimidation of creating your own AI solutions.
- Final thoughts: The excitement around Copilot Studio agents is palpable as they can automate actions on emails and other tasks, reducing lead time and overhead. These AI agents, whether manual or autonomous, can enhance productivity by working alongside human interactions or independently, with Microsoft also publishing their own agents for various applications.
Stream the audio version of this episode here:
