Building agents in Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot's consumer-tier agent flow lets any VT faculty member create a custom agent using their institutional Microsoft account. This tutorial covers that consumer flow, not Copilot Studio (a separate, more advanced product for institutional deployments). Expect a guided form, light-weight knowledge grounding, and a shareable link at the end.
Find the agent-creation entry point
Sign in to Copilot at copilot.microsoft.com with your VT account. Look for "Agents" or "Create an agent" — typically in the left rail. The exact label and location shift with Microsoft's UI updates; if you can't find it, ask Copilot in the chat: "How do I get to the page where I can create a custom agent?" and follow the directions it gives.
If you land in Microsoft 365 Copilot search instead of the chat experience, switch to the chat experience first — agent creation is part of the chat product.
Fill in the configuration
Copilot walks you through a guided form. Open your chosen recipe in a separate tab and use the copy buttons to fill each field on the form. Use the mapping table below to know which recipe field goes where. Save and preview as you go — Copilot lets you test the agent in a side panel before publishing.
Skip the Capabilities / Tools section unless your recipe specifies tools to enable. Most recipes in this catalog don't need them.
Save and share
Choose Publish, then pick the visibility level. "Just me" is the default; for a faculty-built agent you want students to use, choose "Shared with people I choose" and add specific accounts or distribution lists. Copy the resulting link and paste it where students can find it (LMS, syllabus, course page).
If you can't find the visibility options or sharing controls, ask Copilot: "How do I share my custom agent with specific people?" — the platform knows its current sharing UI.
| Recipe field | Microsoft Copilot field |
|---|---|
| Title | Name |
| Description | Description |
| Instructions | Instructions / System message |
| Knowledge Base | Knowledge / Files |
| Tools | Capabilities |
Last updated: pending.