AI agents sound like something from the future. Yet they have long been part of your Microsoft 365. In a few minutes you can build your own agent, focused on one clear job. No code, no external tools.
As of November 2026
I have revised this article. Microsoft now calls the tool Agent Builder and has changed the prerequisites and costs. Both are covered further down. The announced Microsoft 365 price increase has applied since 1 July 2026.
What exactly is a Copilot agent?
A Copilot agent is a specialised AI assistant that you set up for a specific task or topic. Unlike the standard Copilot, your agent knows your context: which templates you use, how your organisation communicates and which information it should draw on.
Examples of tasks it can take on:
- Categorise incoming support requests and suggest pre-written replies
- Explain to new team members how the internal processes work
- Draft proposal texts in line with your corporate identity
Quick thought: your agent should answer questions about the expenses policy stored in SharePoint. You have Copilot Chat but no Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. What applies?
Prerequisites: what you need
- A work account with Microsoft 365 and access to Copilot Chat
- Your IT has not blocked agent creation. They control access to agents in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- For knowledge from SharePoint or other company data: a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence or pay-as-you-go billing set up by your IT
According to Microsoft Learn, agents that only use instructions and public websites are included in Copilot Chat. Agents that access shared company data run without a Copilot licence only on pay-as-you-go through a Copilot Studio subscription. That billing is switched off by default.
Step by step: creating your first Copilot agent
Step 1: Open the Agent Builder
- Go to microsoft365.com and sign in. The address takes you to the Microsoft Copilot app.
- In the navigation pane, under «Agents», select «New agent». Depending on your version the entry may be labelled slightly differently.
You have three ways in: describe the agent in the chat, skip straight to the «Configure» tab or start from a template.
Step 2: Describe your agent
You can describe your agent in plain language. Name, description and instructions fill in as you go.
Create an agent called «Proposal Assistant» that helps me write professional proposals for our clients. It should use our company language, ask for the project title, the client name and the requested scope of work and then suggest a structured proposal text in English.
If something is off, correct it in the same chat, for example: «Also ask for the preferred start date.»
Step 3: Refine the agent
On the «Configure» tab you adjust the fields by hand. According to Microsoft’s guide, the name can have up to 30 characters, the description up to 1,000 and the instructions up to 8,000 characters.
a) Adjust the instructions
This is the heart of your agent. Write down here how it should behave: which tone should it use? What should it pay particular attention to? What should it never do?
Tip: the more concrete your instructions, the better the results. Instead of «be professional», go for: «Use clear, factual language, always address the client formally and avoid IT jargon.»
b) Add knowledge (optional)
Under «Knowledge» you give your agent sources: public websites, embedded files, SharePoint content, depending on your licence also Teams chats and Outlook emails, plus your organisation’s Copilot connectors. That way it knows, for example, what your price list looks like or what sits in your internal knowledge base. Which sources you see depends on your licence.
c) Define starter prompts
Define 2 to 3 starter prompts that help colleagues get something useful out of the agent straight away.
Exercise
What is included in Copilot Chat?
Step 4: Test before you share
Test the agent in the test pane on the right. It becomes available once name, description and instructions are filled in. Ask it a few questions, exactly the way your colleagues would.
Is the answer helpful? Is anything missing? Is the tone right?
- Sharpen the instructions («only answer questions on topic X»)
- Add further documents as a knowledge source
- Adjust the tone
Step 5: Create and share the agent
Once you are happy, select «Create». After that you keep the agent to yourself or share it with colleagues. Which sharing options you have is decided by your IT.
If you need actions, connectors or workflows, Agent Builder is not enough. Copy the agent to Copilot Studio and keep building there.
3 ideas for your first agent
Agent 1: The meeting minute-taker
Job: takes your bullet-point notes after a meeting and turns them into structured minutes with decisions, tasks and owners.
Knowledge: none needed, you paste in the notes yourself. So it also runs in Copilot Chat without an extra licence.
Agent 2: The onboarding companion
Job: answers common questions from new joiners (where do I find what? How does expense reporting work? Who is responsible for X?), based on your internal documents.
Knowledge: your SharePoint pages. Check with IT beforehand how this is licensed.
Agent 3: The communication coach
Job: helps you write emails or presentations in the tone and language of your organisation. Ideal for teams with a lot of client contact.
Tip: give it a few examples of your best client communication as an embedded file.
What does it cost you?
Agents with instructions and public websites cost you nothing extra in Copilot Chat. For agents with company data you need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence or pay-as-you-go billing through Copilot Studio. I work through the overall cost of Copilot in What does Microsoft 365 Copilot really cost?
Note: since 1 July 2026, higher list prices apply to many Microsoft 365 plans, for example Business Basic, Business Standard and Microsoft 365 E3. Business Premium and Office 365 E1 stay the same and existing contracts only move at renewal (Microsoft Licensing). A good reason to make full use of the subscription you already have.
Quick check
Three questions to take away
Conclusion: one agent for one task
Copilot agents are available in the Microsoft 365 you already have. You do not need to be a developer and you do not need a large IT department behind you. Just clarify first whether your agent should use company data, because that decides the cost.
All you need is a clear idea of which task you want to simplify and 10 minutes of your time.
Give it a go this week. Create your first agent, let it take over a task that regularly costs you time and see what happens.