- What Copilot Studio is
- What you can build in Copilot Studio
- How Copilot Studio agents work
- Copilot Studio harnesses explained
- How to get started with Copilot Studio
- Copilot Studio ideas for small and growing businesses
- Copilot Studio safety and governance
- Copilot Studio versus Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Frequently asked questions
Copilot Studio is Microsoft's low-code tool for building your own AI agents and workflows. You describe what you want, connect your organisation's knowledge and tools, test it, then publish it to places like Teams or your website. The part people mix up: it's separate from the Copilot inside Word and Outlook.
Copilot Studio is where Microsoft lets you build your own AI agents, rather than just using the ones it gives you. If you've ever thought, 'I wish an assistant could answer our staff's HR questions' or 'I wish our website chat knew our returns policy', this is the kind of tool that makes that possible, often without writing code.
Here's what Copilot Studio is, what you can build with it, how it decides what to do, and how a small or medium-sized business might start. All of it comes from Microsoft's own Copilot Studio documentation.
What Copilot Studio is
Microsoft describes Copilot Studio as a graphical, low-code studio for building and managing AI-powered agents and workflows. You build them, connect them to your organisation's data and systems, and publish them to the places your people already work.
Low-code means you mostly click, describe and arrange things rather than programme them. Microsoft says that lets people without a deep technical background build capable solutions, while still giving professional developers the depth they need.
What you can build in Copilot Studio
| Copilot Studio building block | What it does |
|---|---|
| Agents | AI assistants that hold conversations and complete tasks using your instructions, knowledge and tools |
| Workflows | Automations built in a drag-and-drop designer, where each step can reason and act |
| Agent flows | Similar to Power Automate that can run alone or be used by an agent as a tool |
These pieces can work together. Microsoft gives the example of a workflow calling an agent to complete one of its steps.
How Copilot Studio agents work
An agent in Copilot Studio follows the instructions you write, draws on the knowledge sources you connect, such as documents or websites, and uses tools to take action. It reasons through a request and decides the best next step.
You can create an agent by describing it in plain language, then test it before you publish. Microsoft says agents can work with employees and customers in multiple languages across Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Copilot, websites, mobile apps and other channels. Some agents can even be given their own account so they can work proactively, for example helping to onboard a new employee.
If the whole idea of agents is new to you, my plain guide to AI agents and automation for small businesses explains the basics first.
Copilot Studio harnesses explained
Microsoft uses the word harness for the engine that runs what you build. Your choice affects how the agent reasons and how complex a job it can take on:
- GitHub Copilot harness: for reasoning-heavy, multi-step work and complex business processes.
- Standard harness: for rule-based agents and structured, repeatable conversations, built around topics you design.
- Copilot chat harness: for extending Microsoft Copilot Chat with your organisation's own knowledge.
On the standard harness, a topic is a conversation path you design, with questions and conditions. When a question falls outside your topics, the agent can still answer from its connected knowledge.
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How to get started with Copilot Studio
- Open Copilot Studio in a modern web browser; Microsoft offers it as a standalone web app.
- Sign in with your work account.
- Describe the agent or workflow you want in plain language, or start from a blank canvas.
- Connect knowledge sources and the tools it's allowed to use.
- Test it thoroughly, then publish it to a channel such as Teams or your website.
- Use the analytics and evaluation features to check how it's performing.
Check Microsoft's licensing pages, or ask whoever manages your Microsoft account, to see which options your organisation has.
Copilot Studio ideas for small and growing businesses
- An internal helper that answers staff questions from your handbook and policies.
- A website assistant that answers common customer questions from your help pages.
- A workflow that triages incoming requests and passes complex ones to a person.
- An onboarding agent that walks new starters through their first week.
- An extension to Microsoft Copilot Chat so it knows your products and processes.
If you're weighing Copilot Studio against other automation options, my roundup of n8n alternatives covers some of the workflow tools businesses compare it with.
Copilot Studio safety and governance
Building your own agent means you're responsible for what it does. Microsoft's documentation includes tools to help: analytics to monitor performance, evaluations with test sets before and after publishing, and administration features such as role-based access and an inventory of agents.
- Start with read-only knowledge before giving an agent tools that change data.
- Keep a human in the loop for anything that affects customers or decisions.
- Test with real questions, including awkward ones, before you publish.
- Microsoft says Copilot Studio isn't a medical device and shouldn't be used for emergencies, so don't build agents for those jobs.
Copilot Studio versus Microsoft 365 Copilot
People often confuse the two. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the assistant inside Word, Outlook, Teams and the Copilot app. Copilot Studio is the separate tool for building your own agents and workflows, including ones that extend Microsoft Copilot. If you'd like help deciding which, if either, fits your business, that's the kind of thing I do as an AI consultant.
Frequently asked questions
What is Copilot Studio used for?
Copilot Studio is used to build AI agents and workflows that use your organisation's knowledge and tools, then publish them to places like Teams, websites and Microsoft Copilot.
Do I need to code to use Copilot Studio?
No. Microsoft describes it as low-code, so you can describe an agent in plain language and build with a visual designer, though developers can go deeper.
Where can Copilot Studio agents be published?
Microsoft says agents can work across Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Copilot, websites, mobile apps and other channels.
Is Copilot Studio the same as Microsoft 365 Copilot?
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the assistant in Microsoft apps, while Copilot Studio is the tool for building your own agents and workflows.
What is a harness in Copilot Studio?
A harness is the engine that runs your agent or workflow. Microsoft offers a GitHub Copilot harness, a standard harness and a Copilot chat harness.
