How to build Custom Copilots with Copilot Studio - Overview

Costa Rica

Last updated: 2025-07-17

List of References (Click to expand)

Table of Content (Click to expand)

Overview
Examples of types of copilots using Microsoft tools
Demo

Overview

Copilot Studio on the Microsoft Power Platform introduces a user-friendly way to build and customize AI copilots using low-code/no-code tools, making AI solution development accessible for everyone. It simplifies task automation, enhances customer interactions, and improves workflow efficiency.

Feature	Description	Example Use Case
Build Custom AI Solutions	Easily create AI copilots that can assist with a variety of tasks.	- Creating a chatbot to handle customer inquiries on your website. - Developing an AI assistant to manage inventory and restocking.
Enhance Productivity	Automate repetitive tasks and free up time for more strategic activities.	- Setting up an AI to automatically sort and respond to emails. - Using an AI copilot to generate regular reports and analytics.
Improve Customer Engagement	Develop AI-driven interactions that enhance customer service and satisfaction.	- Implementing an AI assistant to provide personalized product recommendations. - Creating an AI-driven feedback system to gather and analyze customer opinions.
Integrate Seamlessly	Connect your AI copilots with other Microsoft tools and services for a cohesive experience.	- Integrating an AI copilot with Microsoft Teams to assist with scheduling and reminders. - Connecting AI solutions with Power BI for advanced data visualization.

Examples of types of copilots using Microsoft tools

Copilot Agents

Tool: Power Virtual Agents

Steps:

Sign in to Power Virtual Agents: Go to the Power Virtual Agents website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Create a New Bot: Click on Create a bot and follow the prompts to set up your bot.
Define Topics: Add topics that your bot will handle. Topics are the different areas of conversation your bot can engage in.
Build Conversations: Use the graphical interface to design the conversation flow for each topic.
Test and Publish: Test your bot to ensure it works as expected, then publish it to make it available to users.

Autonomous Copilots

Tool: Power Automate

Steps:

Sign in to Power Automate: Go to the Power Automate website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Create a Flow: Click on Create and choose the type of flow you want to build (e.g., automated, instant, scheduled).
Add Triggers and Actions: Define the trigger that starts the flow and add the actions that the flow will perform.
Configure Details: Set up the details for each action, such as specifying conditions and data inputs.
Test and Activate: Test your flow to ensure it works correctly, then activate it to start running.

Declarative Copilots

Tool: Power Automate

Steps:

Sign in to Power Automate: Go to the Power Automate website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Create a Flow: Click on Create and choose the type of flow you want to build.
Define Rules: Use the graphical interface to set up rules and conditions that dictate how the flow operates.
Add Actions: Specify the actions that the flow will take based on the defined rules.
Test and Deploy: Test your flow to ensure it follows the rules correctly, then deploy it.

Analytical Copilots

Tool: Power BI

Steps:

Sign in to Power BI: Go to the Power BI website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Import Data: Connect to your data sources and import the data you want to analyze.
Create Reports: Use the Power BI interface to create reports and dashboards that visualize your data.
Add Insights: Use Power BI's AI features to add insights and predictive analytics to your reports.
Share and Collaborate: Share your reports with others and collaborate on data analysis.

Creative Copilots

Tools: Microsoft Designer, Microsoft 365 Apps

Steps:

Sign in to Microsoft Designer: Go to the Microsoft Designer website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Create a New Project: Start a new design project and choose a template or create from scratch.
Add Content: Use the design tools to add text, images, and other content to your project.
Use AI Features: Leverage AI-driven suggestions and tools to enhance your design.
Save and Share: Save your design and share it with others.

Integrative Copilots

Tools: Power Platform, Microsoft Teams, Power BI

Steps:

Identify Integration Points: Determine which Microsoft tools and services you want to integrate.
Create Flows: Use Power Automate to create flows that connect different tools and automate tasks.
Set Up Connectors: Use connectors to link your AI copilots with other Microsoft services like Teams and Power BI.
Configure Actions: Define the actions that your copilot will take within the integrated environment.
Test and Implement: Test the integrations to ensure they work seamlessly, then implement them.

Demo

Configure your your environment and Create a Copilot

Go to Microsoft Copilot Studio Home Page

Prompt your case, for example:

I'm planning to develop a support copilot for our Contoso customers. This tool will assist by providing answers to frequently asked questions and performing routine tasks, such as order status updates.

Setup your Copilot Name, Icon, description and instructions:

- Information should come from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/ and from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/
- Maintain a professional, cheerful tone focused on our clients, avoiding any mention of competitors or comparisons with their products.

You will see a screen like this while you wait to Copilot to create your bot:

You can see it by the Copilots section:

You can keep configuring different settings available:
Create topics if needed:

It will look like this:
Before you publish your copilot, please navigate to the Security section and adjust the Authentication settings according to your requirements:
Once you are ready, Publish your own Copilot:

Understanding Entities & Slot Filling

Concept	Description	Example
Entities	Key pieces of information that the AI copilot needs to understand and extract from user inputs.	- Examples: Names, dates, locations, product names, quantities. - Usage: "Book a flight to New York for tomorrow" (Entities: "New York" - location, "tomorrow" - date).
Slot Filling	The process of collecting all necessary entities (or slots) required to complete a task. The AI copilot asks follow-up questions to gather any missing information.	- Example: For booking a flight, the copilot might need the departure city, destination city, date, and time. If the user only provides the destination, the copilot will ask for the remaining details. - Scenario: Booking a meeting room. Entities: Date, time, room number, duration. User Input: "I need a room for a meeting tomorrow." Slot Filling: - Copilot: "What time is the meeting?" - User: "At 3 PM." - Copilot: "How long will the meeting last?" - User: "2 hours." - Copilot: "Which room would you like to book?" - User: "Room 101."

Go to Settings in top-right corner, and select Entities. Then select Add an entity and New entity.
You can choose between Closed list or Regular expression (Regex):

If you choose Closed list you will se a window like this:
You can add that Entity to the Topic:
You can test the Slot Filling, by having the Variables window open:

slot_filling_test_demo.mp4
You can access the code editor:

Copilot Studio to request data from another data source using Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly known as Microsoft Flow) is a cloud-based service that enables users to create automated workflows between their favorite apps and services. This helps streamline repetitive tasks, integrate various systems, and improve overall productivity.

Category	Key Features
Automate Workflows	- Cloud Flows: Automate tasks across cloud services like Office 365, Dynamics 365, and third-party applications. - Desktop Flows: Automate tasks on your desktop, such as data entry and file management, using robotic process automation (RPA).
Integration	- Connectors: Power Automate offers hundreds of connectors to integrate with various services and applications, including SharePoint, Outlook, Twitter, and more. - Custom Connectors: Create custom connectors to integrate with proprietary or less common services.
AI Capabilities	- AI Builder: Incorporate AI models into your workflows to automate tasks like form processing, object detection, and sentiment analysis.
User-Friendly Interface	- Templates: Start with pre-built templates to quickly create common workflows. - Drag-and-Drop: Use a visual designer to build workflows without writing code.

Benefits

Benefit	Description
Efficiency	Automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce human error.
Productivity	Focus on higher-value tasks by offloading routine processes to automated workflows.
Scalability	Easily scale your automation efforts as your business grows.

Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Business Process Automation	Automate approval processes, notifications, and data synchronization.
Data Collection	Automatically collect and process data from various sources.
Integration	Seamlessly integrate different systems and applications to ensure data consistency and streamline operations.

Example of connecting to Snowflake

Create Add a topic:
Click +. amd a Question:

Add some description around the topics:

Yes, I can get you the status of your receipt. What is your receipt number?

Add and Identity, click on Create an Entity:

Choose between Closed list, or Regular expresion (Regex):

Add you name, description and list items:

Adjust the variables properties as required, and click on Save:
Add Power Automate cloud flow:

Click on +, Call an action , and Create a flow:

An Power Automate window will open:

Click on When Copilot Studio calls a flow, to Add an input:

For this example, click on Text and add ReceiptNumber:

CLick on Collapse and +, so we can add a new action:

Add an action:

Search for Azure AI Search, in this example we'll indexing a document:

Fill the information and click on Create new:

Add the Parameters:

Add Action timeout, and turn on Security features:

You can add Status, and Outputs for testing, then click on Save:

Add an output to the Return values(s) to Power Virtual Agents:

Once you add all your desired output parameters, click on Save:

Adjust the name of the Power Automate Flow as desired, click on Save to change the name:

Go back to , click on +, Call an action, and you'll see your recently created flow:

You'll see action created, click on Enter or select a value, select the variable created: