Agents are pointed to as the next level when it comes to using artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are a bet to boost productivity gains for both individuals and organizations. These tools are like applications, built to handle specific processes or solve business challenges.
The trend about the impact of agents is highlighted in the report Work Trend Index: The Rise of Frontier Firms for 2025, which emphasized the emergence of a new role for employees: the agent manager, who builds, delegates, and manages agents to amplify their impact. This professional increases their efficiency in tasks such as report production, assisting in customer inquiries, or performing specific actions based on predefined data and goals. Agents can execute business processes, adapt to new challenges, and improve over time.
Finding ready-to-use AI agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot
The study shows that leaders expect their teams to train (41%) and manage (36%) agents within five years. In Brazil, 43% of leaders expect their teams to be training agents, and 39% expect them to be managing agents within five years. With Microsoft Copilot, you can start your journey with AI agents using solutions created by your organization, Microsoft, or Microsoft 365 partner apps. These are options with defined purposes, such as aiding in prompt creation, brainstorming, and integration with other services, for example, helping to achieve more refined results.
To start using ready-made agents, simply open the Microsoft 365 Copilot app or go to microsoft365.com/chat in your browser. In the Copilot sidebar, click the “All agents” option to open the agent repository, where you can find all available options. Click on the option of your interest for more details about the agent, its features, platforms where it will be available, and the provider. If you agree, just click “Add” to start using it.
Creating your first AI agents
If you don’t find a ready-made AI agent that meets your needs, you can create a fully customized one based on your business challenges. Besides specific instructions, agents can also work with knowledge bases from specific documents, SharePoint folders, or web searches. Before doing so, however, it’s important to structure the logic and rationale behind the tool well. Follow the steps below:
- Identify use cases
First, clearly describe what you want to accomplish. For example, are you looking to optimize your customer service initiatives? Prepare a weekly report based on a template? Gain deeper insights from your data? The first step is to analyze your workflow to identify specific tasks that could be improved with automation or AI assistance.
- Perfect the AI prompt
Just like in Copilot Chat, a good AI prompt is essential for your agent to achieve the desired results. Build a command that provides ample context for the tool, tell the agent what persona it should assume, its objectives, describe the workflow step by step, and provide examples. Learn how to enhance your AI commands here.
- Start creating
To start creating your agent in practice, click the “Create agent” button in the Microsoft 365 Copilot sidebar. A Copilot Studio interface will open, where you can use a template provided by Microsoft or build your own. Copilot will initiate a conversation to guide the user through the construction process, including questions about the agent’s purpose, data sources, and more.
You can also configure an agent without Copilot’s guided assistance. Just click the “Configure” tab to provide the agent’s name, instructions (the AI prompt), supply a database with specific documents or SharePoint folders, enable or disable web search, initial prompts, and more. It’s important for the user to be as descriptive as possible, clearly stating the agent’s objective, which tasks it should perform, and in what formats it should deliver results, for example, in text or a spreadsheet.
Whichever creation method you choose, Copilot Studio allows you to test your agent in real-time in the chat interface on the right. You can adjust the instructions in the configuration window on the left and wait for Copilot Studio to automatically save the agent and apply changes in the preview. Once everything is set, just click “Create” to start using your AI agent.
- Implementation, monitoring, and optimization
Once the agent meets your expectations, you also have the option to make it available to more colleagues or teams. After that, it’s important to closely monitor the agent’s performance according to your metrics and success expectations. This way, you can make necessary adjustments based on performance data and user feedback to refine the experience.
Agent availability
Agents are accessible directly in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, according to your organization’s license and IT policies. It’s important to note that the tool adheres to your organization’s Microsoft 365 and SharePoint security permissions. To learn more about Copilot’s AI agents and see application examples, visit this site.
