Learn how to use declarative agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate tasks and workflows.
By the end of this module, you're able to:
- Evaluate whether a declarative agent is appropriate to extend Microsoft 365 Copilot for your scenario.
- Describe how the components of a declarative agent work together to create agents that run on Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Learn the fundamentals of Copilot connectors, how they enable Microsoft 365 Copilot to access external data, and best practices for secure integration.
By the end of this module, you'll be able to:
- Describe the role and benefits of Copilot connectors in Microsoft 365.
- Explain how external connections and schemas work.
- Explore methods for data retrieval and transformation.
- Understand access controls and security trimming for data protection.
- Assess your knowledge with a module quiz.
A purely practical, hands-on walkthrough of creating a Microsoft 365 Copilot connector using Visual Studio Code and the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit. Learn to ingest data from a public GitHub repository's issues into Microsoft Graph for Copilot to use.
By the end of this module, you'll be able to:
- Scaffold a new Copilot connector project using the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit in VS Code.
- Configure the connector to pull data from a public GitHub repository's issues.
- Execute the connector to ingest GitHub issues into Microsoft Graph and verify successful indexing.
- Extend the connector's schema by adding new properties and reingesting data.
Build a declarative agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot optimized for a specific scenario. Your agent accesses data stored outside of Microsoft 365 by using a Copilot connector.
By the end of this module, you're able to:
- Design a declarative agent with a Copilot connector
- Integrate a declarative agent with a Copilot connector
- Run declarative agent with a Copilot connector in Microsoft 365 Copilot to validate the results
Learn how to effectively manage Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors after deployment. Master operational tasks including monitoring, troubleshooting, security management, and performance optimization.
By the end of this module, you'll be able to:
- Monitor connector operations and manage connection states effectively using the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Diagnose and resolve common connector issues using error codes, logs, and diagnostic tools.
- Review and manage access permissions to ensure proper security governance and data protection.
- Optimize connector performance through crawl scheduling, quota management, and capacity planning.

Syllabus

Introduction to declarative agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Introduction
- What are declarative agents?
- How declarative agents work
- When to use declarative agents
- Module assessment
- Summary
Introduction to Copilot connectors
- Introduction
- What are Copilot connectors?
- Understand external connections and schemas
- Explore methods for data retrieval and transformation
- Understand access controls and data security
- Module assessment
- Summary
Build your first Microsoft 365 Copilot connector using Visual Studio Code
- Introduction
- Exercise - Create your first connector project
- Exercise - Connect to GitHub repository
- Exercise - Run connector and ingest data
- Exercise - Add new property
- Module assessment
- Summary
Add custom knowledge to declarative agents using Copilot connectors and Visual Studio Code
- Introduction
- Create a declarative agent with a Copilot connector
- Exercise - Create a declarative agent with a Copilot connector
- Module assessment
- Summary
Monitor and maintain Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors
- Introduction
- Monitor and manage connector operations
- Troubleshoot connector issues and errors
- Manage access permissions and security
- Optimize connector performance
- Knowledge check
- Summary