Build your first AI agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio — hands-on, and updated for the 2026 UI.
This site is the companion for “Build your first AI Agents with Microsoft's Agent Academy” — a hands-on workshop at the European Power Platform Conference (EPPC) 2026 in Copenhagen on 29 June 2026 (Level 200 · Copilot and Agentic Platforms track).
Across the day you go from “what is an agent?” to a working, published agent in Copilot Studio — through guided labs, group exercises, and real-world patterns you can take home.
See the session on the EPPC programme →
Made by Ulrikke Akerbæk and Nick Doelman — Microsoft MVPs and co-hosts of the Power Platform BOOST! podcast.
Welcome to the Copilot Agent Academy — Recruit Course! This hands-on workshop teaches you how to build production-ready AI agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
By the end of this course, you will:
You'll build the Contoso Helpdesk Agent — a real-world AI assistant that helps employees find IT information and request devices.
Before starting this course, ensure you have:
No coding experience required — this course uses visual designers and natural language creation.
| Module | Title | Duration | Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Course Setup | 30 min | M365 setup, SharePoint site, sample data, publishing permissions |
| 01 | Introduction to Agents | 30 min | LLMs, RAG, orchestration, agent types |
| 02 | Copilot Studio Fundamentals | 30 min | Four building blocks, Overview page navigation |
| 03 | Declarative Agent for M365 Copilot | 30 min | Extend M365 Copilot, declarative agents |
| 04 | Creating a Solution | 20 min | Solution publisher, solution setup, preferred solution |
| 05 | Using Pre-Built Agents | 20 min | Template gallery, customizing templates |
| 06 | Build a Custom Agent | 75 min | Natural language creation, knowledge sources, AI model selection |
| 07 | Add a Topic with Triggers | 60 min | Topic designer, trigger phrases, Power Fx, SharePoint data |
| 08 | Enhance with Adaptive Cards | 60 min | Adaptive Card designer, data binding, rich UI |
| 09 | Automate with Agent Flows | 50 min | Agent Flows, email automation, connectors |
| 10 | Add Event Triggers | 45 min | Event-based activation, autonomous agents, Dataverse triggers |
| 11 | Publish Your Agent | 30 min | Publishing to Teams, demo website, channels |
| 12 | Understanding Licensing | 20 min | Copilot Credits, trial vs. production, cost planning |
| 13 | Securing Your Recruit Badge | 15 min | Completion checklist, badge claim, next steps |
Total: ~8 hours (including breaks)
All modules build a connected scenario around a single agent:
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Agent Name | Contoso Helpdesk Agent |
| Purpose | Help employees find IT information and request devices |
| Data Source | Contoso IT SharePoint site (created in Module 00) |
| Solution | Contoso Helpdesk Agent solution (created in Module 04) |
| Final Features | Knowledge grounding, conversational topics, Adaptive Cards, email automation, event triggers |
| Published To | Microsoft Teams + demo website |
The course follows a progressive build model. Each module adds new capabilities to the same agent:
| Time | Activity | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00–10:30 | Modules 00-02: Setup and fundamentals | 90 min |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break | 15 min |
| 10:45–12:00 | Modules 03-06: Declarative agents, solutions, templates, start custom agent | 75 min |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch | 60 min |
| 13:00–15:00 | Modules 06-08: Complete custom agent, topics, Adaptive Cards | 120 min |
| 15:00–15:15 | Break | 15 min |
| 15:15–17:00 | Modules 09-11: Agent Flows, event triggers, publishing | 105 min |
| 17:00–17:30 | Modules 12-13: Licensing, badge, wrap-up | 30 min |
Total: 8 hours (including breaks and lunch)
Participants can complete the course at their own pace over 1-2 weeks. Provide:
This course has been updated to reflect the new Copilot Studio UI released in late 2025. Key changes:
Old model: Multiple tabs/sections (Topics, Actions, Settings, etc.) accessed via left sidebar navigation.
New model: A single Overview page showing all agent components at once (scroll down to see everything).
The Overview page contains:
Test pane is always visible on the right. Publish button is at the top right.
New: Home page → describe what you want → AI provisions the agent with suggested components.
Old: "New agent" button → wizard/form → opens topic editor.
For more details, see the Facilitator Guide and research/new-ui-notes.md.
Ready to build AI agents? Start with Module 00: Course Setup →
