Stop 9

The Assistants Workshop

Where Copilot starts doing the recurring work

An agent is Copilot with a job description: a name, instructions, a set of documents it knows, and the questions it's good at. Schools use them for handbook questions, enrollment procedures, curriculum resources, and help desk basics — the same twelve questions that reach your desk every week.

Example 01

Build your own agent

Describe what it should do, point it at documents, and give it a few starter questions. No coding — the agent builder takes plain instructions.

Try this — as a…

Task: build an agent that answers questions about my course. Persona: act as a helpful teaching assistant that never invents policy. Format: short answers with a link to the source section. Audience: my students and their families. Tone: friendly, encouraging. Context: only my syllabus, rubrics, and class calendar — if the answer isn't there, say so and point to me.

Build agents in Copilot →

Example 02

Researcher and Analyst are already there

Two reasoning agents ship with Copilot. Researcher works through a multi-step question across your files and the web; Analyst digs into data and shows its reasoning.

Try this — as a…

Task: research approaches to teaching argumentative writing in high school. Persona: act as a research assistant. Format: a brief with three approaches, evidence for each, and what each would require of me. Audience: me and my department. Tone: balanced, cite sources. Context: reputable education research and our current curriculum materials.

Copilot agents →

Example 03

District agents and partner agents

Your district can publish agents for everyone, and vendors can supply agents connected to the systems you already run. Ask your technology team what's already available before you build your own.

Try this — as a…

Task: tell me which district agents are available to me and what each is for. Persona: act as a guide to our tools. Format: a short list with one line each. Audience: me. Tone: plain. Context: the agents published to our tenant.

Copilot Studio →