Overview
This training course is designed to help you understand the extensibility options available for Microsoft 365 copilot. You will learn about the different ways to extend Copilot, including building plugins and connectors, and how to choose the right option for your use case. The course also covers best practices for building high-quality plugins and connectors, as well as data, privacy, and security considerations. Whether you are a pro-code or low/no-code developer, this course will help you chart your path to extending and customizing Microsoft 365 Copilot.
About This Course
The training course covers the fundamentals of Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility, introducing Copilot’s role in enhancing productivity through declarative agents, connectors, and plugins. Readers will learn about ways to customize Microsoft 365 Copilot with new skills and knowledge through declarative and custom engine agents. The course also guides learners on choosing the right development approach, whether pro-code or low-code/no-code, to build tailored AI solutions that leverage the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Audience Profile
This training course is targeted at developers who are interested in extending and customizing Microsoft 365 Copilot. This includes both pro-code and low/no-code developers who want to learn about the different Copilot extensibility options available and how to choose the right option for their use case.
Course Outline
Module 1: Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility fundamentals
This module explores how extending Microsoft 365 Copilot with agents, connectors, and plugins can help organizations address the challenges of increasing productivity and reducing costs by leveraging AI to orchestrate business processes more effectively.
Lesson
- Explain how Copilot and agents work together to create a personalized, intelligent assistant with the knowledge and skills unique to your business.
- Describe the types of agents and the wide spectrum of capabilities with which they can be customized.
- Explain how to ground your Copilot responses with multiple enterprise data sources for more relevant and reliable responses.
Module 2: Choose a Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility development path
This module provides a comprehensive guide to choosing the right approach for extending Microsoft 365 Copilot, covering various extensibility options, development tools, and methods, while emphasizing the importance of data privacy and security practices.
Lesson
- Decide whether to extend Microsoft 365 Copilot using its existing orchestrator or to build a custom engine agent, based on their specific needs and goals..
- Gain insights into the various development tools and methods available, whether they prefer pro-code or low-code/no-code solutions, and how to set up their development environment for building these extensions.
- Understand the different ways to extend Microsoft 365 Copilot, including using declarative agents, custom engine agents, plugins, and connectors.
- Explain data privacy and security considerations for developing each extensibility option.
Module 3: Introduction to declarative agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot
Determine the scenarios which declarative agents are suitable for customizing and extending Microsoft 365 Copilot. Describe the function of custom knowledge and custom actions.
Lesson
- 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.
Module 4: Build your first declarative agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot by using Visual Studio Code
Define a declarative agent tailored to a specific scenario. Your declarative agent provides relevant and accurate responses using custom knowledge.
Lesson
- Design a declarative agent to solve a business problem.
- Implement a declarative agent with custom knowledge.
- Upload and use a declarative agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot to validate the results.
Module 5: Build your first action for declarative agents with API plugin by using Visual Studio CodeDefine a declarative agent tailored to a specific scenario. Your declarative agent provides relevant and accurate responses using custom knowledge.
Lesson
- Design a declarative agent with actions using an API plugin
- Integrate a declarative agent with an API plugin connected to an anonymous API
- Run declarative agent with an API plugin in Microsoft 365 Copilot to validate the results
Module 6: Use Adaptive Cards to show data in API plugins for declarative agents
Learn how to enhance the user experience of declarative agents by using Adaptive Cards to render API data visually. Create and configure Adaptive Card templates, integrate them into API plugins, and test the setup in Microsoft 365 Copilot. Learn the practical steps for building and previewing Adaptive Cards in Visual Studio Code.
Lesson
- Create an Adaptive Card template that shows the data from the API.
- Verify that the Adaptive Card template correctly renders API data.
- Configure the API plugin to render the data using the Adaptive Card template.
- Upload your declarative agent to Microsoft 365 Copilot and validate the results.
Module 7: Add custom knowledge to declarative agents using Microsoft Graph connectors and Visual Studio Code
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 Microsoft Graph connector.
Lesson
- Design a declarative agent with a Graph connector
- Integrate a declarative agent with a Graph connector
- Run declarative agent with a Graph connector in Microsoft 365 Copilot to validate the results
Prerequisites
- None
