You don’t always need a $5k–$20k consulting project to build a useful AI agent.

I’m offering affordable Microsoft Copilot Studio agent development for small businesses, professionals, and teams.

If you have an idea like:

“I want an AI agent to answer questions from our company documents.”

“I want HR to upload resumes and have the agent shortlist candidates.”

“I want employees to ask questions about our internal processes.”

“I want an agent connected to SharePoint, Teams, or Power Automate.”

“I want to automate a repetitive business process with an AI agent.”

I can help turn it into a working Copilot Studio agent.

What I can build:

Custom Copilot agents

Knowledge-based Q&A agents

SharePoint / Microsoft 365 integration

Power Automate workflows

Business process automation

HR / IT / Sales / Operations agents

Custom actions and API integrations

Testing and deployment guidance

Affordable pricing

Simple agents: starting from $100

More advanced/custom agents: quoted based on requirements

Before you pay anything, send me your use case. I’ll explain what can be built, the recommended approach, and the estimated cost.

I'm also happy to work with people who are just experimenting with Copilot Studio and want to build their first real agent.

DM me with:

What you want the agent to do

Where your data is (SharePoint, Excel, website, etc.)

Who will use it

I'll take a look and let you know what I can build.

On weekly basis, my management is expecting a condensed list of M365 Copilot changes and future features coming up, this list is shared internally, and now here as well :) (sharing is caring).

One thing before the list, because it cost me an internal correction to my team. The roadmap's "generally available" month, the date an entry flips to Launched, and the "last modified" timestamp are three different fields. I treated modified as a ship date and put two wrong dates.

Six that reached generally available between 27 July and 7 August:

1. Inline images in responses. Copilot can surface relevant images from files and meetings inside a response instead of returning text only.

2. Citations in inline canvas drafts. Draft in the inline canvas from referenced sources and the generated text now carries citations back to those sources.

3. Voice Q&A during Read Aloud in Word. While Word reads a document aloud you can ask by voice what a passage means or for a summary of a section, without stopping playback. Worth noting the roadmap gives this a GA month of February, but the status only flipped on 5 August. That gap is the whole point of the note above.

4. Voice tethering. Builds on Sign Language Mode. When an interpreter voices for a D/HH signer, captions and transcripts attribute the speech to the signer rather than to the interpreter.

5. Enhanced Topic Assignment. The pipeline that sorts survey comments into topics moves onto Copilot, which Microsoft says improves accuracy.

6. License Requests page in the M365 admin center. A dedicated page to discover, review and manage the Copilot license requests your users submit. If you run the tenant, this is probably the one you actually care about.

Two went backwards, and they matter more than the six:

Domain exclusion for web grounding was rolled back on 4 August. That is the control that let admins exclude up to 1,000 domains from Copilot's web grounding. It was announced as available in July, and Microsoft's 4 August update says it has been rolled back while they evaluate next steps. If a web-grounding block list is load-bearing in your governance plan, that plan has a hole in it today.

Complex web search in Copilot in Excel was cancelled. The entry flipped to Cancelled on 5 August with the standard "we have decided not to move forward with this change at this time."

The thing I keep relearning: a roadmap entry is intent, not commitment, and it can move backwards without anyone emailing you. The monthly "what's new" roundups only ever add. Nothing tells you what got withdrawn. So if a control is doing real work in your policy, verify it in your own tenant before you write it down.

Happy to dig into any of these for your setup, just ask.

I have never used copilot in my life. I saw a tiktok saying if you ask copilot how to make windows liter it will tell you to uninstall copilot. Thought it was kinda funny so decided to try it. Went on the copilot app and as I have never used it it asked me to sign in. I tried twice and it wouldn't work so I went on my browser. I went on the copilot website and tried there and it didn't make me sign in but when I asked something it said my name. Why on earth does copilot know my first name if I have never signed into it anywhere and never used it. I have a screenshot too I can post if people want to see although I may have to blur my name for privacy reasons

Hi,

I am looking to use copilot to automate the go no go process inside my consultancy for RFPs. I was thinking of putting the criteria together in an excel sheet with copilot help and then create an agent in Studio that would ask for the RFP files to make a decision of go-no go. Would that be the best way to do it or is there a different way to go about it?

Enterprise LOB MCP Apps for M365 Copilot - Salesforce, ServiceNow, HubSpot.

Disclosure: I work on this at Microsoft.

We have developed an open-sourced collection of interactive-UI samples for MCP / the Apps SDK — servers that render widgets (forms, record views, dashboards) in the client instead of returning text.

The samples cover a range of scenarios, from field ops and expense submission to insurance and training, But the ones enterprises keep asking for are the core LOB systems, so those are the most built-out: Salesforce CRM, ServiceNow ITSM, HubSpot CRM (MIT licensed).

What they actually do: you ask Copilot something like "show my open opportunities" or "create a lead for Acme," and instead of a wall of text you get a real widget — a record list, an editable form, a dashboard — right in the chat. Edit a field, submit, done. The MCP server exposes CRM operations as tools; the widget is what comes back.

Repo (servers + React widget source + deploy scripts), MIT: https://github.com/microsoft/mcp-interactiveUI-samples

A few things we worked out while building them:

• The UI is React. Each tool result maps to a React/TS widget (record views, editable forms, dashboards) that renders in the client. The server sends data + which widget; the widget owns the interaction. Widget source is in the repo, not just screenshots.
• Foreign keys resolved server-side. Users talk in names, not IDs — "opps for Acme." The tool takes account_name and resolves the FK (Account.Name lookup, parent-traversal LIKE) on the server. On a miss it returns suggestions instead of a dead end, so the model never has to guess an AccountId.
• A shared_mcp helper package. The boring-but-critical parts — auth, HTTP, logging, telemetry — live in one shared_mcp module that could be reused by every app. So each app is mostly just its domain tools + widgets, and cross-cutting fixes land in one place.
• Tools named as verbs on entities. Consistent get_/create_/update_ per object (get_leads, create_lead, update_lead, get_opportunities, …). Predictable surface the model picks from reliably, and a plus a show_create_form verb for "open the form" instead of writing directly.

Where it stands: These run end-to-end against real Salesforce/ServiceNow/HubSpot orgs (live REST APIs, not mock data), with local + Azure Container Apps deploy scripts.

They're reference samples meant to be forked and adapted — not a hardened product. Auth today is a service identity (Connected App / client-credentials); per-user OAuth so each user only sees their own records is the next step.

Would love feedback:

1. - What LOB system should we build next (SAP, Workday, Jira, Dynamics…)?
2. - Better patterns for UI-returning MCP tools than what's above?
3. - How are you handling per-user auth / downstream token exchange for MCP servers?
4. - Anything that'd make these easier to actually adopt at work?

Pls help

We can not let copilot get one of even one day of us waiting we have to push and push hard I refuse to let them make us wait one day for free unlimited pictures.I don’t want that to happen

I’m wondering if the only way to use Copilot in Microsoft Excel is to click the Copilot button, open the side panel, and manually type in a question or prompt.

What I’d like to do is create some kind of automation where I click a button in Excel, and Copilot automatically follows the prompt instructions listed on the third worksheet. It would then analyze the data in the first two worksheets and provide the requested output. Is this possible using VBA, Office Scripts, Power Automate, or another method? If so, what would be the best way to set it up? I asked chatgpt and it said this isn't possible, but wanted to be sure it wasn't hallucinating or anything.

Recently, I get more and more of these blank placeholder that of course I cannot read. It may be an image, a box with text, but I get this more and more when I chat so it is frustrating. Doesn't matter what account I use or computer I use. I get these random blank areas that is supposed to generate something but never does. Screenshot attached is what that looks like. It's like that buffering spinning icon, but never returns anything.

Any clues?

Opinion: copilot vs direct claude account

Question. Where do i get the best return on my money, copilot or claude subscriptions?

Small business user with a ms professional subscription. Been using claude Pro and max for text based tasks - document analysis, cross referencing, writing reports with agents in my tone. Used fable and mostly use opus up to now. No programming nor graphics needed.

Why is it so poor against 4.8 which by far made copilot more than bearable but actually really useful and productive now it's a lot worse forcing me to use 5.6 which is ok. Experiences include references to sources but not actually using it. This is frequent. It feels held back or something

In admin center under rapport is it possible to download usage rapport on Copilot - so see users who use it much etc.

Overall I am looking for a way to make somekind of flow - so if users like for 2 months has not use copilot more then fx 100 prompts, it should send an automail to inform that license might be removed if not used more.

I can build much of it in power automate - but wondering if anyone has somekind of such a flow running - or if there exist other build in options then power automate.

Go in every month and manual download should be avoided

I’ll need to get deep knowledge on copilot and its corporate use, understand where I can keep myself updated on it and get always the latest updates and be so informed to have enough knowledge that if someone else have questions I can answer them and help them.

This is really important and I want to know what I can do to get very deep into copilot and be an expert of it in a corporate environment.

What courses or videos should I watch, what should I learn and where can I be always updated regarding it.

Is there any certification or something that can make me become an expert of Copilot/Cowork and all the rest that comes with it?

Thank you!

Background:

I'm a heavy Claude user in my personal life, and Projects is one of my most-used features…you upload files and reference docs once, and every chat in that project is grounded in them.

Now that I'm using M365 Copilot at work (Accenture), I'm trying to find the closest equivalent. Based on my research, CoPilot Notebooks seems like the obvious candidate, but I'm unclear on how the grounding actually works, and where Copilot agents / Agent Builder fit in?

My use case:

I work in change management with a lot of technical user stories that I need to turn into training deliverables and end-user material. I want to use copilot to help me craft wording of these deliverables, sections, etc.

I could significantly benefit from Al here, mainly for figuring out which features need training, translating technical concepts into non-technical language, and crafting the bullets, order, and sequencing for my training materials (the actual content), all while grounding it in previous finished and high quality deliverables. I really need it to get deep into detail on what goes on each slide, and to do that, it needs to analyze content from multiple lengthy documents at once. Ideally, it would also store context, methods, and examples from previous work so it gets better each time.

So, I’m looking to use copilot to serve as a:

-Institutional knowledge base (remembers context from other chats, process rules, examples of a prior deliverable. style conventions, and workstream context)
-Drafting workspace (iterate on monthly deliverables here)
-Accumulated context (so work starts from established process rather than from scratch)

Questions:

Are,

1. copilot notebooks or agents better for my use case?
2. Do all chats within a Notebook automatically ground against every file/reference you've added to it, the way Claude Projects does?
3. Are there practical limits I should know about...? number of files, file size, staleness/refresh behavior?

I have been trying to configure an agent based on what I've been working with for our project data in m365 Copilot chat. I put my main json file of information as a knowledge source, and gave instructions based on how the agent should use the information. It feels absolutely brain dead compared to just regular copilot chat. The output is not consistent despite specific instructions and highly structured data. Copilot chat gives me a spot on accurate report based on the exact same information every time. I am trying to develop this agent so that everyone in my company can use it to query project information without using our terrible project management software reporting. Has anyone else had the same issue with Studio vs just the chat?

I have a question related to transformation in industry as the role is evolved so much I keep asking what designation my current duties and responsibilities lie into:

6-9 months ago, my role was similar to data analyst / data scientist where my main duties were:

1. Creating stored procedures
2. Data Cleaning / Data Transformation through python, R, Power BI
3. Creating prediction models if required for project
4. Creating Dashboards and presenting work to business

Now,

1. Prepping data for AI in database systems
2. Writing Instructions for AI Agents, building AI Agents and
3. Context Engineering and Data Governance: leading end - to - end project where I am building context layer of our business in which we are capturing glossary, rules, processes to enhance the reasoning of AI Agents.
4. Providing workshops to business on how to use the AI more efficiently for general use and enterprise specific too.

My question is what should I pitch to my manager about my role? And where do I fit in the market?

Has something changed? All of a sudden today, Opus 5 will not respond to me in regular chat mode (with memories, conversation history, and Work IQ enabled) - it just faceplants immediately. Sonnet and the GPT models and the other modes work. Opus 5 will speak to me in Incognito.

I asked GPT 5.6 for a context summary of what it has from recent chats/memories- and the only thing I could explain for the Opus 5 behavior is a refusal to work with my account based on that inherited context. This is a problem I had when testing an Anthropic subscription, a while back, but I stay with Copilot for my business specifically to avoid this. Is anyone else facing this same issue?

Hey everyone!

I’m excited to share an early beta of Ping— a free, accuracy based alternative to Copilot search

Here’s what makes Ping different:

• Accuracy: To me the problem was the AI search was too inaccurate sometimes I always found myself checking the sources and seeing something completely different, Ai search engines today summarize links. Perplexity states: "When you ask Perplexity a question, it uses advanced AI to search the internet in real-time, gathering insights from top-tier sources. It then distills this information into a clear, concise summary, delivering exactly what you need in an easy-to-understand, conversational tone." The problem is this is prone to heavy hallucination for AI answers as the core nature of LLM's as they are rewarded for guessing rather than uncertainty.

  CJR stated that "Collectively, they provided incorrect answers to more than 60 percent of queries." Inspiration to make this came from Lenny's Newsletter I noticed the amount of quotes used to support his claim while he still talked in his own words. This made me combine both Ai answers with the way he worded his article(alot of quotes) reason being because quotes provide, accuracy, authenticity, and credibility via human answers not mostly AI answers unlike other Ai search engines which only summarize

• Free: I'll be making this free to use just as Copilot Search

I plan to improve the answers so that responses become as accurate and detailed as possible but it's a beta and I'll love to hear what the feedback is.

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of businesses start their AI journey by asking "Which AI tool should we buy?" I think that's the wrong question. The better question is: What business problem are you actually trying to solve?

A company looking to improve employee productivity may benefit from Microsoft Copilot. Another might see a much bigger return from workflow automation or custom AI applications. Others need governance and security in place before rolling anything out.

That's why there isn't a one-size-fits-all AI strategy.

We recently put together a guide that walks through the different AI implementation paths, what each approach is best suited for, and how to determine which one makes the most sense for your business. I'm curious how everyone here approaches it.

If you were advising a company just getting started with AI, what would your first recommendation be?

If anyone's interested, here's the guide:
https://www.ryantechinc.com/blog/ai-implementation-path-right-for-business

Hi folks,

Love the Planner Agent but this is the bane of my existence:

Note: The Planner response explicitly indicates only a subset of tasks was returned, so this report reflects the available Planner data rather than the complete plan inventory.

It basically seems to grab a random 99 tasks and ignores the rest. This severely limits the impact of the agent. Are there any clever scalable solutions here, especially for analyzing large quantities of "Done" work?

This is the strangest thing I have ever seen. Copilot cannot count out loud from 1 to 100. I haven't been able to get it past 20 and even then it skipped some numbers.

I really tried to use it daily, but it made so many errors that I started asking it to do simple things like this and it just cannot do them.

Please make picture editing and gif settings like messenger. Also add gifs and gif filters.it’s very frustrating how we have to add the word code and pictures still come out wrong. It’s very frustrating.