Domain 1 of 3 · Chapter 3 of 4

Chat, Agents, and App Experiences

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Included in this chapter:

  • Chat vs an agent: open-ended vs scoped
  • When to build your own agent
  • What Copilot does in each Microsoft 365 app
  • Exam patterns: matching the experience to the job

Copilot Chat vs an agent vs in-app Copilot

DimensionCopilot ChatAgent (Agent Builder)In-app Copilot
What it isGeneral open-ended assistantScoped, purpose-built assistantCopilot inside a specific app
Best forOne-off, varied questionsA repeatable, role/task scenarioActing on the file you have open
Knowledge sourceContext you give it, work data or webA fixed source you configure (e.g. a SharePoint site)The current document, mailbox, or meeting
SetupNone, prompt from scratch each timeConfigured once with instructions plus knowledgeBuilt in, no setup
Reuse / sharingPersonal session, not shareable as a unitShareable so a team reuses the same assistantPer user, per app
Typical example"Summarize this paste and list risks"Project FAQ bot grounded on the project site"Rewrite this paragraph" in Word

Decision tree

Working inside a fileyou have open?YesIn-app CopilotWord, Excel, Outlook, TeamsNoSame question asked againand again by a team, fromone knowledge source?No: one-offCopilot Chatopen-ended, prompt each timeYesSmall team, simple Q&A?vs dept / multi-step workflowYesBuild in Agent Builderin the Copilot app, then shareNoCopilot Studiobroad audience, advanced
Cheat sheet

Cheat sheet

  • Copilot Chat is the open-ended assistant; an agent is scoped
  • Build your own agent when a Chat prompt would be repeated by a team
  • Don't build an agent for a one-off question
  • Copilot in Word drafts, rewrites, and summarizes documents
  • Copilot in Excel analyzes data, writes formulas, and surfaces insights
  • Copilot in PowerPoint builds a deck from a prompt or a file
  • Copilot in Outlook summarizes threads, drafts replies, and coaches tone
  • Copilot in Teams recaps meetings and answers questions about them
  • Match the Copilot task to the app that owns the content
  • In-app Copilot acts on the open file; Chat and agents are separate experiences
  • Type / in Draft with Copilot to ground a draft in your own files
  • Prioritize my inbox ranks incoming mail by who and what is in it
  • Change a generated draft's tone from the dropdown, then regenerate
  • An agent is custom instructions plus curated knowledge plus actions
  • Agents use actions and connectors to reach external systems; chat cannot
  • Check the Agent Store for a prebuilt agent before building from scratch
  • Use Agent Builder and templates to create simple agents quickly without code
  • Copilot Studio agents keep session context across turns and long-running steps

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References

  1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/overview
  2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/extensibility/agents-overview
  3. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/extensibility/copilot-studio-experience
  4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/
  5. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/welcome-to-copilot-in-word-2135e85f-a467-463b-b2f0-c51a46d625d1
  6. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-started-with-copilot-in-excel-d7110502-0334-4b4f-a175-a73abdfc118a
  7. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-new-presentation-with-copilot-in-powerpoint-3222ee03-f5a4-4d27-8642-9c387ab4854d
  8. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/frequently-asked-questions-about-copilot-in-powerpoint-3e229188-9086-4f4c-9f9f-824cd25ae84f
  9. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/summarize-an-email-thread-with-copilot-in-outlook-a79873f2-396b-46dc-b852-7fe5947ab640
  10. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/draft-an-email-message-with-copilot-in-outlook-3eb1d053-89b8-491c-8a6e-746015238d9b
  11. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-email-coaching-with-copilot-in-outlook-91a3cd56-1586-4a31-85c7-2eb8cdb02405
  12. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-started-with-copilot-in-microsoft-teams-meetings-0bf9dd3c-96f7-44e2-8bb8-790bedf066b1