Copilot Studio Agent Academy
Welcome to Copilot Studio Agent Academy.
Agent Academy is a free, open-source training program for anyone who wants to build with Microsoft Copilot Studio or get more done with AI agents like Copilot Cowork.
If you're starting from zero, the curriculum tracks take you from "I've never touched Copilot Studio" to building production-ready agents with MCP integrations, multi-agent orchestration, and real automation.
If you already know the basics and want to go deep on something specific, the standalone labs let you jump straight to what matters, whether that's YAML, MCP servers, or Copilot Cowork use cases.
No fluff. No made-up scenarios. Just real tools, real patterns, and real agents.
What You Can Build with Copilot Studio
Copilot Studio supports several kinds of business solution:
| Start with... | When you need... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| An app (preview) | An interactive interface people can open and use | An equipment-request tracker with forms and status views |
| An agent | An assistant that answers questions, reasons through requests, or takes action | An IT concierge that helps an employee resolve a problem |
| A workflow or agent flow | Defined steps, conditions, and review points | Route an equipment request for approval and update its record |
These pieces can work together. Start with the user experience and business process, then choose the capabilities that fit.
For agents, Copilot Studio offers four harnesses: GitHub Copilot, Copilot chat, Customer Conversation, and standard. A harness is the runtime around the model; it shapes the agent's capabilities and how it carries out work.
The Recruit and Operative courses provide hands-on paths focused on the standard and GitHub Copilot harnesses. That course structure isn't a complete list of everything Copilot Studio can build.
NOTE
App creation and the Customer Conversation agent experience are in preview. Availability, prerequisites, and billing depend on the artifact and harness you choose. See the Copilot Studio overview, apps overview, and harness comparison.
🏅 Rank Progression
The Copilot Studio Agent Academy is a multi-phase training program designed to build your skills across three agent ranks. Each level includes a badge and increasing responsibilities:
| Rank | Level | Status | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Recruit | • | Get started (opens in a new tab) |  |
| 🔵 Operative | •• | Get started (opens in a new tab) |  |
| 🟡 Commander | ••• | Coming Soon |  |
Each level builds on the last. Finish your Recruit mission, and keep going to level up your agent credentials.
🎯 Special Ops
Special Ops are standalone, one-off missions that focus on a specific topic or integration. These don't require completing any rank and can be tackled at any time, in any order. Think of them as side missions to sharpen a particular skill.
View Special Ops🤝 Cowork Collective
The Cowork Collective is a set of hands-on labs focused on Copilot Cowork inside M365 Copilot. It provides a new way to delegate work to Copilot so it can take action on your behalf across your Microsoft 365 environment. These missions are independent from the rank progression and can be completed at any time.
View Cowork Collective⚠️ Before You Begin
Progressive Difficulty
This training is designed to increase in difficulty as you progress. Each rank and each module within a rank builds on the last, introducing more advanced concepts and requiring deeper platform knowledge. It is completely normal if you are unable to complete every module. Go as far as your skills and environment allow, and come back when you're ready to tackle the next challenge.
Environment & Licensing
We do not provide environments for this training. You are responsible for securing your own Microsoft 365, Power Platform and Copilot Studio environment.
We provide instructions for obtaining free trials (e.g., Microsoft 365 business tenant, Copilot Studio trial, Power Apps developer plan), but be aware:
- Trials have time limits and will eventually expire.
- After the trial period, a paid license is required to continue.
You are also welcome to use an existing work or organizational account, but your ability to complete certain modules depends on the features and permissions available in your environment.
For example:
- You need the ability to upload and import solutions into your environment.
- You need access to Microsoft Dataverse.
- For the MCP module, you need to be able to join the Frontier program.
- Some modules require administrative permissions to create agents and configure settings.
If a module requires a capability you don't have access to, you can skip it and move on, but keep in mind that many modules build on previous ones. Skipping a module may mean you're missing a dependency (like a solution, agent, or data) that later modules expect to be in place. You may be able to work around this, but in some cases it could block your progress on subsequent modules.
🎒 Other Courses
Looking to go deeper or explore related topics? Here are some recommended next steps:
- Want to learn about other ways to build agents for Microsoft 365? Check out Copilot Developer Camp, which covers building declarative agents, custom engine agents, and other extensibility patterns for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- Want to dive deeper into the Model Context Protocol (MCP)? Explore Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Beginners for a comprehensive introduction.
- Interested in the foundations of AI agents? AI Agents for Beginners covers core concepts like agent design patterns, multi-agent systems, and agentic RAG from a broader, platform-agnostic perspective.
🚑 Issues
We really appreciate your feedback! Please use the issues list to share your comments and issues. Thanks!
📜 Code of Conduct
This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct.
Resources:
- Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct
- Microsoft Code of Conduct FAQ
- Contact opencode@microsoft.com with questions or concerns
⭐️ Star our repo
If you find this training useful, star our repository on GitHub!
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