A First Look at Creating Autonomous AI Agents With Microsoft's Copilot Studio

A First Look at Creating Autonomous AI Agents With Microsoft's Copilot Studio

Microsoft announced today that businesses will be able to create custom AI agents through its Copilot Studio starting November 2024. The company is also introducing ten new pre-built agents for its Dynamics 365 platform, designed to automate specific business tasks across sales, customer service, finance, and supply chain operations.

What exactly are agents? Microsoft wants us to think of them as the "new apps for an AI-powered world." AI Agents that can operate independently within defined parameters. At it's AI World Tour event in London today, the company announced ten pre-built agents coming to Dynamics 365. These agents are designed to support functions in sales, customer service, finance, and supply chain.

A sales qualification agent, for instance, doesn't just sort leads - it researches prospects, drafts personalized emails, and prioritizes opportunities without human intervention. Meanwhile, a supplier communications agent actively monitors supply chains, detecting and responding to potential disruptions before they become critical problems.

Microsoft first announced agents built with Copilot Studo back in May, and launched a private preview last month where they worked with select companies to refine the product. Pets at Home, a UK retailer, developed an agent to analyze potential profit losses, which they project will save millions annually. McKinsey & Company reports that its client onboarding agent reduced process time by 90% and cut administrative work by 30%.

These examples suggest the potential of agents not just to reduce costs but also to fundamentally reshape how work gets done—enabling employees to spend more time on tasks that require human insight and creativity.

Microsoft's strategy extends beyond simple automation. The company envisions organizations running on what it calls "AI-first business processes," where every department has multiple agents handling routine tasks while employees focus on strategic work. This marks a shift from AI as a tool to AI as a foundational element of business operations.

"We're using AI to handle time-consuming work so our colleagues can make decisions based on data," says William Hewish, CIO at Pets at Home. "The agents allow our profit protection team to focus more on skilled analysis rather than gathering information."

Agents built in Copilot Studio use data across Microsoft 365 Graph, Dataverse, and other company records to deliver tailored solutions. The AI behind these agents is designed to be secure and robust, adhering to Microsoft’s responsible AI principles. Microsoft says agents operate with stringent data loss prevention, and robust authentication protocols. IT administrators can set governance policies and monitor agent activities through a comprehensive management system.

The implications for workplace evolution are significant. Microsoft reports that 60% of Fortune 500 companies already use Microsoft 365 Copilot, with remarkable results. Lumen Technologies projects $50 million in annual savings, while Honeywell equates its AI productivity gains to adding 187 full-time employees. These numbers suggest autonomous agents could drive even more dramatic improvements.

Microsoft is expected to share more at its Ignite conference on November 19th. The new agents will become available through 2024 and early 2025. Organizations can either use Microsoft's pre-built agents or create custom ones for specific business processes through Copilot Studio.

Chris McKay is the founder and chief editor of Maginative. His thought leadership in AI literacy and strategic AI adoption has been recognized by top academic institutions, media, and global brands.

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