Introduction to Copilot Studio for Government Agencies

Overview

Microsoft Copilot Studio is a powerful low-code platform that enables government agencies to create custom AI agents and copilots tailored to their specific mission needs. This video provides a comprehensive introduction to Copilot Studio’s capabilities, architecture, and practical applications in federal environments.

Whether you’re an IT professional exploring custom AI solutions or a program manager evaluating Copilot Studio for your agency, this guide will help you understand what’s possible and how to get started.

What You’ll Learn

• Platform Overview: Copilot Studio architecture and core capabilities
• Custom Copilots: Building standalone conversational AI agents for specific tasks
• M365 Extensions: Extending M365 Copilot with custom plugins and actions
• Government Use Cases: Practical examples from federal implementations
• Development Process: From design to deployment using low-code tools

Transcript

[00:00 - Introduction]

Welcome everyone. I’m Michael Chen, and today we’re diving into Microsoft Copilot Studio—Microsoft’s low-code platform for building custom AI agents and extending M365 Copilot with organization-specific capabilities.

[00:45 - What is Copilot Studio?]

Copilot Studio is part of the Power Platform family. It provides visual, low-code tools for creating conversational AI experiences without extensive programming knowledge. Think of it as a bridge between M365 Copilot’s general productivity features and your agency’s unique mission requirements.

Copilot Studio is available in GCC and GCC High environments with the same security and compliance guarantees you expect from Microsoft Government Cloud.

[02:00 - Two Main Use Cases]

Copilot Studio serves two primary use cases:

First: Building custom standalone copilots—independent AI agents focused on specific tasks like HR assistance, IT helpdesk, or constituent services. These copilots can be embedded in websites, mobile apps, or Microsoft Teams.

Second: Extending M365 Copilot with custom plugins—adding agency-specific data sources, workflows, and actions that users can access directly within Word, Teams, or other M365 applications.

[04:00 - Custom Copilot Example]

Let’s look at a concrete example. Imagine your agency wants an IT helpdesk copilot that employees can chat with to reset passwords, request software, or troubleshoot common issues.

Using Copilot Studio, you would:

One: Define the copilot’s topics—the questions and scenarios it can handle. Two: Connect to your backend systems—Active Directory, service ticketing systems, knowledge bases. Three: Design conversational flows using a visual canvas. Four: Test the copilot with real scenarios. Five: Deploy it to Microsoft Teams or your agency portal.

No extensive coding required—just configuration and logic design.

[06:30 - Extending M365 Copilot with Plugins]

The second major use case is extending M365 Copilot. Let’s say your agency uses a custom grants management system. Out of the box, M365 Copilot doesn’t know how to access that system.

With Copilot Studio, you can build a plugin that teaches M365 Copilot how to query your grants database. Once deployed, users can ask M365 Copilot questions like “What grants are expiring in the next 30 days?” and Copilot will use your custom plugin to retrieve and present that information.

This is powerful because it brings agency-specific intelligence into the tools users already work in daily.

[08:45 - Data Connectors and Integration]

Copilot Studio includes hundreds of prebuilt connectors to common systems—SharePoint, Dataverse, SQL databases, REST APIs, and more. For government-specific systems, you can create custom connectors using OpenAPI specifications.

All data access respects existing authentication and authorization. If a user doesn’t have permission to access certain data, the copilot won’t retrieve it—just like M365 Copilot respects permissions.

[11:00 - Government-Specific Use Cases]

Federal agencies are using Copilot Studio for:

Citizen service chatbots answering common questions about benefits, permits, or services. Internal HR assistants handling PTO requests, benefits questions, and policy lookups. Compliance assistants helping employees navigate complex regulatory requirements. Training copilots providing interactive learning experiences for new employees. FOIA processing assistants routing and triaging Freedom of Information Act requests.

The key is identifying repetitive, conversational tasks that can be automated while maintaining human oversight.

[13:00 - Security and Governance]

Copilot Studio inherits security controls from the Power Platform. In GCC and GCC High, this means:

Data residency in US-based datacenters with screened personnel. FedRAMP authorization at the appropriate impact level. DLP policies preventing sensitive data from being shared inappropriately. Audit logging tracking all copilot interactions. Environment controls segregating development, testing, and production.

[14:30 - Getting Started]

To begin with Copilot Studio:

One: Verify your licensing—Copilot Studio requires Power Apps or specific Copilot Studio licenses. Two: Identify a high-value, well-defined use case for your pilot. Three: Assemble a small team with subject matter expertise and basic technical skills. Four: Start with a simple copilot—a single topic with limited integration. Five: Test thoroughly, gather feedback, and iterate before scaling.

[15:30 - Conclusion]

Copilot Studio democratizes AI development, enabling federal agencies to build mission-specific AI solutions without large development teams or extensive budgets. Whether you’re building standalone copilots or extending M365 Copilot, the platform provides the tools to make AI work for your unique needs.

Check out our Copilot Studio Quickstart guide linked below to start your first project.