What Are Microsoft Copilot Agents?

Microsoft Copilot Agents are AI-powered virtual assistants built on Microsoft’s large language models, designed to help users interact with specific data sources within Microsoft 365. Unlike generic AI assistants, Copilot Agents specialize in your organization’s content and tasks, making answers more relevant and workflows more efficient.

Training Copilot Agents on PDFs and Local SharePoint Sites

Microsoft Copilot Agents within SharePoint can intelligently process and answer questions based on documents stored in your environment. The training is primarily data-driven—agents learn from the content indexed in your SharePoint document libraries and other connected data sources.

Key points about training data sources:

• Supported File Types Include:

  • PDFs (.pdf)

  • Microsoft Office documents (.docx,.pptx,.xlsx)

  • Plain text files (.txt,.rtf)

  • Microsoft 365 formats such as FLUID and LOOP files

  • OpenDocument formats (ODT, ODP)

  • Web files (.aspx,.html)

    
    

• Unsupported for now:

  • SharePoint Lists or metadata-driven data

  • Some media types (images, videos) are planned for future support

Your PDFs stored in SharePoint document libraries become part of the knowledge base the agent draws from. When a Copilot Agent is connected to those document libraries or specific folders within SharePoint, it "ingests" their contents during setup and ongoing operation, allowing natural language queries to reflect the content accurately.

Step-by-Step to Train a Copilot Agent on PDFs and SharePoint Content

1. Identify the Scope and Data Sources

   • Choose which SharePoint sites, document libraries, folders, or specific PDF files the agent should access.

   • You can restrict or expand data sources for fine-tuned relevancy.

2. Create or Customize a Copilot Agent

   • Navigate to the SharePoint site with your Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

   • Open the Copilot panel and create a new agent or customize the default site agent.

   • Define the agent’s identity (name, icon, description).

3. Configure Knowledge Sources

   • Link the agent to entire SharePoint document libraries or select specific folders containing your PDFs and other files.

   • You may also include multiple sites or libraries if desired.

4. Set Behavior and Instruction

   • Add welcome messages and starter prompts.

   • Provide instructions or guidance to tailor agent responses (e.g., formal tone, focused on compliance documents).

   • These instructions help the agent interpret queries in your organizational context.

5. Train and Test the Agent

   • The agent automatically processes indexed documents, including PDFs, extracting text and semantic information.

   • Test the agent by asking questions related to the content of your PDFs and SharePoint files.

   • Refine the agent’s behavior and update content sources as needed.

6. Deploy and Monitor

   • Publish the agent to the desired SharePoint site or embed it into Microsoft Teams.

   • Monitor usage and feedback to improve accuracy and scope.

   
   

Best Practices for Effective Training

• Curate Your PDFs: Ensure PDFs are text-based or OCR-processed for better indexing; scanned images without OCR limit comprehension.

• Organize Document Libraries: Group relevant PDFs and related documents logically to aid focused indexing.

• Use Clear Agent Instructions: Explicitly define the expected response style and content scope in Copilot Studio for consistent answers.

• Regularly Update Content Sources: As SharePoint libraries evolve, update your copilot agent’s knowledge base to keep information current.

• Manage Permissions: Copilot respects SharePoint permissions; ensure users only see data they have access to, safeguarding privacy.

  
  

Conclusion: Unlocking AI-Powered Insights from Your PDFs and SharePoint

Training Microsoft Copilot Agents on your PDFs stored in local SharePoint sites equips your organization with an AI assistant custom-trained on your unique documents. This not only accelerates information access and decision making but also enhances productivity by reducing manual search efforts.

Whether answering FAQs from corporate policy PDFs, summarizing complex reports, or helping users find specific project documents, Copilot Agents bring intelligent, contextual assistance directly into your digital workspace.

Ready to harness Microsoft Copilot Agents for your PDFs and SharePoint sites? Start by identifying your key content areas, curate your data smartly, and leverage Copilot Studio to build AI assistants that put your knowledge base to work.

Case Study:

In reality I've used them to build a knowledge base on an internal application using our internal PDF documents. I've then deployed them through our sharepoint internal site through a webpart as well as through a MS teams chat. You will need a microsoft copilot license to use the agent though. This is the catch, but it is still a powerful tool that could reduce your reliance on human technical support staff.

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