Create a topic

Task 03: Create a topic

Introduction

To address specific customer inquiries and requests at Contoso, you need to create customized conversation topics. In this task, you’ll define a topic tailored to handling customer queries, such as checking order status, enabling the agent to manage real-world customer service scenarios effectively.

Description

In this task, you’ll manually create a new topic within Microsoft Copilot Studio, define trigger phrases, set up Question and Message nodes, and verify the conversational flow.

Success criteria

You’ve successfully created a new conversational topic.
You’ve configured trigger phrases, Questions, and Message nodes correctly.
You’ve verified the topic behavior through agent testing.

Key tasks

01: Disable generative AI orchestration

In this section, you’ll disable generative AI orchestration to force the agent to use content and behavior that you’ll define when you create the topic.

On the command bar for the agent, select Settings.
On the Settings page, in the list of Settings, select Generative AI.
Set Use generative AI orchestration for your agent’s responses? to No and then select Save.
Wait until the change is saved and then select X in the upper-right corner of the Settings page to close the page.

02: Review the topic user interface

Now that you’ve created your first topic, you can explore the authoring user interface (UI) to become more familiar with it.

Topic title - The name of the topic you’re currently editing, visible on the Topics page.
Productivity bar - Provides access to tools, such as cut, copy, paste, and delete for the nodes (Messages, Questions, and so on).
Copilot, Comments, Variables, Topic checker, Details, Analytics, Open code editor, and Reset to default buttons - This area includes: Copilot, which helps you create and update topics using descriptions in natural language; Comments, where authors can collaborate and leave comments on nodes; the Variables menu, to see the list of topic-level and global variables, and their runtime value in the test tab; Topic checker, which you can run anytime from the authoring canvas to check if errors have occurred in your topic that the platform can detect (and if left unresolved would prevent you from publishing the agent); and Details, to access the topic properties.
More - Shows topic usage metrics; Open code editor switches the user interface from a no-code/low-code experience to a pro-code view of the underlying YAML configuration of the topic that developers can edit directly. For some system topics, an option is available to revert the topic content to its original state.
The Save button saves the topic changes.
The Topic details menu allows the agent author to update the topic Name, Display name, Description, and Status (active/inactive). When generative AI orchestration is enabled, the display name is replaced with model display name, and model description becomes available. This menu also allows the configuration of inputs and outputs. The inputs can be automatically slot filled when using generative AI as the orchestrator.
The trigger switcher button is present at the Trigger node of every topic. By default, new topics have the Phrases trigger (or are triggered by Copilot, when generative AI orchestration is enabled), but this can be switched to Message received, Event received, Activity received, Conversation update received, Invoke received, Redirect, and Inactivity.
Add a new node - Allows the agent author to add activities to a topic, such as sending a message, asking a question, and adding a condition, to build the dialog logic.
Authoring canvas controls - You can use these controls to navigate the authoring canvas, which can become large for extensive topics. The included controls are a map of the canvas, zoom, hand, selection, and reset.

03: Create the topic

On the command bar for the agent, select Topics.
On the Topics page, select Add a topic and then select From blank.
At the upper left of the page, select Untitled and then enter Check Order Status. Select Enter to save the name change.
Within the Trigger node, in the User says a phrase section, select Edit.
On the Phrases pane, in the Add phrases field, enter order status and then select +.
Repeat Step 5 for each of the following phrases and then close the Phrases pane.
- track my order
- where is my package
- check order status
- has my order shipped
On the command bar for the agent, select Details.

You can use the Details pane to provide a different Display name (what the end user will see) from the configured topic Name (what the maker sees).

The Details pane is also where you can configure topic input and output variables.
On the command bar for the agent, select Save.

04: Add content to the topic and test the topic

In this section, you’ll add a single Question node, Message node, and configure topic redirection so that you can become familiar with the overall process of creating a topic, testing, and publishing in Microsoft Copilot Studio.

You use the Question node when you’re expecting a response from the user and you want to do something based on that information. The user response is stored in a variable.

Below the Trigger node, select + and then select Ask a question.
In the Question node, in the text field, enter the following text: What would you like to do with your order?
In the Identify section, change the value from Multiple choice options to User’s entire response.
In the Save user response as section, select Var1. This opens the Properties pane for the variable.
In the Variable name field, enter OrderRequest.

It’s best practice to name variables so they can be clearly identified when you reference them in your logic. It also adds clarity when doing tests and checking the variable values at runtime.
At the upper right of the Question node, select the ellipses (…) and then select Properties.
Select Question behavior.
In the Skip behavior section, select Allow question to be skipped.

You can also define whether a user can jump to another topic without answering the question, and you can define the list of topics that are allowed in case of interruption. It’s best practice to define retry prompts in case the user doesn’t understand what’s expected from them the first time. It’s then appropriate to be much more explicit with the user when trying to help them properly answer a question.

You can also use variables within Message nodes in the body of text displayed to the user, which is dynamic based on the data stored within the variables. This capability allows messages to be more personal, such as Hello {System.User.FirstName}, I can get those order details for you, one moment.
Below the Question node, select + and then select Send a message.
In the Message node, in the text field, enter the following text: Thank you for your question!.

At this point, the agent can acknowledge that a user has asked a question. The agent does not take any other action. You’ll add to the agent later in the lab to build out a response.
Below the Message node, select +. Select Go to another topic and then select End of Conversation

The End of Conversation node redirects to a topic dedicated to ending a chat session. This topic asks the user if the question has been answered and suggests that the user completes a customer satisfaction survey.

It’s best practice to end discrete dialog paths with the End of Conversation topic. This allows the user to confirm that their question was addressed. When a user confirms, a customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey is displayed.
Review your work. The topic that you created shouldresemble the following screenshot:
On the command bar for the agent, select Save.
In the Test your agent pane, select the Refresh to start a new conversation.
Enter the following prompt twice to validate that the agent behaves as expected: I'd like to check the status of my order please

04: Use Copilot to create a topic

Creating topics in Microsoft Copilot Studio is more effortless than before. You can create a topic in Microsoft Copilot Studio by using natural language to describe what you want the topic to do.

On the command bar for the agent, select Topics.
Select Add a topic and then select Add from description with Copilot.

Use the following information to complete the Add from description with Copilot dialog and then select Create.

Item	Value
Name your topic	`Support Ticket`
Create a topic to	`Create a support ticket, including a title, severity (high / medium / low), description, and an email address to send update notifications to. Define variables following this naming pattern: Topic.TicketTitle.`

Copilot creates the topic, including trigger phrases, Question nodes, entity selection, variable naming, and Message node confirmation.

On the command bar for the agent, select Copilot to display the Edit with Copilot pane.
On the Edit with Copilot pane, in the What do you want to do? field, enter the following text and then select Update:

Before the last message, ask a question to find out the user's preferred contact method, choosing from email, phone, or SMS.

Copilot adds a Question node which asks the customer for their contact method and stores their choice in a variable.
On the command bar for the agent, select Save.
Leave the Copilot Studio page open. You’ll publish the agent in the next task.