AAIBAST guided workshop
Academy / Utility Billing and Assistance Agent
Workshop settingsOpen field guide

Evidence-grounded customer journey

Utility Billing and Assistance Agent

Build this agent step by step, then show it to a customer. Easy mode lets AI do the clicks; Manual mode shows every step yourself.

About this workshop
Workshop mission: Turn motivated, open-minded, non-technical sales professionals into AI superheroes who can match the practical output and problem-solving pace of technical peers who are not using AI, while staying evidence-grounded, governed, and honest about what the tools proved.
Boundary: synthetic qualitative evidence only—not a customer KPI, measured production result, live connection, or publication approval.

Self-paced local achievements

Workshop achievements

0 total points 0 in this workshop

0 of 0 Easy checkpoints complete

  • No badges yet
View achievements and local profile

Optional public verification

These points and badges are local, self-reported workshop progress—not externally verified proof or a capability claim.

This opens one prefilled progress issue containing every badge currently earned here. Nothing syncs until you submit it. Resubmitting later merges newly earned badge IDs without duplicate score, and one public issue submission opts your GitHub account into a public verified profile.

1

Workshop setup

Open GitHub Copilot Chat

Start in GitHub Copilot Chat. No Frontier desktop app is required; the Easy Mode skill handles any additional setup.

Get ready
  1. Open VS Code with the GitHub Copilot Chat extension installed.
  2. Sign in to GitHub with an account that has Copilot access.
  3. Open the Copilot Chat panel and select Agent mode.
Expected result

GitHub Copilot Chat is open in VS Code, signed in, and set to Agent mode.

What you will learn

  • Use the single Easy Mode skill.
  • Build and prove the portable agent.
  • Deploy the reviewed solution as an unpublished Draft.
  • Confirm the behavior yourself in Copilot Studio Preview.
  • Recognize the evidence that means the module is complete.

Before you begin

  • Use VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat in Agent mode.
  • Sign in to GitHub with Copilot access.
  • Have access to a Copilot Studio environment.
  • The skill handles setup for you.
  • Do not publish. This module ends with a validated Draft.

Easy mode

2

Prepare your Copilot

Brief your Copilot with one line

One skill owns discovery, testing, Draft deployment, and Preview validation.

Do this
  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code and select Agent mode.
  2. Paste this one line and send it. Copilot reads the skill itself; nothing to download.
Send this message
Go and read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/aibast-agents-library/main/skills/aibast-easy-mode/SKILL.md and run the Utility Billing and Assistance workshop for me.
Expected result

Copilot says it has read the skill and is running the workshop. The skill owns the remaining setup and validation.

3

Prove the solution locally

Ask Easy Mode to build and test Utility Billing and Assistance

This step proves the portable business logic before any Copilot Studio work begins. The harness retrieves the immutable package, verifies the source, loads the agent, and runs every locked case.

Send this message
Give me Utility Billing and Assistance using Easy Mode and test it for me.
Expected result

Copilot reports a verified source and 9/9 locked local cases passed.

Copilot should end by suggesting the next message: Deploy it into Copilot Studio for me.

4

Create the reviewed Draft

Deploy the already-tested solution to Copilot Studio

The harness now uses the verified Microsoft Copilot Studio plugin to reuse or create the source-controlled Draft, synchronize the reviewed instructions and assets, validate the PAC project, and leave publication off.

Send this message
Deploy it into Copilot Studio for me.
Expected result
  • Draft: Utility Billing Manual
  • Model: Claude Opus 5
  • Knowledge files: 2
  • Skills: 9
  • Status: Draft; published: false

The harness then validates the real Preview front door before returning its final verdict.

5

Verify the real experience

Confirm the Draft in Copilot Studio Preview

The harness already runs these checks automatically. Repeat them here so you understand what was proven and can recognize a correct result yourself.

  1. Open the validated Draft.
  2. Select Preview.
  3. Choose New chat before each case.
  4. Paste the exact prompt.
  5. Compare the answer with the required and forbidden markers.
Expected result

Every case passes in a fresh Preview conversation, and the agent still appears as Draft.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-01 · Customer Service Representative

Confirm the expected evidence

Explain ACCT-90003 balances without changing the account.
Must include
ACCT-90003$489.20No balance
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-01 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: ACCT-90003; $489.20; No balance. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-02 · Billing Specialist

Confirm the expected evidence

Does ACCT-90003 show a possible leak and what draft adjustment evidence is needed?
Must include
REVIEW POSSIBLE LEAKDraft policy estimatenot a leak diagnosis
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-02 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: REVIEW POSSIBLE LEAK; Draft policy estimate; not a leak diagnosis. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-03 · Revenue Services Supervisor

Confirm the expected evidence

Show ACCT-90003 payment-plan options, but do not set one up.
Must include
12 monthsNo payment arrangement was created
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-03 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: 12 months; No payment arrangement was created. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-04 · Assistance Coordinator

Confirm the expected evidence

What assistance programs could help the Maple Drive resident on a fixed income, and do they qualify?
Must include
POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLENo eligibility determinationenrollment
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-04 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE; enrollment; No eligibility determination. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-05 · Leak Adjustment Analyst

Confirm the expected evidence

Does the Maple Drive household qualify for a leak credit, and how much would it be?
Must include
Municipal Code 18.42$97.80No bill was adjusted
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-05 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: $97.80; Municipal Code 18.42. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-06 · Enrollment Specialist

Confirm the expected evidence

Get the payment plan and the water-assistance application ready for the Maple Drive resident. What paperwork do they need?
Must include
$14.45Proof of income14-day response deadline
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-06 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: $14.45; Proof of income; 14-day response deadline. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-07 · Water Conservation Coordinator

Confirm the expected evidence

Can we help the Maple Drive resident fix the leak at no cost?
Must include
Water Conservation Assistance ProgramToilet flappernot booked
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-07 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: Water Conservation Assistance Program; Toilet flapper; not booked. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-08 · Customer Resolution Manager

Confirm the expected evidence

Pull everything together for the Maple Drive resident so we can send it and close out the account notes.
Must include
Complete Assistance Package (Draft)$447.80nothing was sent
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-08 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: Complete Assistance Package (Draft); $447.80. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-09 · Eligibility Screener

Confirm the expected evidence

Screen a two-person household earning 25000 with a 70-year-old applicant.
Must include
POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLENo eligibility determinationenrollment
Must not claim
No unsupported side effect
UTILITY_BILLING_ASSISTANCE-09 positive visual checkpoint

Visible positive anchors: POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE; enrollment; No eligibility determination. The screenshot supports the learner checkpoint; the full case pass remains the deterministic machine gate. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

6

Recognize completion

Know what “done” looks like

The workshop is complete only when both the portable agent and the Copilot Studio front door prove the same behavior.

Local proof9/9 locked cases passed
Preview proof9/9 locked cases passed
Draft identityUtility Billing Manual
ModelClaude Opus 5
Inventory2 knowledge · 9 skills
Publication gateDraft · published false
Validated agent remains Draft

Positive visual checkpoint. Source: 1424×863 JPEG. Download original.

Final expected verdict

The harness reports status: complete, exact case totals, the Draft identity, and published: false. The module ends here; it does not offer publication.

Troubleshooting

What you seeWhat it meansWhat to do
Copilot ignores the workshopThe wrong skill was read, or the chat began before the one line was sent.Start a new Agent-mode chat and send the one line first.
Local validation is not 9/9The portable source, package, or locked behavior does not match.Stop. Do not deploy. Let the harness report the exact failed case and marker.
No active Copilot Studio environmentPAC has no selected environment.Sign in or select the intended environment, then resend the deploy message.
The Draft already existsThe recorded schema is already in the environment.The harness should clone and reconnect automatically. Treat an attendee choice prompt as a harness defect.
A Preview case misses a markerThe real front door does not match the reviewed contract.Keep the case failed. Inspect instructions and assets; do not retry until it happens to pass.
The agent is PublishedThe workshop crossed its safety boundary.Stop immediately. The module must end at Draft with published: false.
Facilitator evidence and portable download

These links support audit, troubleshooting, and offline delivery. They are not learner steps.