Microsoft Copilot Studio Labs

Using Component Collections in Copilot Studio

⏱️ 30 minutes 📊 Level 300 🏷️ Local
📄 Download PDF

Learn how to create, share, and manage reusable component collections to package topics and knowledge across multiple agents in Copilot Studio.

🧭 Lab Details

Level Persona Duration Purpose
300 Maker 30 minutes After completing this lab, you will be able to create component collections that package topics and knowledge into reusable bundles, share component collections across multiple agents, manage collection ownership with primary agent settings, and understand how component collections integrate with Power Platform solutions.

📚 Table of Contents

🤔 Why This Matters

Makers and Architects - Ever built a great topic or knowledge source in one agent and wished you could easily reuse it in another without duplicating work?

Think of component collections like shared libraries in software development:

  • Without Component Collections: You manually recreate topics and knowledge in every agent that needs them, leading to duplicated effort, inconsistencies, and maintenance headaches when something needs to change
  • With Component Collections: You package topics and knowledge into reusable bundles that can be shared across agents. Edit once, and changes automatically sync everywhere - keeping all your agents consistent and up to date

Common challenges solved by this lab:

  • "I have the same topic in multiple agents and keeping them in sync is painful"
  • "I want to share approved components with other makers without giving them full access to my agent"
  • "I need to control which agents can use a shared component to prevent unauthorized reuse"
  • "I want to package and distribute standard components across my organization"

In 30 minutes, you'll learn how to create, share, and manage component collections - giving you a powerful tool for building scalable, maintainable agent architectures.

🌐 Introduction

As organizations build more agents in Copilot Studio, the need to share and reuse components across agents becomes critical. Component collections solve this by allowing you to package topics, knowledge sources, and other components into reusable bundles that can be installed in multiple agents. When you update a component in one place, the change is reflected everywhere it is used.

Real-world example: A travel company has multiple agents - one for customer support, one for internal sales, and one for partner inquiries. All three need a "Request a travel brochure" topic and access to the same travel website knowledge. Instead of building and maintaining these independently in each agent, the team creates a "Travel Tools" component collection. When the brochure request process changes, they update the topic once, and all three agents automatically get the updated version.

This lab teaches you how to create component collections, share them across agents, and manage ownership and access - essential skills for scaling your Copilot Studio deployments.

🎓 Core Concepts Overview

Concept Why it matters
Component Collections Reusable bundles that package topics, knowledge sources, and other components for sharing across multiple agents
Primary Agent The designated owner of a component collection - when set, only that agent can use the collection, preventing unauthorized reuse
Connected Agents The list of agents that have a component collection installed, allowing you to manage which agents share components
Solution Awareness Component collections are Power Platform solution-aware, enabling ALM practices like packaging multiple collections for deployment across environments
Shared Editing Changes made to a component in any connected agent are automatically reflected in all other agents that use the same collection

📄 Documentation and Additional Training Links

✅ Prerequisites

  • Access to Microsoft Copilot Studio
  • Permissions to create agents and modify settings in your environment

🎯 Summary of Targets

In this lab, you'll create a component collection from an existing agent and learn how to share and manage it across multiple agents. By the end of the lab, you will:

  • Create an agent from a template and build a custom topic using AI-assisted authoring
  • Package topics and knowledge into a reusable component collection
  • Add a component collection to a different agent and verify shared access
  • Edit a shared component and confirm changes sync across agents
  • Manage component collection ownership by setting a primary agent
  • Understand how component collections integrate with Power Platform solutions

🧩 Use Cases Covered

Step Use Case Value added Effort
1 Create an Agent and Build a Component Collection Package topics and knowledge into a reusable component collection 10 min
2 Share Component Collections Across Agents Share and edit components across multiple agents with automatic sync 10 min
3 Manage Component Collections Control access, set primary agents, and explore solution awareness 10 min

🛠️ Instructions by Use Case

🧱 Use Case #1: Create an Agent and Build a Component Collection

Create an agent from a template, build a custom topic, and package it with knowledge into a reusable component collection.

Use case Value added Estimated effort
Create an Agent and Build a Component Collection Package topics and knowledge into a reusable component collection 10 minutes

Summary of tasks

In this section, you'll learn how to create an agent from a template, use AI-assisted authoring to build a custom topic, and then package that topic along with a knowledge source into a component collection.

Scenario: Your travel company needs a reusable set of travel-related tools - including a brochure request topic and travel website knowledge - that can be shared across multiple agents serving different audiences.

Objective

Create an agent, build a custom topic, and package components into a reusable component collection.

Step-by-step instructions

Create the Safe Travels Agent

  1. Go to the Copilot Studio home page at https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com.

  2. Select Agents on the left navigation.

  3. Scroll down to the Start with an agent template section.

A screenshot showing selecting the template as mentioned in the text

  1. Select the Safe Travels template.

  2. Select Create to make the agent.

Create a Sample Topic

  1. Once your agent is provisioned, scroll down to the Topics section on the Overview tab.

  2. Select Add topic.

  3. Enter Request a travel brochure into the Name your topic field.

  4. Enter the following into the Create a topic to… field:

  Let a user request a brochure by providing details by asking them if they want it via mail or email. If they select email collect their email address, but if they say via mail then collect their street address including city, state, and postal code. Always collect their first and last name and telephone number.
  1. Select Create.

A screenshot showing creating the topic as mentioned in the text

  1. Notice that Copilot Studio has created a topic that allows the user to request a brochure, complete with branching logic for mail vs. email delivery.

  2. Select Save to save the topic.

Create a Component Collection

  1. Select Settings in the upper right corner.

  2. In the left navigation, select Component Collections.

  3. Select Create on the Create a component collection screen.

  4. Enter Travel Tools into the Name field

  5. Enter the following into the Description field:

  These are tools that assist with travel related scenarios.
  1. Check the Solution field, if Select a solution is showing do not change anything, if a solution is selected change it to Create a new solution.

[!NOTE] If the Solution field is left blank, Copilot Studio will automatically create a new solution for you. You can also select an existing solution if you want to group multiple component collections together.

  1. Select Next.

A screenshot showing selecting the solution as mentioned in the text

  1. Select your Request a travel brochure topic and the US Travel Website knowledge item, then Select Next.

  2. On the Review contents screen, Select Create.

  3. You will now see that you have created your first component collection called Travel Tools.

  4. Close the Settings menu by selecting the X in the upper right corner.

  5. Select Topics in the top menu.

  6. Notice the icon at the far end of the row where it says Request a travel brochure - this icon indicates that the topic is part of a component collection.

🏅 Congratulations! You've completed Use Case #1!

Test your understanding

Key takeaways:

  • AI-Assisted Topic Creation - Copilot Studio can generate complete topics with branching logic from a natural language description, saving significant development time
  • Component Collections Bundle Components - You can package topics and knowledge sources together into a named, reusable collection
  • Solution Awareness - Component collections automatically create or integrate with Power Platform solutions, enabling proper ALM practices

Lessons learned & troubleshooting tips:

  • Always save your topic before creating a component collection that includes it
  • Use descriptive names and descriptions for component collections so other makers can understand their purpose
  • The component collection icon on topics makes it easy to identify which topics are shared

Challenge: Apply this to your own use case

  • What topics and knowledge in your agents would benefit from being packaged as reusable components?
  • How would you name and organize your component collections for discoverability?

🔄 Use Case #2: Share Component Collections Across Agents

Add a component collection to a new agent and verify that shared edits sync automatically across all connected agents.

Use case Value added Estimated effort
Share Component Collections Across Agents Share and edit components across multiple agents with automatic sync 10 minutes

Summary of tasks

In this section, you will create a new blank agent, install an existing component collection into it, edit a shared topic, and verify that changes sync back to the original agent.

Scenario: Your organization is building a second agent that also needs the travel brochure request capability and travel website knowledge. Instead of rebuilding these from scratch, you'll install the existing Travel Tools component collection.

Objective

Install a component collection in a new agent and verify that shared editing works across connected agents.

Step-by-step instructions

Add the Component Collection to a New Agent

  1. Select Agents on the left navigation menu.

  2. Select the Create blank agent button in the upper right corner.

  3. This will create a blank agent. Wait for it to be provisioned.

  4. Once provisioned, go to Settings in the upper right corner.

  5. Select Component collections in the left navigation.

  6. In the Manage component collections menu, select the Available tab.

  7. Hover over the Travel Tools item in the list, Select the … menu, and select Add to agent. This adds the Travel Tools component collection to your new agent.

A screenshot showing available component collections as mentioned in the text

  1. Go to the Installed tab in the menu. Notice that Travel Tools is now listed as installed in both your new agent and the Safe Travels agent.

  2. Close the Settings menu by selecting the X in the upper right corner.

  3. Notice that you now have the knowledge and topic from Safe Travels available in your new agent as well.

Edit a Shared Component

  1. Open the Request a travel brochure topic.

  2. Add a Message node to the end of the topic by selecting the + at the very bottom and selecting Send a message.

  3. Enter the following text into the message:

     Your request for a brochure has been submitted.

  4. Select Save.

A screenshot showing adding the message node as mentioned in the text

Verify Changes Sync Across Agents

  1. In the Agents menu on the left navigation, go back to the Safe Travels agent.

  2. Go to the Request a travel brochure topic and Select it to open it.

  3. You may need to refresh your browser, but you will see that the edit you made in the other agent is now reflected here as well.

    [!IMPORTANT] This is the key value of component collections - changes made in any connected agent are automatically synced to all other agents that share the same collection. This eliminates the need to manually update components in multiple places.

🏅 Congratulations! You've completed Use Case #2!

Test your understanding

Key takeaways:

  • Install from Available - The Available tab shows component collections in your environment that can be added to your agent
  • Shared Editing - Editing a component in any connected agent updates it everywhere the collection is installed
  • No Duplication - Component collections eliminate the need to recreate topics and knowledge in each agent

Lessons learned & troubleshooting tips:

  • If you don't see changes reflected immediately, try refreshing your browser
  • The Installed tab shows which agents share a component collection, helping you understand the impact of changes
  • Be careful when editing shared components - your changes will affect all connected agents

Challenge: Apply this to your own use case

  • Which of your existing agents share common topics or knowledge that could benefit from component collections?
  • How would you coordinate editing shared components across a team of makers?

🧱 Use Case #3: Manage Component Collections

Explore component collection details, control access by setting a primary agent, and understand solution awareness for ALM practices.

Use case Value added Estimated effort
Manage Component Collections Control access, set primary agents, and explore solution awareness 10 minutes

Summary of tasks

In this section, you'll learn how to view component collection details, add and disconnect agents, set a primary agent to restrict usage to a single agent, and explore how component collections integrate with Power Platform solutions.

Scenario: You need to manage which agents can use your component collections. Some collections should be widely shared, while others should be restricted to a single agent to prevent unauthorized reuse.

Objective

Manage component collection access, set a primary agent, and explore solution integration.

Step-by-step instructions

View Component Collection Details

  1. In the left navigation menu, Select the … button and select Component collections.

  2. In the list, Select on Corporate Services.

  3. Review the details about the Corporate Services component collection, including what is included in it.

A screenshot showing the component collection as mentioned in the text

Add an Agent to a Component Collection

  1. In the Connected agents section in the upper right, select Add agent.

  2. Select the Safe Travels agent and Select Add to connect it to this component collection.

  3. In the Agents navigation menu on the left, select the Safe Travels agent.

  4. Go to Topics on the top menu and then select Request Product Info.

  5. Notice that you can't make any changes as the component collection that installed it is managed.

    [!NOTE] Managed component collections are read-only in the consuming agent. Only the maker who owns the collection can edit its contents. This protects shared components from unintended modifications.

Set a Primary Agent

  1. Select the … in the left navigation menu and select Component collections.

  2. Select Travel Tools.

  3. In the Connected agents section on the upper right side, select the … next to any agents other than the Safe Travels agent and Select Disconnect from agent until only the Safe Travels agent is left in the list.

  4. Once you have only Safe Travels in the list, Select the … next to it and select Set as primary agent.

  5. You will now see that Safe Travels shows as the Primary agent and that Add agent is greyed out. This means the component collection can only be used by this single agent in your environment.

[!TIP] Setting a primary agent is useful when you want to make components created by others available to only one application. It allows you to hand off the development and release of a component without the worry that other agents will use the collection.

Explore Solution Awareness

  1. In the Details section, Select View Solution (Travel Tools Solution).

  2. This will let you inspect the details of the solution in Power Platform, as component collections are solution-aware.

[!NOTE] Multiple component collections can be placed in the same solution. This allows you to package groups of collections for common deployment to an environment. This is commonly done for corporate standards and organizational templates.

🏅 Congratulations! You've completed Use Case #3!

Test your understanding

  • What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged component collection?
  • Why would you set a primary agent on a component collection?
  • How does solution awareness help with deploying component collections across environments?

Challenge: Apply this to your own use case

  • Which of your component collections should be restricted to a single agent?
  • How would you organize component collections into solutions for your organization?
  • What governance process would you establish for managing shared components?

🏆 Summary of learnings

True learning comes from doing, questioning, and reflecting - so let's put your skills to the test.

To maximize the impact of component collections in Copilot Studio:

  • Package for Reuse - Group related topics and knowledge into component collections whenever multiple agents need the same capabilities. This eliminates duplication and ensures consistency.
  • Edit Once, Update Everywhere - Changes to a shared component automatically sync across all connected agents. Use this to your advantage for centralized maintenance.
  • Control Access with Primary Agents - Use the primary agent setting to restrict a component collection to a single agent when you need to prevent unauthorized reuse.
  • Leverage Solution Awareness - Component collections integrate with Power Platform solutions, enabling proper ALM practices for packaging and deploying components across environments.
  • Name and Describe Clearly - Use descriptive names and descriptions so other makers in your organization can easily discover and understand available component collections.

Conclusions and recommendations

Component collections golden rules:

  • Package related topics and knowledge together - don't create one collection per component
  • Always provide a clear description so other makers understand the purpose and contents
  • Be careful when editing shared components - changes affect all connected agents
  • Use primary agent settings for components that should be exclusive to one agent
  • Place related component collections in the same solution for streamlined deployment
  • Establish a governance process for who can create, edit, and manage shared collections

By following these principles, you'll build a scalable, maintainable agent architecture where shared capabilities are easy to create, distribute, and manage across your entire Copilot Studio deployment.

📄 Download Options

📄 Download PDF Version Professional PDF with table of contents and internal navigation. Generated automatically from lab content.

📋 On This Page