Workflows

Build an autonomous agent using Workflows — the next generation of autonomous agents in Copilot Studio — with an event-driven trigger and a non-deterministic inline agent that books calendar time and updates a to-do.

Level 300 60 min Advanced Report an issue

Workflows

Build an autonomous agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio using Workflows — an agent that runs on a trigger instead of waiting for a chat, and hands real work to a non-deterministic inline agent.

Lab Details

Level	Persona	Duration	Purpose
300	Maker	60 minutes	After completing this lab, participants will be able to create a Workflow in Copilot Studio, fire it from an event-driven trigger, and embed a non-deterministic inline agent that reasons over the trigger’s data and acts through tools (Outlook calendar, Microsoft To Do, and web search) — going beyond the classic, deterministic autonomous-agent model.

Why This Matters
Introduction
Core Concepts Overview
Documentation and Additional Training Links
Prerequisites
Summary of Targets
Use Cases Covered
Instructions by Use Case
Summary of Learnings
Conclusions & Recommendations

Why This Matters

Makers and Developers — want your agents to do work on their own, in the background, the moment something happens — instead of only answering when a user types a message?

Think of Workflows as the autonomous side of Copilot Studio:

Classic agents are conversational — they wait for a user turn, then respond.
Workflows are event-driven — they start from a trigger (a schedule, or a change in an external system) and run to completion with no one watching.
The new agent node lets a Workflow hand a step to a reasoning agent rather than a fixed, deterministic action — so the automation can decide how to accomplish a goal, not just replay hard-coded steps.

Common challenges solved by this lab:

“I want automation that kicks off when a record changes, not when someone opens a chat.”
“My flows are rigid — I need a step that can reason about messy, real-world inputs and choose what to do.”
“I want an agent that can read my calendar, book time, and update a task — on its own.”

In 60 minutes, you’ll build an autonomous Workflow whose inline agent schedules focus time on your calendar and enriches a to-do — triggered automatically by simply creating a task.

Introduction

Workflows are the next generation of autonomous agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio. Where a classic agent waits to be asked, a Workflow listens for a trigger and then executes — making it ideal for “when X happens, do Y” automation across Microsoft 365 and hundreds of connectors. What makes the new experience powerful is the agent node: a Workflow can now delegate a step to an inline, non-deterministic agent that reasons over the trigger’s data and calls tools to get work done, rather than following a fixed script.

Real-world example: You keep a running list of things you need to do, but you never actually block time to do them. In this lab you’ll build a Workflow that watches a Microsoft To Do list. The moment you add a task, the Workflow’s inline agent reads the task, checks your Outlook calendar for an appropriate slot within your working hours, books a focus block, and then updates the to-do with a due date, a reminder, helpful notes, and a category — all autonomously. You add one task; the agent does the planning.

This lab is Use Case #1 of a deeper Workflows module. It establishes the foundation — trigger plus inline agent plus tools — that later use cases build on.

Core Concepts Overview

Concept	Why it matters
Workflow	The autonomous unit in Copilot Studio. It runs on a trigger instead of a chat turn, so work happens in the background without a user present.
Trigger	What starts a Workflow. Triggers can be manual, scheduled (recurrence), or connector-based (an event in an external service, like a new Microsoft To Do task).
Inline agent (agent node)	A non-deterministic agent embedded directly in a Workflow step. Instead of a fixed action, it reasons over the input and decides how to achieve the goal.
Dynamic content / `/` token	A reference to data produced earlier in the Workflow (e.g., the trigger’s to-do Title), inserted into the agent’s instructions so it acts on the actual item at run time.
Tools	The capabilities you grant the agent so it can take action — here the Work IQ Calendar MCP (Outlook calendar), the Update to-do action, and Web search.

Documentation and Additional Training Links

Prerequisites

Access to Microsoft Copilot Studio with appropriate licensing, in an environment where Workflows are enabled.
A work or school Microsoft 365 account with Outlook (calendar) and Microsoft To Do provisioned — the agent reads and writes this account’s calendar and tasks.
Permission to create connections for Microsoft To-Do (Business) and the Work IQ Calendar tool.
Basic familiarity with the Copilot Studio interface.

[!IMPORTANT] Use the same work account for Copilot Studio, Microsoft To Do, and Outlook throughout this lab. The trigger, the agent, and the tools all act on one identity — if they don’t match, the Workflow can’t see your list or write to your calendar.

Summary of Targets

In this lab, you’ll build an autonomous Workflow that turns a new to-do into scheduled focus time. By the end, you will be able to:

Create a Workflow and configure a connector trigger that fires on a new Microsoft To Do item.
Embed a non-deterministic inline agent in a Workflow and give it goal-oriented instructions.
Reference the trigger’s data inside the agent’s instructions using the / dynamic-content token.
Equip the agent with tools (Work IQ Calendar, Update to-do) and web search.
Publish the Workflow and trigger it end-to-end, then monitor the run and verify the agent’s calendar and to-do changes.

Use Cases Covered

Step	Use Case	Value added	Effort
1	Automate Task Time-Blocking with a Workflow and an Inline Agent	Build an autonomous, trigger-driven Workflow whose inline agent reasons over a task and acts across your calendar and to-do list	45 min

Instructions by Use Case

Use Case #1: Automate Task Time-Blocking with a Workflow and an Inline Agent

Build a Workflow that watches a Microsoft To Do list and, whenever a task is added, lets an inline agent autonomously block focus time on your calendar and enrich the task.

Summary of tasks

In this section, you’ll create a To Do list to watch, build a Workflow with a To Do trigger, add a non-deterministic inline agent with goal-oriented instructions and tools, publish it, and then trigger it with a real task and verify the results.

Scenario: You capture work in Microsoft To Do but never actually reserve time to do it. You want an assistant that, the moment you jot down a task, finds an appropriate slot in your workday, books a calendar block, and updates the task with a due date, reminder, notes, and category — without you lifting a finger beyond adding the task.

Objective

Create and publish the To Do Time Block Workflow: a To Do trigger feeds a new task to an inline agent that schedules a calendar block within your working hours and updates the to-do — then run it end-to-end and confirm the calendar event and the enriched task.

Step-by-step instructions

Create the To-Do list that drives the workflow

In Microsoft To Do (to-do.office.com), select New list in the left sidebar, name it Time Block, and press Enter to create it. This is the list the workflow will watch — adding a task here is what triggers the automation.

[!TIP] Sign in to To Do with the same account you use for Copilot Studio. The workflow’s trigger connects to your To Do, so the list and the workflow must live under one identity.

Create the workflow and configure its trigger

In Copilot Studio, make sure you’re in the right environment, then on the Home page select Workflow (Automate business processes with agents and actions). Rename the workflow from Untitled Workflow to To Do Time Block by selecting the title at the top of the designer.

[!TIP] Workflows are the autonomous side of Copilot Studio — they run on a trigger instead of waiting for a user to chat. You’ll find them in the left navigation next to Agents.
Select the Start trigger node. In the configuration panel, change Trigger type from Manual to Connector, then choose Select trigger… and search for To Do. Under Microsoft To-Do (Business), choose When a new to-do in a specific folder is created. This makes the workflow fire automatically whenever a task lands in the list you specify.

[!IMPORTANT] Pick the (Business) connector, not (Consumer) — the lab uses your work/school To Do account, which is where Copilot Studio and the calendar tools also run.
When prompted, select Create new connection and, in the account picker, sign in with the same work account you’re using for this lab. Once the connection shows your account, set To-do List to Time Block from the dropdown.

[!WARNING] In the connection account picker, double-check you pick your lab account — not a personal or other work account. The workflow will read and write that account’s To Do and calendar.

Add and configure the inline agent

Select the + after the trigger and choose Agent to add an agent node. (Copilot Studio automatically wraps it in an Apply to each loop so the agent runs once per new to-do.) When prompted, Create new connection with your lab account. Leave the Agent dropdown on New agent for this workflow — this creates a brand-new, non-deterministic agent dedicated to this workflow rather than reusing an existing one.

[!TIP] This is the heart of the lab: instead of hard-coded actions, the workflow hands the task to an agent that reasons about how to schedule it. The default model is Claude Sonnet 4.6.
In the Instructions box, give the agent its goal. Enter it in three parts so the agent receives the actual to-do title at run time:
1. Type the first line of text:
```
Find a time that is appropriate for this task 
```
2. Type / to open the dynamic-content picker, then select Title (under When a new to-do in a specific folder is created). This inserts the to-do’s title as a token.
3. Continue typing the rest of the instruction right after the token:
```
on my calendar in the next couple of business days and block that time on my calendar to work on this task. Then update the to-do with a due date a week out from the time block we created. Add appropriate notes and suggestions in the notes on key things I might want to consider and categorize it as blue. Also set a reminder 2 days before the due date. Make sure that the format of the Calendar notes and To-Do are formatted properly for the user to be able to read them well. Only schedule the time block within my normal working hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
```
[!IMPORTANT] The /Title token is what makes this dynamic — the agent receives each new task’s real title, so its scheduling decision is grounded in the actual to-do rather than a fixed string. The final sentence constrains when the agent books focus time; without it, the agent may pick the first technically-free slot (even very early morning).
Give the agent the tools it needs to act. In the agent panel:
- Under Tools, select + (Add tool), search for Work IQ Calendar, choose Work IQ Calendar (Preview) — the MCP server for Outlook calendar operations — and Create new connection with your lab account, then Add.
- Add a second tool: + → search Update to-do → under Microsoft To-Do (Business) choose Update to-do → Add (it reuses your To Do connection).
- Turn on the Web search toggle so the agent can look things up (e.g., venue or location details referenced in a task).
[!TIP] The Work IQ Calendar tool lets the agent read your free/busy and create calendar events; Update to-do lets it write the due date, notes, category, and reminder back onto the task.

Publish, then trigger the workflow

Select Save, then Publish.

[!WARNING] Publishing is required. A workflow only listens for its trigger once it has been published — so it will not run from a new to-do until you publish it. If you add the to-do before publishing, nothing happens. After publishing, the Activity and Monitor tabs become available.
Open Microsoft To Do, go to the Time Block list, and add a new task: Book Skull’s Rainbow Room in Nashville for Next Friday. Creating this task in the watched list is what fires the workflow’s trigger.

[!TIP] Use a task whose title implies a real-world commitment with a time and place — it gives the agent something concrete to reason about (find a slot, block the calendar, look up the venue).

Watch the workflow run

Back in the workflow, open the Activity tab and select Refresh to look for the run. When the new run appears (status Running), select it to open the run details and watch the workflow execute node-by-node (trigger → Apply to each → Agent).

[!IMPORTANT] Be patient — the To Do trigger polls on a schedule, so the run can take a few minutes to appear. Press Refresh in the Activity list a few times until it shows up.
In the run details, select the Agent node to expand its details. You’ll see the agent’s own narration of what it did — checking your free/busy, choosing a time block inside your working hours, creating the calendar event, finding the to-do, and updating it. This is the non-deterministic part: the agent decided the specifics, they aren’t hard-coded in the workflow.

[!TIP] The Agent’s Outputs / Response is a great teaching moment — it shows the model reasoning step-by-step and calling the Work IQ Calendar and Update to-do tools on its own.

Verify the results

Go back to Microsoft To Do and refresh the Time Block list. Open your task — it has been updated by the agent: a due date (a week out), a reminder set 2 days before the due date, a blue category, and richly formatted notes (target date, the scheduled work block, and an action checklist).

[!TIP] Switch the list to List view and open the task to see the full notes the agent wrote — it even researched the venue with web search.
Open Outlook → Calendar. The agent has added a time block event to reserve time to work on the task — on the next business day it found free and within your 8:00 AM–5:00 PM working hours — with a body summarizing the target date and venue. The workflow ran end-to-end with no further input from you.

Congratulations! You’ve built an autonomous Workflow with a reasoning inline agent.

Use Case #2: Setting Up the Order Management Workflow

Configure and publish a pre-built Order Management Workflow that classifies incoming emails and routes them through different processing paths — then verify the setup end-to-end by testing the “Other” classification path.

Summary of tasks

In this section, you’ll configure connection references in the Power Apps solution, transfer workflow ownership, open the workflow to verify canvas-level connections, explore the email classification categories, publish, and verify everything works by sending a test email that triggers the “Other” classification path.

Scenario: Your environment contains a pre-built Order Management Workflow that automatically classifies incoming emails with “Order Management” in the subject. It routes emails into one of four categories — Quote Request, Supplier Delay, Customer Inquiry, or Other — and takes different automated actions for each. Before the workflow can run, you need to configure all its connections and link them in the solution.

Objective

Complete the setup of the Order Management Workflow: configure all solution connection references, transfer ownership, verify canvas-level connections, explore the classification categories, publish, and validate end-to-end by sending a test email through the “Other” path.

[!IMPORTANT] This use case is the foundation for all subsequent use cases in this module. The connections, ownership, and publishing you complete here are required for the Customer Inquiry, Quote Request, and Supplier Delay paths covered later. Take extra care during setup — if a connection reference is missed or ownership isn’t transferred correctly, later use cases will fail silently or with hard-to-diagnose errors.

Step-by-step instructions

Take ownership and configure the solution

[!IMPORTANT] Complete the solution-level setup first. The steps below transfer ownership and configure connection references — both of which must be done before the workflow can be published or tested. Skipping or rushing through these steps is the most common cause of “publish failed” errors later. Read each note carefully.

Open Power Apps (make.powerapps.com), ensure you are in the correct environment, navigate to Solutions, and open the LAB: Order Management solution. This solution bundles the Order Management Workflow along with its connection references, agents, and related components.
The workflow was originally created by a different user, so you need to take ownership before making any changes. From the solution’s Objects view, navigate to the workflow’s underlying Dataverse record (the Process entity record for “Order Management Workflow”). In the command bar, select Assign, choose Assign to: Me, and confirm.

[!IMPORTANT] Ownership transfer ensures you have full control over the workflow — including the ability to publish, enable/disable, and monitor runs. Without ownership, the Publish button will appear blocked or produce cryptic errors. Always transfer ownership before configuring connections — it avoids permission issues during the remaining setup steps.
Back in the solution, select Connection References from the left sidebar (or filter the Objects view to show only Connection References). You should see multiple connection references — at minimum: When a new email arrives (Office 365 Outlook), Dataverse, M365 Copilot, and Human review (Advanced Approvals).
For each connection reference, you need to link it to a live connection under your account. Perform the following for every row:
1. Hover over the row to reveal the Commands (⋮) button, then select it.
2. Choose Edit from the context menu.
3. In the Edit panel, open the Connection dropdown. If a connection for your account already exists, select it. If not, select New connection at the top of the dropdown to create one — sign in with your lab account, then return and select the newly created connection (use the Refresh button if it doesn’t appear immediately).
4. Select Save, then confirm by clicking Save changes in the confirmation dialog.
Repeat this for all four connection references: When a new email arrives, Dataverse, M365 Copilot, and Human review.

[!WARNING] Do not skip any connection reference. Even one unlinked reference will block publishing with the error: “A connector was imported, however the related connection references need connections created and then any dependent flows can be started.” The confirmation dialog warning that changes impact dependent apps and flows is expected — confirm it each time.

[!NOTE] Always sign in with your lab account when creating connections — not a personal or different work account. All connections in this workflow must use the same identity, or the workflow will fail at runtime with permissions errors.

Open and explore the Order Management Workflow

In Copilot Studio, select Workflows from the left navigation. Locate and open the Order Management Workflow to view it in the canvas designer. Since you already own the workflow and have configured the solution connections, the canvas should load without ownership warnings.

[!NOTE] The workflow has been pre-built for your lab environment. You’ll see a trigger node (“When a new email arrives”), a Classify node, and several branch paths — one for each email category.

Verify the trigger connection and subject filter

Select the trigger node (“When a new email arrives”). The connection should already be established from the solution-level setup (step 4). If the connection status still shows as missing, select Create new connection to set up an Office 365 Outlook connection and sign in with your lab account.
With the trigger connected, observe the Subject Filter expression: @{string('Order Management')}. This means the workflow only fires for emails whose subject contains “Order Management” — all other emails are ignored.

[!IMPORTANT] Keep this filter in mind when testing: every test email you send must include “Order Management” in the subject line, or the workflow will not trigger. This is a common source of confusion when tests “don’t seem to work.”

Verify the Classify node connection and explore categories

Select the Classify node further down the workflow. The Dataverse connection should already be established from the solution-level setup. If it still shows as missing, select Create new connection to set up a Microsoft Dataverse connection and sign in with your lab account.
With the connection established, review the four classification categories configured in the Classify node. Each category has a name and example text that the AI model uses to determine where an incoming email should be routed:
- Quote Request — emails requesting pricing or quotes for products/services
- Supplier Delay — notifications about delays from suppliers
- Customer Inquiry — general questions from customers about orders, shipping, etc.
- Other — anything that doesn’t fit the above categories (spam, promotions, irrelevant)
[!TIP] Improving classification accuracy: You can add multiple examples to each category to handle different phrasings and edge cases. For instance, a “Quote Request” might come as “Can you send me pricing for 500 units?” or “We’d like a formal quotation for the attached spec.” Adding diverse examples helps the model generalize better. A good testing exercise is to try common cases and edge cases using the Test tab in the Classify node, observe how categories get assigned, and refine the category descriptions accordingly.

Test the classification

Select the Test tab in the Classify node to verify the classification works. Enter a sample email body — for example: “Hi, I would like to request a quote for 500 units of Product A.” — and observe the predicted category. It should classify as Quote Request.

[!TIP] Use the Test tab to experiment with different email texts before publishing. Try edge cases like a supplier email that also mentions pricing, or a customer complaint — these help you understand how the model assigns categories and whether you need to refine the category descriptions or add more examples.

Publish the workflow

Return to Copilot Studio → Workflows. In the Workflows list, locate Order Management Workflow and select the Publish button (the icon next to the workflow name). The status should change from Draft to Published.

[!IMPORTANT] If publishing fails, double-check that all four connection references are linked (step 4) and that you have ownership of the workflow (step 2). These are the two most common blockers. You can verify connection references by returning to the Power Apps solution and confirming each one shows a connection in the Edit panel.

Test the “Other” classification path end-to-end

Open Outlook (outlook.office.com) and compose a new email to yourself with the following:
- Subject: Order Management - Congratulations! Your order desk has been selected
- Body:
```
Dear Order Manager,

Congratulations! Your order management team has been selected in our monthly
business draw and is entitled to claim an exclusive cash reward.

To release your reward, please reply with your full name and contact details,
and a small processing fee may apply.

Act soon, as unclaimed rewards expire.

Regards,
Promotions Team
MegaDraw Rewards
```
Send the email. This spam/scam email should be classified as Other by the workflow.

[!NOTE] The subject must contain “Order Management” to match the trigger’s subject filter. The body content is intentionally irrelevant to quotes, suppliers, or customer inquiries — it should fall through to the “Other” category.
Wait approximately 1–2 minutes for the workflow to trigger and process the email. Then navigate to your Archive folder in Outlook. You should see the test email has been automatically moved there — confirming the “Other” classification path is working correctly.

[!TIP] If the email doesn’t appear in the Archive folder after 2 minutes, check the Activity tab in the workflow in Copilot Studio to see if the run triggered. If no run appears, verify the workflow is Published (not Draft) and that the email subject includes “Order Management.”

Congratulations! The Order Management Workflow is now fully configured and operational.

You’ve completed the foundation that all subsequent use cases build on — the workflow is published, connections are linked, and you’ve verified the “Other” classification path works end-to-end.

Use Case #3: Use M365 Copilot and Add a Human-in-the-Loop in Order Management

Configure and validate the Customer Inquiry branch so the workflow drafts a response with M365 Copilot, pauses for a Human review, and only replies to the customer after approval.

Summary of tasks

In this section, you’ll inspect the Customer Inquiry routing branch, review how the M365 Copilot and Human review nodes are configured, publish any updates if needed, and run an end-to-end test with an approval email.

Scenario: A customer sends a product question to the order desk. Instead of crafting the answer manually every time, the workflow uses M365 Copilot to prepare a grounded draft response, sends that draft to a human reviewer for approval, and then either replies to the customer or flags the message for follow-up depending on the approver’s decision.

Objective

Validate the Customer Inquiry path of the Order Management Workflow: confirm the M365 Copilot draft prompt, inspect the Human review approval experience, test the path with a sample customer email, approve the proposed reply, and verify the customer response lands in your inbox.

Step-by-step instructions

Inspect the Customer Inquiry branch

In Copilot Studio, open the published Order Management Workflow and select the Classify node. Observe the Customer Inquiry branch that leaves the classification node and note how it routes customer questions into a draft-and-review sequence.

[!TIP] Classify node tuning: You can add different examples associated to the same category to handle edge cases properly. A good testing exercise is to try common cases and some edge cases within the node test level and observe how categories get assigned, then refine the category description accordingly.
Select the M365 Copilot node in that branch. Review the prompt and confirm it uses the Customer question input based on the incoming email body. This is the grounded draft-generation step that prepares the proposed response for the reviewer.

[!NOTE] M365 Copilot node scope: The M365 Copilot node excels at addressing questions that leverage Microsoft Graph (emails, Teams chats, etc.) — think of it as prompts you would send in M365 Copilot chat. Note that the operations this node performs are read-only — it can search and retrieve information from emails, chats, and files, but it cannot send emails or Teams messages. If you need those write operations, use an Agent node with access to the relevant Work IQ tools instead.
Select the Human review node and inspect its configuration carefully:
- In the approval message, confirm the proposed reply from M365 Copilot is inserted for the reviewer to read.
- Scroll down and confirm the Outlook channel is selected.
- Review the Yes/No inputs for Send proposed reply from M365?
- Bonus: Select + to observe the other input types available, but do not add any new inputs.
Select the If/Else node after Human review and observe the decision logic. When the reviewer answers Yes, the workflow sends the proposed reply to the customer; otherwise, the original email is flagged in the inbox for manual follow-up.

Run an end-to-end Customer Inquiry test

Open Outlook (outlook.office.com) and send the following email to yourself:

Subject: Order Management - Question about iPad Air warranty and MDM

Body:

Hi team,

Quick question before we expand our last order. What is the standard warranty
period on the iPad Air (M2), and can the devices be enrolled in our mobile device
management (MDM)? I think we asked something similar a few months back but I can't
find the reply.

Thanks,
Jordan Kim
IT, Alpine Ski House

The customer inquiry test email being composed in Outlook

Return to the workflow and open the Activity panel. Refresh until the new run appears, then open it and observe the path: Classify → Customer Inquiry.

[!IMPORTANT] This path pauses at the approval step. If the run seems to stop, that is expected — the workflow is waiting for the Human review action to be completed from Outlook.
Wait until the run reaches the Human Request node. Select the node in the run details if you want to confirm that the workflow is awaiting reviewer input.
Go to Outlook and open the incoming approval email. Review the proposed M365 Copilot reply, then select Yes to approve sending it.
Return to your inbox and verify that the approved reply email lands there. This confirms the workflow resumed after human approval and sent the response automatically.

Congratulations! The Customer Inquiry path is now drafting, reviewing, and replying successfully.

You’ve confirmed that the workflow can generate a grounded response with M365 Copilot, pause for human approval, and then continue automatically based on the reviewer’s decision.

Use Case #4: Build an Inline Agent for Inventory Management

Extend the Supplier Delay branch with an inline Agent that uses MCP servers to reason over the delay notice, check current stock, and create a follow-up Dataverse Task.

Summary of tasks

In this section, you’ll add a new agent node to the Supplier Delay branch, connect the Warehouse and Dataverse MCP servers, define the agent’s instructions and structured output, publish the workflow, and test the scenario with a supplier delay email.

Scenario: A supplier warns that an incoming shipment is delayed. The workflow shouldn’t just forward the email — it should reason about the impact by checking current inventory, determine urgency, and create a structured Dataverse task so the replenishment team can act immediately.

Objective

Build and validate the Supplier Delay path of the Order Management Workflow by adding the Inventory Task Agent, equipping it with MCP tools, generating structured output, and verifying that it creates the expected Dataverse task after a test email is received.

Step-by-step instructions

Add and configure the Supplier Delay agent

In the Classify node, locate the Supplier Delay category. Select the + next to that branch and choose Agent to add a new agent step for this path.
In the new node, leave Agent set to New agent in this workflow and keep the default AI model. This creates an inline agent dedicated to this workflow path.
Select Expand (the two arrows next to …) so you can edit the full agent configuration, then rename the node title to Inventory Task Agent.
Under Tools, navigate to Model Context Protocol (MCP servers), then add and connect both of these tools:
- Microsoft Dataverse MCP Server
- Warehouse MCP
Sign in or connect as prompted so both tools show as available in the agent.

In the Instructions box, paste the following agent instructions:

Purpose
You triage supplier shipment-delay notices into restock tasks for Contoso Electronics. A delay notice names a delayed product but does not include stock levels, so you use the Warehouse tool to find the current stock and judge how urgent the delay is, then record a task in Dataverse.

Inputs
Delay notice: [email body]
Review by (Due Date): [due date]

Guidelines
Take the current stock and all restock details from the Warehouse tool; the email does not contain them.
Judge urgency from the current on-hand quantity: zero on-hand means the delay causes a stockout and is urgent; low but above zero means the buffer is at risk; healthy stock means the delay is tolerable.

Steps
Read the product or SKU named in the delay notice.
Call the Warehouse restock-date lookup once, passing the exact SKU from the notice (no extra spaces). It returns the current quantity, next shipment date, expected quantity, and supplier. Do not call the stock-check tool.
Decide the urgency of the delay from the current on-hand quantity.
Use Dataverse to create one row in the Task table in the current environment, setting only these columns:
Subject: Restock delay - [product] ([SKU]).
Description: the current on-hand quantity and warehouse; the delayed next shipment date, the expected quantity, and the supplier; the urgency judgement; and a one-line action for the replenishment team.
Priority: High if the on-hand quantity is zero, otherwise Normal.

Rules
Create exactly one Task row and set only the columns listed above.
If the product is not found in the Warehouse, record it as unrecognised for a person to check.

The Supplier Delay agent instructions pasted into the configuration panel

Replace the placeholders in the instructions with dynamic content:
1. Select [email body], choose the lightning icon, search for body, and insert Body from When a new email arrives.
2. Select [due date], choose the lightning icon, then select Ask Copilot to generate an expression.
3. Enter: Add 3 days to the date and time of arrival of the trigger email
4. Confirm Copilot returns:
```
addDays(triggerOutputs()?['body/receivedDateTime'], 3)
```
  Select Insert.
[!TIP] “Request human assistance when unsure”: Notice the button in the agent configuration panel. This feature sends a structured message to the connection owner when the agent encounters ambiguity or conflicting information — it dynamically generates questions based on the problem at hand, allowing human judgment for edge cases while keeping the automation running.
Scroll to the Output section and change the dropdown to Structured output. Add these three properties:
- sku (string) — The SKU named in the delay notice
- stock (number) — Current stock quantity from the warehouse for the SKU named
- risk (boolean) — True if current stock is zero
Minimize the view, then select Save and Publish so the Supplier Delay branch is live with the new agent configuration.

Test the Supplier Delay path

In Outlook, send the following email to yourself:

Subject: Order Management - Shipment delay - LumiRead E-Reader

Body:

Hello Contoso,

We're writing to let you know that the upcoming shipment of the LumiRead E-Reader
(16GB), SKU-LUMI, has been delayed and will not arrive on the originally planned
date.

We apologise for the inconvenience and will keep you updated.

Regards,
LumiRead Supply Team

The supplier delay test email being composed in Outlook

Return to the workflow’s Activity panel, refresh until the run appears, and open it. Observe the path: Classify → Supplier Delay → Inventory Task Agent.
Select the Inventory Task Agent node in the run details and scroll through the tool runs. You should see the warehouse lookup and the Dataverse describe/create operations executed by the agent.
In the same run details, review the structured output and confirm it contains:
- sku = SKU-LUMI
- stock = 0
- risk = true
Open Power Apps (make.powerapps.com), navigate to Tables → Task, and find the row Restock delay - LumiRead E-Reader (16GB) (SKU-LUMI). Verify the task has a Due Date three days from now and Priority = High.

Congratulations! The Supplier Delay path is now using an MCP-powered inline agent.

You’ve added a reasoning agent that enriches a supplier delay notice with live warehouse data, creates a Dataverse task, and emits structured output for downstream visibility.

Use Case #5: Call a Price Quote Specialist Agent from a Workflow

Connect the Quote Request branch to a reusable, published Price Quote Agent that combines SharePoint knowledge, Dataverse product data, and WorkIQ Mail to produce and send a professional quote.

Summary of tasks

In this section, you’ll inspect the existing Price Quote Agent, wire it into the Quote Request branch, pass the sender and email body as dynamic inputs, publish the workflow, and verify the generated quote email end-to-end.

Scenario: A customer asks for pricing on a bundle of products. Rather than rebuilding the quote logic inside the workflow, you can reuse an already-published agent that knows how to look up pricing guidance, combine it with product catalog data, and send a polished quote response.

Objective

Configure the Quote Request path to use the published Price Quote Agent, provide it with the email sender and request body at runtime, and verify that it completes the quote process and sends the resulting email.

Step-by-step instructions

Inspect the reusable Price Quote Agent

In Copilot Studio, select Agents in the left navigation. Ensure the New experience toggle (top-right of the Agents list) is ON — this gives you the modern agent builder with the **Build

Preview

Evaluate

Monitor** tab layout.

[!NOTE] If the toggle is not visible or already active, you are already in the new experience. The new interface provides a cleaner single-page layout for inspecting agent instructions, tools, knowledge, and skills at a glance.

The Agents list with the New experience toggle enabled

Open Price Quote Agent. In the new experience’s Build tab, inspect the agent and confirm these components are present on the right-hand panel:
- Model: the assigned AI model (e.g. Claude Sonnet 4.6)
- Tools: Microsoft Dataverse MCP Server and Work IQ Mail (Preview)
- Knowledge: Order Management (SharePoint knowledge source with pricing guidance, customer tiers, and related policy)
- Skills: price-quote — the structured skill for composing and sending the quote email
- On the left, the Instructions pane shows the agent’s broad, conversational guidelines about handling price questions
Return to the Order Management Workflow and locate the Quote Request category in the Classify node.

Configure the Quote Request branch

Select the + next to Quote Request and choose Agent.
In the Agent dropdown, select Price Quote Agent — the existing published agent.

[!IMPORTANT] Only published agents appear in the dropdown: When using the Agent node with an existing agent, only agents that have been published (not just saved) will appear in the agent selection dropdown. If your agent is missing from the list, go to the agent page and publish it first.

In the Message field, enter:

Prepare a price quote for this customer request:
Customer email: [email sender]
Request: [email body]

Replace the placeholders with dynamic values:
- Select [email sender], choose the lightning icon, search for from, and insert From
- Select [email body], choose the lightning icon, search for body, and insert Body
Select Save, then Publish.

Test the Quote Request path

In Outlook, send the following email to yourself:

Subject: Order Management - Quote request - Adventure Works

Body:

Hello Contoso team,

We're fitting out a new office and would like a quote for:
- 10 Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones
- 5 iPad Air (M2, 256GB)

Delivery to our Santa Cruz, California office. Could you confirm your best price,
the payment terms, and the delivery estimate?

Thanks,
Nancy Anderson
Procurement, Adventure Works

The quote request test email being composed in Outlook

Return to the workflow’s Activity panel, refresh until the run appears, and confirm the route Classify → Quote Request → Agent completed.
Select the Agent node in the run details and read the completion message describing what the Price Quote Agent did to prepare the customer response.
Open Outlook and verify that the generated price quote email has landed in your inbox.
Bonus: Return to Price Quote Agent and select the Preview tab (top of the new experience). Ask: What are the iPad Air prices applicable to Fabrikam? Observe the extended reasoning — the agent searches SharePoint for customer-tier pricing guidance and queries Dataverse with a read_query to build an accurate, tiered response.

Congratulations! The Quote Request path is now powered by a reusable published agent.

You’ve connected a workflow branch to a published agent that blends knowledge, data, and mail actions — a strong pattern for reusing sophisticated business logic across multiple automations.

Summary of Learnings

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

To get the most out of Workflows in Copilot Studio:

Trigger first, chat never — a Workflow runs on an event (a schedule or a connector trigger), so it works in the background without a user present. Pick the trigger that matches the “when” of your automation.
Use an inline agent for the messy middle — when a step needs judgment (which slot? how to phrase the notes?), the agent node lets the model reason and act, instead of forcing every decision into deterministic logic.
Ground the agent with dynamic content — the / token feeds the agent the actual trigger data (the to-do Title), so each run acts on the real item, not a fixed example.
Tools are the agent’s hands — without the Work IQ Calendar and Update to-do tools (and web search), the agent could reason but not act. Grant exactly the tools the goal requires.
Constrain behavior in the instructions — small additions like “only within my 8:00 AM–5:00 PM working hours” meaningfully change the agent’s choices. Iterate on the instructions, then re-publish.
Publish before you test — the trigger is only live after a publish, and changes don’t take effect until you re-publish.

Conclusions & Recommendations

[!IMPORTANT] Workflows golden rules:

Match the trigger to the event that should start the work — manual for testing, recurrence for schedules, connector for “when something changes.”

Reach for an inline agent when a step needs reasoning; keep deterministic actions for steps that must always behave identically.

Reference trigger data with the / dynamic-content token so the agent acts on the real input every run.

Give the agent only the tools it needs, and state constraints (working hours, formatting, categories) explicitly in the instructions.

Always Save → Publish before testing, and re-publish after any change. Use the Activity and Monitor views — and the Agent node’s run details — to see exactly what the agent decided and did.

With these foundations, you can move from agents that talk to agents that act on their own — reacting to events, reasoning over real data, and getting work done across Microsoft 365.

Workflows

Workflows

Lab Details

Table of Contents

Why This Matters

Introduction

Core Concepts Overview

Documentation and Additional Training Links

Prerequisites

Summary of Targets

Use Cases Covered

Instructions by Use Case

Use Case #1: Automate Task Time-Blocking with a Workflow and an Inline Agent

Objective

Step-by-step instructions

Create the To-Do list that drives the workflow

Create the workflow and configure its trigger

Add and configure the inline agent

Publish, then trigger the workflow

Watch the workflow run

Verify the results

Congratulations! You’ve built an autonomous Workflow with a reasoning inline agent.

Use Case #2: Setting Up the Order Management Workflow

Objective

Step-by-step instructions

Take ownership and configure the solution

Open and explore the Order Management Workflow

Verify the trigger connection and subject filter

Verify the Classify node connection and explore categories

Test the classification

Publish the workflow

Test the “Other” classification path end-to-end

Congratulations! The Order Management Workflow is now fully configured and operational.

Use Case #3: Use M365 Copilot and Add a Human-in-the-Loop in Order Management

Objective

Step-by-step instructions

Inspect the Customer Inquiry branch

Run an end-to-end Customer Inquiry test

Congratulations! The Customer Inquiry path is now drafting, reviewing, and replying successfully.

Use Case #4: Build an Inline Agent for Inventory Management

Objective

Step-by-step instructions

Add and configure the Supplier Delay agent

Test the Supplier Delay path

Congratulations! The Supplier Delay path is now using an MCP-powered inline agent.

Use Case #5: Call a Price Quote Specialist Agent from a Workflow

Objective

Step-by-step instructions

Inspect the reusable Price Quote Agent

Configure the Quote Request branch

Test the Quote Request path

Congratulations! The Quote Request path is now powered by a reusable published agent.

Summary of Learnings

Conclusions & Recommendations