Perform basic administrative tasks for Copilot and agents
Copilot, Researcher, Analyst, and Custom Agents
Match general productivity, deep research, data analysis, and specialized workflows to the right Copilot experience.
What you need to know
- Standard Copilot supports broad everyday drafting, summarization, question answering, and in-app assistance.
- Researcher performs deeper, multi-step research across permitted work and web sources and produces structured, cited reports.
- Analyst is suited to data analysis, calculations, trends, and working with spreadsheet-oriented evidence.
- Custom agents add scoped instructions, knowledge, connectors, or actions for a repeatable organizational scenario.
Objects and administrative surfaces
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and apps — user experience.
- Agent Builder or Copilot Studio — agent creation, depending on complexity.
- Agent Registry / Agents in Microsoft 365 admin center — availability and governance.
How it works
- Researcher and Analyst are first-party experiences, not arbitrary tenant-created agents.
- An agent extends or specializes Copilot; it still depends on configured identity, access, knowledge, actions, and governance.
When to use it
- Use standard Copilot for a quick summary, Researcher for a sourced multi-step report, Analyst for data reasoning, and a custom agent for a repeatable domain workflow.
Security and governance implications
- Review agent knowledge, tools, actions, owners, and intended audience.
- Do not assume an agent can access data or execute actions beyond its configured permissions.
Troubleshooting signals
- Confirm the user’s license or metered access, agent availability, source permissions, and the intended experience.
- Choose the simplest experience that satisfies the task.
Exam traps
- Researcher is not the best choice for routine spreadsheet analysis; Analyst is.
- A custom agent is not necessary for every one-off prompt.
Key takeaways
- Quick work → Copilot; deep sourced research → Researcher; data analysis → Analyst; repeatable specialization → custom agent.
- Capabilities and access remain governed.
Related objectives
- D3.1.a
- D3.1.d
- D3.1.e
- D3.1.f