Applies To
Microsoft365.com Microsoft Office

You can edit an agent so that it's tailored to your team's needs by:

  • Customizing its branding and purpose.

  • Adding or removing which sites, pages, lists, and files your agent should include as knowledge sources beyond the current SharePoint site.

  • Refining the agent's behavior by writing customized prompts tailored to the purpose and scope of the agent.

What you need

You can edit an agent if you:

  • Are assigned a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, or your organization has pay-as-you-go service enabled for agents in SharePoint.

  • And have edit permissions on the SharePoint site and the agent file.

Notes: 

  • The agent only answers your questions using information from sites, pages, and files that you already have access to and have included as the agent's sources. To get information from all the sources you want the agent to use, you may need to update permissions for yourself or the people you want to share the agent with.

  • You can only edit custom-built agents. The site's ready-made agent can't be edited.

Where to edit an agent

To edit an agent, simply select it from the agent chat pane and then select the ellipsis next to it. From the menu, choose Edit agent.

Screenshot of menu to edit a SharePoint agent from the sidecar

You can directly edit an agent from the context menu options on the agent file. This can also be accessed from the right-click actions.

Screenshot showing the edit option from the context menu of an agent file.

Similarly, you can also start to edit the agent when it is being used in Copilot Chat or Teams.

Edit an agent: customize its Identity

You can personalize the agent’s identity by setting its branding and purpose. In the Overview section, update the agent’s name, choose a new icon, and provide a description outlining the agent’s purpose and how it should be used.

Screenshot of editing an agent's identity and overview

Edit an agent: Specify its knowledge sources

You can specify knowledge sources of the agent beyond the current SharePoint site. Under Sources, you can add or remove SharePoint sites, document libraries, and files. 

Add or remove SharePoint sites, document libraries, lists, and files

Search by the SharePoint site tile or enter a URL to include additional sites, document libraries or files that are outside your current SharePoint site as sources for your agent. It's important to remember that users interacting with the agent will only receive information from sources they already have access to.

Screenshot of the sources tab when editing a SharePoint agent

Screenshot of the source picker to select content within a SharePoint site.​​​​​​​

Your agent will begin searching for information within the sources you select, but may refer to its broader knowledge to provide complete and consistent answers. Use the toggle to have the agent prioritize the selected knowledge sources in such cases.

Edit an agent: Refine its behavior

Under Behavior, create a welcome message for the users of your agent, then provide a few starter prompts and instructions for the agent to follow. Use the test panel on the right to try it out and adjust your instruction and starter prompts.

Screenshot of editing SharePoint agent behavior and instructions.

Notes: 

  • You can't edit or share the ready-made-agent.

  • When a SharePoint hub site is included as the source for the agent, it automatically includes its associated sites. Your agent will use information from both the hub site and its associated sites to respond.

  • When you share an agent with others, make sure they have access to the sources for optimal experience.

FAQ and data handling

To learn more about agents on SharePoint, see Frequently asked questions.

For more information on how Microsoft 365 Copilot works, see Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot.​​​​​​​