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Welcome to the M365 FM podcast,
where we explore the people,
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ideas and technologies shaping
the future of work.
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The part of copilot that stopped
answering copilot actions is the
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part of copilot that stopped
answering and started doing.
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It's a set of specific, defined
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things copilot is allowed to do
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inside your calendar, your
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files, and your business
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systems.
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Those actions only exist if
somebody built them first.
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That's why your IT team suddenly
cares so much about permissions.
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This is the same copilot you
might already use for drafting,
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except the thing it reaches for
now is a real system with real
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records inside it, and the
approval prompt you'll see is
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not the same thing as a
guarantee that copilot picked
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the right record.
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Welcome to the M365 FM podcast,
where we explore the people,
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00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:42,439
ideas, and technologies shaping
the future of work.
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By the end of this episode, the
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words will finally mean
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something.
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You'll be able to tell an action
from a connector and know
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exactly where the risk sits.
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Microsoft introduced copilot
actions at Ignite in November of
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twenty twenty four.
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The company described them as a
way to automate everyday tasks.
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With simple fill in the blank
prompts you can set and forget
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that phrase is doing a lot of
quiet work, because set and
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forget implies something that
keeps happening while you're
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somewhere else entirely.
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Before any of that makes sense,
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you need one distinction, and it
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holds this entire topic
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together.
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The one idea that makes all of
this make sense?
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A chatbot produces words.
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An action changes something.
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That difference matters more
than any feature list.
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And it's worth saying slowly.
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Ask copilot to summarize a long
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email thread and you get text
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back.
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If the text is wrong, you fix it
and move on.
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And nothing in the world has
changed.
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Now handed a request to update a
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customer record and you change
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something.
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A coworker will see tomorrow
morning.
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That request carries more weight
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because the consequence sticks
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around after you close the
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window.
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Reading is safe in the sense
that it never breaks anything.
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Writing and deleting work
differently.
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A wrong draft costs you 30s
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while a wrong delete might cost
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you something you can't get
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back.
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That imbalance is why Microsoft
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builds a confirmation step into
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these actions.
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It's also why a single approval
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button proves less than it
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appears to.
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So an action is one specific
business behavior that has been
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defined and handed to copilot.
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Copilot can then pick it up when
your request calls for it.
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Microsoft builds some of these.
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Your organization can build
others, and outside companies
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can publish their own.
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The name itself gets used
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loosely across a few related
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features.
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There's the recurring task
feature Microsoft announced in
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twenty twenty four.
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The general idea of actions
inside Copilot Studio, and the
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version inside Edge that clicks
and types on web pages for you.
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The useful question is never
what copilot actions is.
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It's what copilot is allowed to
do on your behalf.
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And where that shift took a few
years to arrive.
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Copilot started as something you
asked questions.
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Then it started reading your
work to answer better.
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Then agents arrived and agents
could hold a task.
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Over time.
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Actions are the step where
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copilot finally reaches out and
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touches something, and that step
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tends to be the one people
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remember.
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If you've been feeling behind on
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all of this, that's the honest
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reason.
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The product moved in stages and
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each stage changed what the last
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one meant.
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Agents actions and connectors
explained simply.
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Three words come up constantly
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and one picture holds all of
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them.
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An agent is the worker and
action is the specific job that
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worker is allowed to do, and a
connector is the filing cabinet
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it reads from.
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That's the whole vocabulary and
everything else is detail.
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Get these three straight and the
limits later in this episode
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will make a lot more sense.
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An agent is the assistant you
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talk to with its own
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instructions and its own
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knowledge.
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An action is the capability that
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lets copilot do something in the
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world.
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Microsoft builds these as what
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it calls API plugins, which is a
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formal way of saying a defined
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path for copilot to call another
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system.
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A connector works differently
because a connector doesn't do
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anything on its own.
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It brings outside knowledge in.
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So copilot has something to
reason over.
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Connectors come in two shapes,
and the difference is easier
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than the name suggests.
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A single connector copies
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outside content into Microsoft
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Graph.
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The index that Microsoft three.
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Sixty five searches that
content, then sits alongside
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your own files.
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A federated connector doesn't
copy anything.
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It fetches the information live.
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At the moment, you ask using a
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standard called MCP, which
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stands for Model Context
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Protocol.
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In plain terms, synced means
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copilot reads a copy and
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federated means copilot reads
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the original.
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You'll also meet all of this in
two different places.
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Sometimes an agent appears
inside an app you already use,
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like a teams chat or a word
document, and you mention it the
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way you'd mention a colleague.
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Microsoft calls that an
in-context experience.
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Other times, you open the
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copilot app and talk to one
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agent on its own, one to one,
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which Microsoft calls an
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immersive experience.
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Agents themselves come in two
styles worth knowing.
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A declarative agent is the
simpler kind, where you give it
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instructions and knowledge and
let copilot handle the rest.
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A custom engine agent is the
heavier kind, where your
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developers bring their own
logic, and the agent runs on
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that for a beginner.
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The practical difference is who
builds it and how much control
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your team wants.
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The connectors are what make
this useful.
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Outside Microsoft's own tools, a
connector can reach a customer
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database, a help desk system, or
an app your finance team built
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for itself years ago.
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Once that connection exists, an
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action can read from it or write
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to it.
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And at that point, saying
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copilot can do things stops
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being marketing.
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One limit is worth knowing.
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While the vocabulary is still
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fresh as of Microsoft's own
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documentation, actions built as
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API plugins are supported inside
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declarative agents and aren't
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enabled directly in Microsoft
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three.
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Sixty five copilot.
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You can safely forget that
sentence.
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Keep the practical version
instead, which is that not every
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action works in every place.
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How a plain request becomes a
real task.
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The sequence is simpler than the
plumbing behind it.
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You describe an outcome in
ordinary language.
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Copilot works out what you
meant, chooses the right action
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from everything it has
available, calls that action and
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hands you a result.
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The piece that chooses is called
the orchestrator, and it decides
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whether your words match an
action at all.
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Microsoft built a developer mode
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that shows you when the
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orchestrator picked your
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capability.
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That mode exists because the
choice isn't always obvious,
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even to the people who built it.
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A small example makes it
concrete.
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Say you're getting ready for a
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meeting with a client called
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contoso, copilot finds the
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relevant action, pulls your
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recent emails and the last two
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calls, drafts a short briefing,
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and offers to put prep time on
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your calendar.
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Nothing in that chain was a
sentence you typed out.
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Copilot assembled it from the
actions it had.
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Underneath all of it sits work
IQ, the intelligence layer
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Microsoft announced in late
twenty twenty five.
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Work IQ pulls together three
things.
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One piece is your work data,
meaning the emails, files, and
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meetings you already have.
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Another is your memory, which
covers your style, your habits,
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and the people you work with.
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The last is inference, and it
combines those two to guess your
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next best move.
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That combination is what makes
copilot feel less like a search
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box, and more like someone who
has been paying attention.
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The newest version of this is
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called copilot Cowork, and it
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shows where the whole idea is
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heading.
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You hand off a task and coworker
turns your request into a plan.
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That plan keeps running in the
background with checkpoints
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where you can look in, change
course or pause it.
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If it needs something from you.
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It asks if it wants to change
something.
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You see the recommended action
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and approve it before it
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happens.
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Microsoft says it runs in a
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protected, sandboxed cloud
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environment, which is the
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technical way of saying it works
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inside a box your company
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controls.
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The point of those checkpoints
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is that you stay in the loop
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without having to watch every
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step.
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What this looks like in a normal
workday.
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Abstract descriptions only carry
you so far.
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So picture an ordinary Tuesday
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start when your workday ends,
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and a recurring action hands you
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a short summary of your most
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important action items The
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things you promised across four
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different meetings don't
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disappear overnight.
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The action runs whether you
remember it or not, which is the
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whole point of setting it once.
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Then there's the weekly
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newsletter you send every
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Thursday.
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Instead of chasing five people
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for updates, you set an action
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that collects their input ahead
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of time.
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By Thursday morning, the raw
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material is already sitting
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there.
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The same idea works before a
customer call, where an action
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summarizes your last few
interactions with that account.
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You open the meeting with
contacts instead of panic.
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The newer coworker examples
reach further.
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You can ask it to clean up your
calendar, and it reviews your
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week, flags the conflicts and
the low value meetings, then
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proposes which ones to accept,
decline, or move.
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It also suggests where to add
focus time.
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You approve the plan and only
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then does it touch your
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schedule.
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Hand it a customer meeting and
you can get back a briefing
272
00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,480
document, a piece of analysis,
and a client ready deck.
273
00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,920
All saved where your team can
refine them.
274
00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:43,600
It handles research the same
way.
275
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,360
Ask it to look into a company
and it can pull earnings reports
276
00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,560
and filings, organize the
findings with citations and give
277
00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,550
you an executive summary, plus a
spreadsheet to work from.
278
00:07:52,550 --> 00:07:53,910
There's a quieter category two,
279
00:07:53,910 --> 00:07:54,670
and it's where a lot of
280
00:07:54,670 --> 00:07:55,550
beginners start.
281
00:07:55,550 --> 00:07:57,910
Think about a new hires first
week full of forms, access
282
00:07:57,910 --> 00:07:59,550
requests, and policy questions.
283
00:07:59,550 --> 00:08:00,790
An action can answer the common
284
00:08:00,790 --> 00:08:02,430
questions and walk that person
285
00:08:02,430 --> 00:08:03,949
through the steps, which turns a
286
00:08:03,949 --> 00:08:05,189
pile of tickets into one short
287
00:08:05,189 --> 00:08:05,990
conversation.
288
00:08:05,990 --> 00:08:07,310
Nobody saves a screenshot of
that.
289
00:08:07,310 --> 00:08:08,509
They just stop dreading it.
290
00:08:08,509 --> 00:08:09,889
And the real win is that a new
291
00:08:09,889 --> 00:08:11,389
hire gets an answer at nine at
292
00:08:11,389 --> 00:08:12,509
night instead of waiting until
293
00:08:12,509 --> 00:08:13,069
Monday.
294
00:08:13,069 --> 00:08:15,949
Every one of those examples ends
the same way with you approving
295
00:08:15,949 --> 00:08:17,389
the change before it happens.
296
00:08:17,389 --> 00:08:18,589
Everyone also depends on the
297
00:08:18,589 --> 00:08:19,790
right action or connector
298
00:08:19,790 --> 00:08:21,029
already existing.
299
00:08:21,029 --> 00:08:24,110
That last part is what never
makes it into the demo.
300
00:08:24,110 --> 00:08:25,629
Where this lives in Microsoft
301
00:08:25,629 --> 00:08:26,629
three hundred sixty five and
302
00:08:26,629 --> 00:08:27,189
Azure.
303
00:08:27,189 --> 00:08:29,870
Now that you can picture it
working, it helps to know where
304
00:08:29,870 --> 00:08:30,910
each piece lives.
305
00:08:30,910 --> 00:08:32,269
Copilot is the front door.
306
00:08:32,269 --> 00:08:34,269
The chat you type into Microsoft
three.
307
00:08:34,269 --> 00:08:35,230
Sixty five is the building
308
00:08:35,230 --> 00:08:36,629
behind it, holding your mail,
309
00:08:36,629 --> 00:08:37,789
your files, your meetings, and
310
00:08:37,789 --> 00:08:38,509
your records.
311
00:08:38,509 --> 00:08:39,830
Copilot studio is the workshop
312
00:08:39,830 --> 00:08:41,149
where agents and actions get
313
00:08:41,149 --> 00:08:41,669
built.
314
00:08:41,669 --> 00:08:43,909
It's the low code option, which
means you point and click
315
00:08:43,909 --> 00:08:45,190
instead of writing code.
316
00:08:45,190 --> 00:08:48,269
If you want the Pro code path,
Microsoft has the agents
317
00:08:48,269 --> 00:08:51,009
toolkit, and it's built for
developers who would rather
318
00:08:51,009 --> 00:08:52,690
write the plumbing themselves.
319
00:08:52,690 --> 00:08:55,210
There's a quicker way to start,
too, called Agent Builder.
320
00:08:55,210 --> 00:08:57,610
You can spin up a simple agent
from a chat window in Microsoft
321
00:08:57,610 --> 00:09:00,289
three hundred sixty five, or
teams give it instructions and
322
00:09:00,289 --> 00:09:02,769
point it at knowledge, all
without leaving the app.
323
00:09:02,769 --> 00:09:04,110
One boundary matters, though
324
00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:05,289
Agent Builder doesn't support
325
00:09:05,289 --> 00:09:06,309
building actions that reach
326
00:09:06,309 --> 00:09:07,289
outside services.
327
00:09:07,289 --> 00:09:09,950
When you need an action that
talks to another system, you
328
00:09:09,950 --> 00:09:12,250
copy the agent into Copilot
Studio and add it there.
329
00:09:12,250 --> 00:09:13,210
This is where Azure and the
330
00:09:13,210 --> 00:09:14,450
power platform come in, and you
331
00:09:14,450 --> 00:09:15,830
don't need to know either one to
332
00:09:15,830 --> 00:09:16,690
follow along.
333
00:09:16,690 --> 00:09:17,889
The connectors and workflows
334
00:09:17,889 --> 00:09:19,570
behind these actions come from
335
00:09:19,570 --> 00:09:20,769
the same family of tools
336
00:09:20,769 --> 00:09:22,769
Microsoft uses for automation
337
00:09:22,769 --> 00:09:24,090
across Azure, and the power
338
00:09:24,090 --> 00:09:24,889
platform.
339
00:09:24,889 --> 00:09:27,570
That shared foundation is why an
action can reach a system that
340
00:09:27,570 --> 00:09:30,009
has nothing to do with Microsoft
three hundred sixty five, a
341
00:09:30,009 --> 00:09:32,289
support ticket tool, an
inventory system, a billing app
342
00:09:32,289 --> 00:09:33,970
your operations team relies on.
343
00:09:33,970 --> 00:09:36,450
All of it becomes reachable
through the same idea.
344
00:09:36,450 --> 00:09:38,649
You'll also see outside
companies show up here.
345
00:09:38,649 --> 00:09:40,129
Partners like ServiceNow and
346
00:09:40,129 --> 00:09:41,850
workday can publish their own
347
00:09:41,850 --> 00:09:43,730
agents and connectors so copilot
348
00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:45,250
can reach their systems without
349
00:09:45,250 --> 00:09:46,370
your team building the bridge
350
00:09:46,370 --> 00:09:47,250
from scratch.
351
00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:49,710
Those pieces land in the same
catalogue as everything else,
352
00:09:49,710 --> 00:09:51,950
which is what makes the whole
thing feel like one product
353
00:09:51,950 --> 00:09:53,070
instead of twenty.
354
00:09:53,070 --> 00:09:55,429
And because they share that
catalogue, your admins can
355
00:09:55,429 --> 00:09:58,509
approve a single agent without
rebuilding the setup around it.
356
00:09:58,509 --> 00:10:00,909
Someone has to keep watch over
all of this, and beginners
357
00:10:00,909 --> 00:10:02,350
usually skip this one.
358
00:10:02,350 --> 00:10:05,070
Microsoft introduced agent three
sixty five as a control plane
359
00:10:05,070 --> 00:10:08,070
for agents, which really means
one place to register them,
360
00:10:08,070 --> 00:10:10,870
limit what they can reach, and
monitor what they do.
361
00:10:10,870 --> 00:10:12,309
Your admins also get a simpler
362
00:10:12,309 --> 00:10:13,830
switch, because the admin center
363
00:10:13,830 --> 00:10:15,149
shows which connectors are
364
00:10:15,149 --> 00:10:16,750
switched on and lets them turn
365
00:10:16,750 --> 00:10:18,429
off any that don't fit company
366
00:10:18,429 --> 00:10:19,629
policy.
367
00:10:19,629 --> 00:10:21,389
The limits nobody puts in the
demo.
368
00:10:21,389 --> 00:10:22,470
This is the part that earns your
369
00:10:22,470 --> 00:10:23,950
trust, because a tool that can
370
00:10:23,950 --> 00:10:25,269
change your records deserves an
371
00:10:25,269 --> 00:10:26,429
honest accounting of where it
372
00:10:26,429 --> 00:10:27,309
falls short.
373
00:10:27,309 --> 00:10:29,190
The biggest limit is easy to
miss.
374
00:10:29,190 --> 00:10:30,789
Confirmation is not correctness.
375
00:10:30,789 --> 00:10:32,870
When you approve an action,
you've proven that a person
376
00:10:32,870 --> 00:10:33,909
agreed to something.
377
00:10:33,909 --> 00:10:36,350
You haven't proven that copilot
found the right record or
378
00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:37,909
changed it the way you meant.
379
00:10:37,909 --> 00:10:40,309
Those are two separate
questions, and only one of them
380
00:10:40,309 --> 00:10:41,429
is answered by a button.
381
00:10:41,429 --> 00:10:43,629
Microsoft's own documentation is
careful here.
382
00:10:43,629 --> 00:10:45,190
In a way the marketing isn't.
383
00:10:45,190 --> 00:10:46,710
The company describes copilot as
384
00:10:46,710 --> 00:10:48,299
producing useful drafts and
385
00:10:48,299 --> 00:10:49,399
summaries for a person to
386
00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:49,779
review.
387
00:10:49,779 --> 00:10:51,340
It also states plainly that
388
00:10:51,340 --> 00:10:52,980
generative AI responses aren't
389
00:10:52,980 --> 00:10:54,220
guaranteed to be completely
390
00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:54,980
accurate.
391
00:10:54,980 --> 00:10:57,179
That isn't a disclaimer buried
in fine print.
392
00:10:57,179 --> 00:10:58,419
It's the design assumption,
393
00:10:58,419 --> 00:11:00,019
which means your review is part
394
00:11:00,019 --> 00:11:01,259
of the product rather than an
395
00:11:01,259 --> 00:11:02,340
optional extra.
396
00:11:02,340 --> 00:11:04,700
Then there's the honest question
of what's finished.
397
00:11:04,700 --> 00:11:07,220
The ability for copilot to
write, update, and delete data
398
00:11:07,220 --> 00:11:10,100
inside connected third party
apps was still listed as in
399
00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:12,700
development, with general
availability targeted for
400
00:11:12,700 --> 00:11:14,379
October of twenty twenty six.
401
00:11:14,379 --> 00:11:16,940
Reading through connectors has
been shipping for a while.
402
00:11:16,940 --> 00:11:18,059
Writing and deleting is the
403
00:11:18,059 --> 00:11:20,019
newer, riskier half, and that
404
00:11:20,019 --> 00:11:21,379
half changes what you can plan
405
00:11:21,379 --> 00:11:21,779
for.
406
00:11:21,779 --> 00:11:23,139
Open questions remain, and
407
00:11:23,139 --> 00:11:24,460
Microsoft hasn't answered them
408
00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:24,860
yet.
409
00:11:24,860 --> 00:11:27,500
Nobody has said which services
get write access first.
410
00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,259
Nobody has documented an undo.
411
00:11:29,259 --> 00:11:32,220
So if copilot edits or deletes
the wrong record, recovery
412
00:11:32,220 --> 00:11:34,860
depends on whatever the other
system happens to keep.
413
00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:37,179
It also isn't clear whether a
single approval covers one
414
00:11:37,179 --> 00:11:38,659
record or a whole batch.
415
00:11:38,659 --> 00:11:41,500
That distinction matters a lot
when the batch is large, because
416
00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:44,259
one click could then approve
fifty changes you never read.
417
00:11:44,259 --> 00:11:45,500
Audit records have a similar
418
00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,159
gap, Microsoft's documentation
419
00:11:47,159 --> 00:11:48,320
says the level of detail
420
00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:49,759
captured in logs and reports may
421
00:11:49,759 --> 00:11:51,039
vary depending on the service
422
00:11:51,039 --> 00:11:51,840
and configuration.
423
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,960
So even after the fact, working
out exactly what changed might
424
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:56,240
not be straightforward.
425
00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,840
And that's a documented
limitation rather than a guess
426
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,240
about what might go wrong.
427
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,200
One more practical gate is worth
knowing.
428
00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,320
Some of these capabilities need
a Microsoft three.
429
00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,320
Sixty five co-pilot license or a
430
00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:07,600
tenant that allows metered
431
00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:08,000
usage.
432
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000
The exact same feature can be
available to your coworker and
433
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,159
invisible to you.
434
00:12:12,159 --> 00:12:13,320
And if something looks missing.
435
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:14,720
This is usually why the
436
00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,240
practical rule here is simple
437
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:17,679
when a change matters, read it
438
00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,080
before you approve it every
439
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:20,919
single time.
440
00:12:20,919 --> 00:12:23,080
The risk worth knowing before
you let it act.
441
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,399
There's a sharper version of
these limits, and it's worth
442
00:12:25,399 --> 00:12:28,159
naming clearly without turning
it into a scare story.
443
00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:30,440
An agent that can act can be
tricked into acting because it
444
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,720
reads the same pages and
messages that a person does.
445
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,000
The trick has a name prompt
446
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,240
injection, and the plain version
447
00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:35,919
is this.
448
00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:38,679
Hidden instructions can sit
inside a web page or an email
449
00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:40,720
waiting for something that reads
it to follow them.
450
00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:41,720
Microsoft's own edge
451
00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:42,960
documentation warns that the
452
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:44,200
browser version of this feature
453
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:45,580
can be deceived by malicious
454
00:12:45,580 --> 00:12:46,720
instructions hidden on web
455
00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:47,539
pages.
456
00:12:47,539 --> 00:12:48,559
It tells people to watch the
457
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:49,779
work closely for exactly that
458
00:12:49,779 --> 00:12:50,340
reason.
459
00:12:50,340 --> 00:12:52,539
Microsoft's own example is easy
to picture.
460
00:12:52,539 --> 00:12:55,820
You ask copilot to order
ingredients from a recipe page.
461
00:12:55,820 --> 00:12:57,019
Hidden in that page is a line
462
00:12:57,019 --> 00:12:58,299
telling copilot to go somewhere
463
00:12:58,299 --> 00:12:59,139
else and collect your
464
00:12:59,139 --> 00:13:00,299
information instead.
465
00:13:00,299 --> 00:13:02,620
And nothing about the recipe
looks unusual to you.
466
00:13:02,620 --> 00:13:04,299
This isn't hypothetical.
467
00:13:04,299 --> 00:13:06,840
In June of twenty twenty five,
researchers disclosed a flaw in
468
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,399
Microsoft three hundred sixty
five copilot called Echo Leak,
469
00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:12,059
tracked as CVE twenty twenty
five three two seven one.
470
00:13:12,059 --> 00:13:14,340
It could be triggered by a
crafted email with no click from
471
00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:15,259
the user at all.
472
00:13:15,259 --> 00:13:17,740
Microsoft patched it, and it
remains the clearest evidence
473
00:13:17,740 --> 00:13:20,779
that this class of risk is real
rather than theoretical.
474
00:13:20,779 --> 00:13:22,059
The reassuring part is that the
475
00:13:22,059 --> 00:13:23,539
blast radius is smaller than it
476
00:13:23,539 --> 00:13:24,019
sounds.
477
00:13:24,019 --> 00:13:27,340
An agent acts as you with your
permissions and it doesn't gain
478
00:13:27,340 --> 00:13:28,940
access you don't already have.
479
00:13:28,940 --> 00:13:30,259
If you can't open a file,
480
00:13:30,259 --> 00:13:31,659
neither can the action that's
481
00:13:31,659 --> 00:13:32,220
cold comfort.
482
00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:34,779
If your own access is broad,
which is exactly why your admins
483
00:13:34,779 --> 00:13:36,059
care so much about connectors.
484
00:13:36,059 --> 00:13:38,299
It's also why the browser
version asks you to take the
485
00:13:38,299 --> 00:13:41,179
wheel on sensitive sites like
banking and email.
486
00:13:41,179 --> 00:13:42,379
What to do next?
487
00:13:42,379 --> 00:13:43,379
If you take three things from
488
00:13:43,379 --> 00:13:44,450
this episode make them
489
00:13:44,450 --> 00:13:45,129
practical.
490
00:13:45,129 --> 00:13:47,090
Start with the small recurring
wins.
491
00:13:47,090 --> 00:13:49,289
The end of day summary and the
meeting prep.
492
00:13:49,289 --> 00:13:52,169
They carry low risk and they
teach you how the thing behaves.
493
00:13:52,169 --> 00:13:54,009
Treat every approval as a real
494
00:13:54,009 --> 00:13:55,690
decision rather than a formality
495
00:13:55,690 --> 00:13:57,009
because that's what it is before
496
00:13:57,009 --> 00:13:57,169
you.
497
00:13:57,169 --> 00:13:59,169
Trust an action with anything
that matters.
498
00:13:59,169 --> 00:14:02,049
Ask which connectors your
organization has switched on.
499
00:14:02,049 --> 00:14:04,169
One thing worth ignoring is the
feature list that implies
500
00:14:04,169 --> 00:14:05,649
everything is live everywhere.
501
00:14:05,649 --> 00:14:08,330
Some of it is a roadmap date and
knowing which is which will
502
00:14:08,330 --> 00:14:11,090
serve you better than any list
if you want somewhere to start.
503
00:14:11,090 --> 00:14:12,370
The end of day summary is the
504
00:14:12,370 --> 00:14:13,909
friendliest first step, because
505
00:14:13,909 --> 00:14:15,009
a wrong summary costs you
506
00:14:15,009 --> 00:14:15,570
nothing.
507
00:14:15,570 --> 00:14:17,289
The short version is this an
agent?
508
00:14:17,289 --> 00:14:18,570
Is the worker an action?
509
00:14:18,570 --> 00:14:20,210
Is the job it's allowed to do.
510
00:14:20,210 --> 00:14:21,450
A connector is where it reads
511
00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:22,970
from and approval is the moment
512
00:14:22,970 --> 00:14:24,230
responsibility lands back on
513
00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:24,809
you.
514
00:14:24,809 --> 00:14:27,570
Hold those four ideas and the
jargon stops being a wall.
515
00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:29,330
So let me leave you with one
question.
516
00:14:29,330 --> 00:14:30,929
If you had to hand off a single
517
00:14:30,929 --> 00:14:32,490
recurring task this week,
518
00:14:32,490 --> 00:14:33,850
knowing you'd have to approve
519
00:14:33,850 --> 00:14:35,490
every change, which task would
520
00:14:35,490 --> 00:14:36,169
you pick?
521
00:14:36,169 --> 00:14:37,690
If this made the topic feel less
522
00:14:37,690 --> 00:14:40,029
intimidating, subscribe to M365
523
00:14:40,029 --> 00:14:41,809
FM to master the tools and the
524
00:14:41,809 --> 00:14:43,250
mindset shaping the future of
525
00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:43,850
work.
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,600
Welcome to the M365 FM podcast,
where we explore the people,
2
00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,519
ideas and technologies shaping
the future of work.
3
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,759
The part of copilot that stopped
answering copilot actions is the
4
00:00:09,759 --> 00:00:12,359
part of copilot that stopped
answering and started doing.
5
00:00:12,359 --> 00:00:14,140
It's a set of specific, defined
6
00:00:14,140 --> 00:00:15,480
things copilot is allowed to do
7
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:16,760
inside your calendar, your
8
00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,000
files, and your business
9
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:18,760
systems.
10
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,000
Those actions only exist if
somebody built them first.
11
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,760
That's why your IT team suddenly
cares so much about permissions.
12
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,399
This is the same copilot you
might already use for drafting,
13
00:00:26,399 --> 00:00:29,079
except the thing it reaches for
now is a real system with real
14
00:00:29,079 --> 00:00:31,679
records inside it, and the
approval prompt you'll see is
15
00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:34,640
not the same thing as a
guarantee that copilot picked
16
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:35,520
the right record.
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00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,399
Welcome to the M365 FM podcast,
where we explore the people,
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00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:42,439
ideas, and technologies shaping
the future of work.
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00:00:42,439 --> 00:00:43,679
By the end of this episode, the
20
00:00:43,679 --> 00:00:44,679
words will finally mean
21
00:00:44,679 --> 00:00:45,159
something.
22
00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,640
You'll be able to tell an action
from a connector and know
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00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:49,320
exactly where the risk sits.
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00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,119
Microsoft introduced copilot
actions at Ignite in November of
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00:00:52,119 --> 00:00:53,200
twenty twenty four.
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00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,840
The company described them as a
way to automate everyday tasks.
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00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,640
With simple fill in the blank
prompts you can set and forget
28
00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,420
that phrase is doing a lot of
quiet work, because set and
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00:01:01,420 --> 00:01:03,659
forget implies something that
keeps happening while you're
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00:01:03,659 --> 00:01:05,019
somewhere else entirely.
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Before any of that makes sense,
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00:01:06,299 --> 00:01:08,099
you need one distinction, and it
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00:01:08,099 --> 00:01:09,219
holds this entire topic
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00:01:09,219 --> 00:01:10,019
together.
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The one idea that makes all of
this make sense?
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A chatbot produces words.
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00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:15,260
An action changes something.
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00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:17,299
That difference matters more
than any feature list.
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00:01:17,299 --> 00:01:19,019
And it's worth saying slowly.
40
00:01:19,019 --> 00:01:20,739
Ask copilot to summarize a long
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00:01:20,739 --> 00:01:22,099
email thread and you get text
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00:01:22,099 --> 00:01:22,579
back.
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00:01:22,579 --> 00:01:24,579
If the text is wrong, you fix it
and move on.
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00:01:24,579 --> 00:01:26,420
And nothing in the world has
changed.
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00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:28,060
Now handed a request to update a
46
00:01:28,060 --> 00:01:29,620
customer record and you change
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00:01:29,620 --> 00:01:29,980
something.
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00:01:29,980 --> 00:01:31,700
A coworker will see tomorrow
morning.
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00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:33,260
That request carries more weight
50
00:01:33,260 --> 00:01:34,540
because the consequence sticks
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00:01:34,540 --> 00:01:35,620
around after you close the
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00:01:35,620 --> 00:01:36,299
window.
53
00:01:36,299 --> 00:01:39,140
Reading is safe in the sense
that it never breaks anything.
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00:01:39,140 --> 00:01:41,099
Writing and deleting work
differently.
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00:01:41,099 --> 00:01:42,900
A wrong draft costs you 30s
56
00:01:42,900 --> 00:01:44,560
while a wrong delete might cost
57
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:45,659
you something you can't get
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00:01:45,659 --> 00:01:46,180
back.
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00:01:46,180 --> 00:01:47,780
That imbalance is why Microsoft
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00:01:47,780 --> 00:01:49,260
builds a confirmation step into
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00:01:49,260 --> 00:01:50,180
these actions.
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00:01:50,180 --> 00:01:51,739
It's also why a single approval
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00:01:51,739 --> 00:01:52,700
button proves less than it
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00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:53,260
appears to.
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00:01:53,260 --> 00:01:55,780
So an action is one specific
business behavior that has been
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00:01:55,780 --> 00:01:57,500
defined and handed to copilot.
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00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:00,129
Copilot can then pick it up when
your request calls for it.
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00:02:00,129 --> 00:02:01,689
Microsoft builds some of these.
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00:02:01,689 --> 00:02:04,530
Your organization can build
others, and outside companies
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00:02:04,530 --> 00:02:05,689
can publish their own.
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00:02:05,689 --> 00:02:06,810
The name itself gets used
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00:02:06,810 --> 00:02:08,009
loosely across a few related
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00:02:08,009 --> 00:02:08,650
features.
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00:02:08,650 --> 00:02:11,150
There's the recurring task
feature Microsoft announced in
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00:02:11,150 --> 00:02:12,009
twenty twenty four.
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00:02:12,009 --> 00:02:14,490
The general idea of actions
inside Copilot Studio, and the
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00:02:14,490 --> 00:02:17,770
version inside Edge that clicks
and types on web pages for you.
78
00:02:17,770 --> 00:02:20,569
The useful question is never
what copilot actions is.
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00:02:20,569 --> 00:02:22,689
It's what copilot is allowed to
do on your behalf.
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00:02:22,689 --> 00:02:25,289
And where that shift took a few
years to arrive.
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00:02:25,289 --> 00:02:27,650
Copilot started as something you
asked questions.
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00:02:27,650 --> 00:02:30,009
Then it started reading your
work to answer better.
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00:02:30,009 --> 00:02:32,210
Then agents arrived and agents
could hold a task.
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00:02:32,210 --> 00:02:33,169
Over time.
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00:02:33,169 --> 00:02:34,069
Actions are the step where
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00:02:34,069 --> 00:02:35,409
copilot finally reaches out and
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00:02:35,409 --> 00:02:36,870
touches something, and that step
88
00:02:36,870 --> 00:02:37,930
tends to be the one people
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00:02:37,930 --> 00:02:38,370
remember.
90
00:02:38,370 --> 00:02:39,569
If you've been feeling behind on
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00:02:39,569 --> 00:02:40,729
all of this, that's the honest
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00:02:40,729 --> 00:02:41,409
reason.
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00:02:41,409 --> 00:02:43,129
The product moved in stages and
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00:02:43,129 --> 00:02:44,490
each stage changed what the last
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00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:45,449
one meant.
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00:02:45,449 --> 00:02:48,289
Agents actions and connectors
explained simply.
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00:02:48,289 --> 00:02:49,810
Three words come up constantly
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00:02:49,810 --> 00:02:51,129
and one picture holds all of
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00:02:51,129 --> 00:02:51,610
them.
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00:02:51,610 --> 00:02:54,569
An agent is the worker and
action is the specific job that
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00:02:54,569 --> 00:02:57,750
worker is allowed to do, and a
connector is the filing cabinet
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00:02:57,750 --> 00:02:58,469
it reads from.
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00:02:58,469 --> 00:03:01,150
That's the whole vocabulary and
everything else is detail.
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00:03:01,150 --> 00:03:03,550
Get these three straight and the
limits later in this episode
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00:03:03,550 --> 00:03:04,990
will make a lot more sense.
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00:03:04,990 --> 00:03:06,590
An agent is the assistant you
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00:03:06,590 --> 00:03:07,469
talk to with its own
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00:03:07,469 --> 00:03:08,430
instructions and its own
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00:03:08,430 --> 00:03:09,189
knowledge.
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00:03:09,189 --> 00:03:10,750
An action is the capability that
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lets copilot do something in the
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00:03:12,389 --> 00:03:12,870
world.
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00:03:12,870 --> 00:03:14,590
Microsoft builds these as what
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00:03:14,590 --> 00:03:16,389
it calls API plugins, which is a
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00:03:16,389 --> 00:03:17,789
formal way of saying a defined
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00:03:17,789 --> 00:03:19,389
path for copilot to call another
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00:03:19,389 --> 00:03:19,830
system.
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00:03:19,830 --> 00:03:21,949
A connector works differently
because a connector doesn't do
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00:03:21,949 --> 00:03:23,030
anything on its own.
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00:03:23,030 --> 00:03:24,669
It brings outside knowledge in.
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00:03:24,669 --> 00:03:26,710
So copilot has something to
reason over.
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00:03:26,710 --> 00:03:28,990
Connectors come in two shapes,
and the difference is easier
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00:03:28,990 --> 00:03:30,349
than the name suggests.
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00:03:30,349 --> 00:03:31,710
A single connector copies
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00:03:31,710 --> 00:03:33,710
outside content into Microsoft
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00:03:33,710 --> 00:03:34,270
Graph.
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00:03:34,270 --> 00:03:35,550
The index that Microsoft three.
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00:03:35,550 --> 00:03:37,949
Sixty five searches that
content, then sits alongside
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00:03:37,949 --> 00:03:38,750
your own files.
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00:03:38,750 --> 00:03:40,669
A federated connector doesn't
copy anything.
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It fetches the information live.
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00:03:41,909 --> 00:03:43,189
At the moment, you ask using a
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standard called MCP, which
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00:03:44,710 --> 00:03:45,750
stands for Model Context
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00:03:45,750 --> 00:03:46,509
Protocol.
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00:03:46,509 --> 00:03:48,469
In plain terms, synced means
137
00:03:48,469 --> 00:03:50,030
copilot reads a copy and
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00:03:50,030 --> 00:03:51,669
federated means copilot reads
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00:03:51,669 --> 00:03:52,469
the original.
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00:03:52,469 --> 00:03:55,189
You'll also meet all of this in
two different places.
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00:03:55,189 --> 00:03:57,610
Sometimes an agent appears
inside an app you already use,
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00:03:57,610 --> 00:04:00,250
like a teams chat or a word
document, and you mention it the
143
00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:01,090
way you'd mention a colleague.
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00:04:01,090 --> 00:04:03,409
Microsoft calls that an
in-context experience.
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00:04:03,409 --> 00:04:04,409
Other times, you open the
146
00:04:04,409 --> 00:04:05,810
copilot app and talk to one
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00:04:05,810 --> 00:04:07,610
agent on its own, one to one,
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00:04:07,610 --> 00:04:08,810
which Microsoft calls an
149
00:04:08,810 --> 00:04:10,050
immersive experience.
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00:04:10,050 --> 00:04:12,650
Agents themselves come in two
styles worth knowing.
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00:04:12,650 --> 00:04:15,210
A declarative agent is the
simpler kind, where you give it
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00:04:15,210 --> 00:04:18,089
instructions and knowledge and
let copilot handle the rest.
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00:04:18,089 --> 00:04:20,569
A custom engine agent is the
heavier kind, where your
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00:04:20,569 --> 00:04:23,189
developers bring their own
logic, and the agent runs on
155
00:04:23,189 --> 00:04:24,329
that for a beginner.
156
00:04:24,329 --> 00:04:27,089
The practical difference is who
builds it and how much control
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00:04:27,089 --> 00:04:28,129
your team wants.
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00:04:28,129 --> 00:04:29,689
The connectors are what make
this useful.
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00:04:29,689 --> 00:04:33,050
Outside Microsoft's own tools, a
connector can reach a customer
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00:04:33,050 --> 00:04:35,930
database, a help desk system, or
an app your finance team built
161
00:04:35,930 --> 00:04:37,089
for itself years ago.
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00:04:37,089 --> 00:04:38,769
Once that connection exists, an
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00:04:38,769 --> 00:04:40,009
action can read from it or write
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00:04:40,009 --> 00:04:40,410
to it.
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00:04:40,410 --> 00:04:41,569
And at that point, saying
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00:04:41,569 --> 00:04:42,850
copilot can do things stops
167
00:04:42,850 --> 00:04:43,529
being marketing.
168
00:04:43,529 --> 00:04:44,730
One limit is worth knowing.
169
00:04:44,730 --> 00:04:45,970
While the vocabulary is still
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00:04:45,970 --> 00:04:47,490
fresh as of Microsoft's own
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00:04:47,490 --> 00:04:49,370
documentation, actions built as
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00:04:49,370 --> 00:04:51,089
API plugins are supported inside
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00:04:51,089 --> 00:04:52,329
declarative agents and aren't
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00:04:52,329 --> 00:04:53,769
enabled directly in Microsoft
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00:04:53,769 --> 00:04:54,009
three.
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00:04:54,009 --> 00:04:55,120
Sixty five copilot.
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00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:56,480
You can safely forget that
sentence.
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00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,819
Keep the practical version
instead, which is that not every
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00:04:58,819 --> 00:05:00,639
action works in every place.
180
00:05:00,639 --> 00:05:03,040
How a plain request becomes a
real task.
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00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,680
The sequence is simpler than the
plumbing behind it.
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00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,279
You describe an outcome in
ordinary language.
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00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,120
Copilot works out what you
meant, chooses the right action
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00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,920
from everything it has
available, calls that action and
185
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:15,120
hands you a result.
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00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,600
The piece that chooses is called
the orchestrator, and it decides
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00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,399
whether your words match an
action at all.
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00:05:20,399 --> 00:05:22,079
Microsoft built a developer mode
189
00:05:22,079 --> 00:05:23,000
that shows you when the
190
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:23,879
orchestrator picked your
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00:05:23,879 --> 00:05:24,879
capability.
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00:05:24,879 --> 00:05:27,560
That mode exists because the
choice isn't always obvious,
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00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:28,959
even to the people who built it.
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00:05:28,959 --> 00:05:30,680
A small example makes it
concrete.
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00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,199
Say you're getting ready for a
196
00:05:32,199 --> 00:05:33,279
meeting with a client called
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00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:34,959
contoso, copilot finds the
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00:05:34,959 --> 00:05:36,399
relevant action, pulls your
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00:05:36,399 --> 00:05:37,959
recent emails and the last two
200
00:05:37,959 --> 00:05:39,800
calls, drafts a short briefing,
201
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,160
and offers to put prep time on
202
00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:42,079
your calendar.
203
00:05:42,079 --> 00:05:44,279
Nothing in that chain was a
sentence you typed out.
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00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,439
Copilot assembled it from the
actions it had.
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00:05:46,439 --> 00:05:49,480
Underneath all of it sits work
IQ, the intelligence layer
206
00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,639
Microsoft announced in late
twenty twenty five.
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00:05:51,639 --> 00:05:53,500
Work IQ pulls together three
things.
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00:05:53,500 --> 00:05:56,579
One piece is your work data,
meaning the emails, files, and
209
00:05:56,579 --> 00:05:58,060
meetings you already have.
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00:05:58,060 --> 00:06:00,660
Another is your memory, which
covers your style, your habits,
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00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:02,379
and the people you work with.
212
00:06:02,379 --> 00:06:05,220
The last is inference, and it
combines those two to guess your
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00:06:05,220 --> 00:06:06,220
next best move.
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00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:08,939
That combination is what makes
copilot feel less like a search
215
00:06:08,939 --> 00:06:11,579
box, and more like someone who
has been paying attention.
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00:06:11,579 --> 00:06:12,660
The newest version of this is
217
00:06:12,660 --> 00:06:14,139
called copilot Cowork, and it
218
00:06:14,139 --> 00:06:15,779
shows where the whole idea is
219
00:06:15,779 --> 00:06:16,220
heading.
220
00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:19,660
You hand off a task and coworker
turns your request into a plan.
221
00:06:19,660 --> 00:06:21,860
That plan keeps running in the
background with checkpoints
222
00:06:21,860 --> 00:06:24,259
where you can look in, change
course or pause it.
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00:06:24,259 --> 00:06:25,420
If it needs something from you.
224
00:06:25,420 --> 00:06:27,180
It asks if it wants to change
something.
225
00:06:27,180 --> 00:06:28,420
You see the recommended action
226
00:06:28,420 --> 00:06:29,339
and approve it before it
227
00:06:29,339 --> 00:06:29,939
happens.
228
00:06:29,939 --> 00:06:31,100
Microsoft says it runs in a
229
00:06:31,100 --> 00:06:32,139
protected, sandboxed cloud
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00:06:32,139 --> 00:06:33,300
environment, which is the
231
00:06:33,300 --> 00:06:34,420
technical way of saying it works
232
00:06:34,420 --> 00:06:35,579
inside a box your company
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00:06:35,579 --> 00:06:36,220
controls.
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00:06:36,220 --> 00:06:37,259
The point of those checkpoints
235
00:06:37,259 --> 00:06:38,500
is that you stay in the loop
236
00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:39,699
without having to watch every
237
00:06:39,699 --> 00:06:40,420
step.
238
00:06:40,420 --> 00:06:42,540
What this looks like in a normal
workday.
239
00:06:42,540 --> 00:06:45,100
Abstract descriptions only carry
you so far.
240
00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:46,899
So picture an ordinary Tuesday
241
00:06:46,899 --> 00:06:48,259
start when your workday ends,
242
00:06:48,259 --> 00:06:49,819
and a recurring action hands you
243
00:06:49,819 --> 00:06:51,060
a short summary of your most
244
00:06:51,060 --> 00:06:52,839
important action items The
245
00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:54,079
things you promised across four
246
00:06:54,079 --> 00:06:55,199
different meetings don't
247
00:06:55,199 --> 00:06:56,519
disappear overnight.
248
00:06:56,519 --> 00:06:58,800
The action runs whether you
remember it or not, which is the
249
00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:00,399
whole point of setting it once.
250
00:07:00,399 --> 00:07:01,160
Then there's the weekly
251
00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:02,160
newsletter you send every
252
00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:02,920
Thursday.
253
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:04,160
Instead of chasing five people
254
00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:05,600
for updates, you set an action
255
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:06,920
that collects their input ahead
256
00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:07,480
of time.
257
00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:08,879
By Thursday morning, the raw
258
00:07:08,879 --> 00:07:10,199
material is already sitting
259
00:07:10,199 --> 00:07:10,680
there.
260
00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,639
The same idea works before a
customer call, where an action
261
00:07:13,639 --> 00:07:16,680
summarizes your last few
interactions with that account.
262
00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,600
You open the meeting with
contacts instead of panic.
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00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,560
The newer coworker examples
reach further.
264
00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,720
You can ask it to clean up your
calendar, and it reviews your
265
00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:25,959
week, flags the conflicts and
the low value meetings, then
266
00:07:25,959 --> 00:07:28,560
proposes which ones to accept,
decline, or move.
267
00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:30,759
It also suggests where to add
focus time.
268
00:07:30,759 --> 00:07:32,319
You approve the plan and only
269
00:07:32,319 --> 00:07:33,199
then does it touch your
270
00:07:33,199 --> 00:07:33,959
schedule.
271
00:07:33,959 --> 00:07:36,480
Hand it a customer meeting and
you can get back a briefing
272
00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,480
document, a piece of analysis,
and a client ready deck.
273
00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,920
All saved where your team can
refine them.
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00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:43,600
It handles research the same
way.
275
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,360
Ask it to look into a company
and it can pull earnings reports
276
00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,560
and filings, organize the
findings with citations and give
277
00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,550
you an executive summary, plus a
spreadsheet to work from.
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00:07:52,550 --> 00:07:53,910
There's a quieter category two,
279
00:07:53,910 --> 00:07:54,670
and it's where a lot of
280
00:07:54,670 --> 00:07:55,550
beginners start.
281
00:07:55,550 --> 00:07:57,910
Think about a new hires first
week full of forms, access
282
00:07:57,910 --> 00:07:59,550
requests, and policy questions.
283
00:07:59,550 --> 00:08:00,790
An action can answer the common
284
00:08:00,790 --> 00:08:02,430
questions and walk that person
285
00:08:02,430 --> 00:08:03,949
through the steps, which turns a
286
00:08:03,949 --> 00:08:05,189
pile of tickets into one short
287
00:08:05,189 --> 00:08:05,990
conversation.
288
00:08:05,990 --> 00:08:07,310
Nobody saves a screenshot of
that.
289
00:08:07,310 --> 00:08:08,509
They just stop dreading it.
290
00:08:08,509 --> 00:08:09,889
And the real win is that a new
291
00:08:09,889 --> 00:08:11,389
hire gets an answer at nine at
292
00:08:11,389 --> 00:08:12,509
night instead of waiting until
293
00:08:12,509 --> 00:08:13,069
Monday.
294
00:08:13,069 --> 00:08:15,949
Every one of those examples ends
the same way with you approving
295
00:08:15,949 --> 00:08:17,389
the change before it happens.
296
00:08:17,389 --> 00:08:18,589
Everyone also depends on the
297
00:08:18,589 --> 00:08:19,790
right action or connector
298
00:08:19,790 --> 00:08:21,029
already existing.
299
00:08:21,029 --> 00:08:24,110
That last part is what never
makes it into the demo.
300
00:08:24,110 --> 00:08:25,629
Where this lives in Microsoft
301
00:08:25,629 --> 00:08:26,629
three hundred sixty five and
302
00:08:26,629 --> 00:08:27,189
Azure.
303
00:08:27,189 --> 00:08:29,870
Now that you can picture it
working, it helps to know where
304
00:08:29,870 --> 00:08:30,910
each piece lives.
305
00:08:30,910 --> 00:08:32,269
Copilot is the front door.
306
00:08:32,269 --> 00:08:34,269
The chat you type into Microsoft
three.
307
00:08:34,269 --> 00:08:35,230
Sixty five is the building
308
00:08:35,230 --> 00:08:36,629
behind it, holding your mail,
309
00:08:36,629 --> 00:08:37,789
your files, your meetings, and
310
00:08:37,789 --> 00:08:38,509
your records.
311
00:08:38,509 --> 00:08:39,830
Copilot studio is the workshop
312
00:08:39,830 --> 00:08:41,149
where agents and actions get
313
00:08:41,149 --> 00:08:41,669
built.
314
00:08:41,669 --> 00:08:43,909
It's the low code option, which
means you point and click
315
00:08:43,909 --> 00:08:45,190
instead of writing code.
316
00:08:45,190 --> 00:08:48,269
If you want the Pro code path,
Microsoft has the agents
317
00:08:48,269 --> 00:08:51,009
toolkit, and it's built for
developers who would rather
318
00:08:51,009 --> 00:08:52,690
write the plumbing themselves.
319
00:08:52,690 --> 00:08:55,210
There's a quicker way to start,
too, called Agent Builder.
320
00:08:55,210 --> 00:08:57,610
You can spin up a simple agent
from a chat window in Microsoft
321
00:08:57,610 --> 00:09:00,289
three hundred sixty five, or
teams give it instructions and
322
00:09:00,289 --> 00:09:02,769
point it at knowledge, all
without leaving the app.
323
00:09:02,769 --> 00:09:04,110
One boundary matters, though
324
00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:05,289
Agent Builder doesn't support
325
00:09:05,289 --> 00:09:06,309
building actions that reach
326
00:09:06,309 --> 00:09:07,289
outside services.
327
00:09:07,289 --> 00:09:09,950
When you need an action that
talks to another system, you
328
00:09:09,950 --> 00:09:12,250
copy the agent into Copilot
Studio and add it there.
329
00:09:12,250 --> 00:09:13,210
This is where Azure and the
330
00:09:13,210 --> 00:09:14,450
power platform come in, and you
331
00:09:14,450 --> 00:09:15,830
don't need to know either one to
332
00:09:15,830 --> 00:09:16,690
follow along.
333
00:09:16,690 --> 00:09:17,889
The connectors and workflows
334
00:09:17,889 --> 00:09:19,570
behind these actions come from
335
00:09:19,570 --> 00:09:20,769
the same family of tools
336
00:09:20,769 --> 00:09:22,769
Microsoft uses for automation
337
00:09:22,769 --> 00:09:24,090
across Azure, and the power
338
00:09:24,090 --> 00:09:24,889
platform.
339
00:09:24,889 --> 00:09:27,570
That shared foundation is why an
action can reach a system that
340
00:09:27,570 --> 00:09:30,009
has nothing to do with Microsoft
three hundred sixty five, a
341
00:09:30,009 --> 00:09:32,289
support ticket tool, an
inventory system, a billing app
342
00:09:32,289 --> 00:09:33,970
your operations team relies on.
343
00:09:33,970 --> 00:09:36,450
All of it becomes reachable
through the same idea.
344
00:09:36,450 --> 00:09:38,649
You'll also see outside
companies show up here.
345
00:09:38,649 --> 00:09:40,129
Partners like ServiceNow and
346
00:09:40,129 --> 00:09:41,850
workday can publish their own
347
00:09:41,850 --> 00:09:43,730
agents and connectors so copilot
348
00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:45,250
can reach their systems without
349
00:09:45,250 --> 00:09:46,370
your team building the bridge
350
00:09:46,370 --> 00:09:47,250
from scratch.
351
00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:49,710
Those pieces land in the same
catalogue as everything else,
352
00:09:49,710 --> 00:09:51,950
which is what makes the whole
thing feel like one product
353
00:09:51,950 --> 00:09:53,070
instead of twenty.
354
00:09:53,070 --> 00:09:55,429
And because they share that
catalogue, your admins can
355
00:09:55,429 --> 00:09:58,509
approve a single agent without
rebuilding the setup around it.
356
00:09:58,509 --> 00:10:00,909
Someone has to keep watch over
all of this, and beginners
357
00:10:00,909 --> 00:10:02,350
usually skip this one.
358
00:10:02,350 --> 00:10:05,070
Microsoft introduced agent three
sixty five as a control plane
359
00:10:05,070 --> 00:10:08,070
for agents, which really means
one place to register them,
360
00:10:08,070 --> 00:10:10,870
limit what they can reach, and
monitor what they do.
361
00:10:10,870 --> 00:10:12,309
Your admins also get a simpler
362
00:10:12,309 --> 00:10:13,830
switch, because the admin center
363
00:10:13,830 --> 00:10:15,149
shows which connectors are
364
00:10:15,149 --> 00:10:16,750
switched on and lets them turn
365
00:10:16,750 --> 00:10:18,429
off any that don't fit company
366
00:10:18,429 --> 00:10:19,629
policy.
367
00:10:19,629 --> 00:10:21,389
The limits nobody puts in the
demo.
368
00:10:21,389 --> 00:10:22,470
This is the part that earns your
369
00:10:22,470 --> 00:10:23,950
trust, because a tool that can
370
00:10:23,950 --> 00:10:25,269
change your records deserves an
371
00:10:25,269 --> 00:10:26,429
honest accounting of where it
372
00:10:26,429 --> 00:10:27,309
falls short.
373
00:10:27,309 --> 00:10:29,190
The biggest limit is easy to
miss.
374
00:10:29,190 --> 00:10:30,789
Confirmation is not correctness.
375
00:10:30,789 --> 00:10:32,870
When you approve an action,
you've proven that a person
376
00:10:32,870 --> 00:10:33,909
agreed to something.
377
00:10:33,909 --> 00:10:36,350
You haven't proven that copilot
found the right record or
378
00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:37,909
changed it the way you meant.
379
00:10:37,909 --> 00:10:40,309
Those are two separate
questions, and only one of them
380
00:10:40,309 --> 00:10:41,429
is answered by a button.
381
00:10:41,429 --> 00:10:43,629
Microsoft's own documentation is
careful here.
382
00:10:43,629 --> 00:10:45,190
In a way the marketing isn't.
383
00:10:45,190 --> 00:10:46,710
The company describes copilot as
384
00:10:46,710 --> 00:10:48,299
producing useful drafts and
385
00:10:48,299 --> 00:10:49,399
summaries for a person to
386
00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:49,779
review.
387
00:10:49,779 --> 00:10:51,340
It also states plainly that
388
00:10:51,340 --> 00:10:52,980
generative AI responses aren't
389
00:10:52,980 --> 00:10:54,220
guaranteed to be completely
390
00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:54,980
accurate.
391
00:10:54,980 --> 00:10:57,179
That isn't a disclaimer buried
in fine print.
392
00:10:57,179 --> 00:10:58,419
It's the design assumption,
393
00:10:58,419 --> 00:11:00,019
which means your review is part
394
00:11:00,019 --> 00:11:01,259
of the product rather than an
395
00:11:01,259 --> 00:11:02,340
optional extra.
396
00:11:02,340 --> 00:11:04,700
Then there's the honest question
of what's finished.
397
00:11:04,700 --> 00:11:07,220
The ability for copilot to
write, update, and delete data
398
00:11:07,220 --> 00:11:10,100
inside connected third party
apps was still listed as in
399
00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:12,700
development, with general
availability targeted for
400
00:11:12,700 --> 00:11:14,379
October of twenty twenty six.
401
00:11:14,379 --> 00:11:16,940
Reading through connectors has
been shipping for a while.
402
00:11:16,940 --> 00:11:18,059
Writing and deleting is the
403
00:11:18,059 --> 00:11:20,019
newer, riskier half, and that
404
00:11:20,019 --> 00:11:21,379
half changes what you can plan
405
00:11:21,379 --> 00:11:21,779
for.
406
00:11:21,779 --> 00:11:23,139
Open questions remain, and
407
00:11:23,139 --> 00:11:24,460
Microsoft hasn't answered them
408
00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:24,860
yet.
409
00:11:24,860 --> 00:11:27,500
Nobody has said which services
get write access first.
410
00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,259
Nobody has documented an undo.
411
00:11:29,259 --> 00:11:32,220
So if copilot edits or deletes
the wrong record, recovery
412
00:11:32,220 --> 00:11:34,860
depends on whatever the other
system happens to keep.
413
00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:37,179
It also isn't clear whether a
single approval covers one
414
00:11:37,179 --> 00:11:38,659
record or a whole batch.
415
00:11:38,659 --> 00:11:41,500
That distinction matters a lot
when the batch is large, because
416
00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:44,259
one click could then approve
fifty changes you never read.
417
00:11:44,259 --> 00:11:45,500
Audit records have a similar
418
00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,159
gap, Microsoft's documentation
419
00:11:47,159 --> 00:11:48,320
says the level of detail
420
00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:49,759
captured in logs and reports may
421
00:11:49,759 --> 00:11:51,039
vary depending on the service
422
00:11:51,039 --> 00:11:51,840
and configuration.
423
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,960
So even after the fact, working
out exactly what changed might
424
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:56,240
not be straightforward.
425
00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,840
And that's a documented
limitation rather than a guess
426
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,240
about what might go wrong.
427
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,200
One more practical gate is worth
knowing.
428
00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,320
Some of these capabilities need
a Microsoft three.
429
00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,320
Sixty five co-pilot license or a
430
00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:07,600
tenant that allows metered
431
00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:08,000
usage.
432
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000
The exact same feature can be
available to your coworker and
433
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,159
invisible to you.
434
00:12:12,159 --> 00:12:13,320
And if something looks missing.
435
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:14,720
This is usually why the
436
00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,240
practical rule here is simple
437
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:17,679
when a change matters, read it
438
00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,080
before you approve it every
439
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:20,919
single time.
440
00:12:20,919 --> 00:12:23,080
The risk worth knowing before
you let it act.
441
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,399
There's a sharper version of
these limits, and it's worth
442
00:12:25,399 --> 00:12:28,159
naming clearly without turning
it into a scare story.
443
00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:30,440
An agent that can act can be
tricked into acting because it
444
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,720
reads the same pages and
messages that a person does.
445
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,000
The trick has a name prompt
446
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,240
injection, and the plain version
447
00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:35,919
is this.
448
00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:38,679
Hidden instructions can sit
inside a web page or an email
449
00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:40,720
waiting for something that reads
it to follow them.
450
00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:41,720
Microsoft's own edge
451
00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:42,960
documentation warns that the
452
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:44,200
browser version of this feature
453
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:45,580
can be deceived by malicious
454
00:12:45,580 --> 00:12:46,720
instructions hidden on web
455
00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:47,539
pages.
456
00:12:47,539 --> 00:12:48,559
It tells people to watch the
457
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:49,779
work closely for exactly that
458
00:12:49,779 --> 00:12:50,340
reason.
459
00:12:50,340 --> 00:12:52,539
Microsoft's own example is easy
to picture.
460
00:12:52,539 --> 00:12:55,820
You ask copilot to order
ingredients from a recipe page.
461
00:12:55,820 --> 00:12:57,019
Hidden in that page is a line
462
00:12:57,019 --> 00:12:58,299
telling copilot to go somewhere
463
00:12:58,299 --> 00:12:59,139
else and collect your
464
00:12:59,139 --> 00:13:00,299
information instead.
465
00:13:00,299 --> 00:13:02,620
And nothing about the recipe
looks unusual to you.
466
00:13:02,620 --> 00:13:04,299
This isn't hypothetical.
467
00:13:04,299 --> 00:13:06,840
In June of twenty twenty five,
researchers disclosed a flaw in
468
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,399
Microsoft three hundred sixty
five copilot called Echo Leak,
469
00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:12,059
tracked as CVE twenty twenty
five three two seven one.
470
00:13:12,059 --> 00:13:14,340
It could be triggered by a
crafted email with no click from
471
00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:15,259
the user at all.
472
00:13:15,259 --> 00:13:17,740
Microsoft patched it, and it
remains the clearest evidence
473
00:13:17,740 --> 00:13:20,779
that this class of risk is real
rather than theoretical.
474
00:13:20,779 --> 00:13:22,059
The reassuring part is that the
475
00:13:22,059 --> 00:13:23,539
blast radius is smaller than it
476
00:13:23,539 --> 00:13:24,019
sounds.
477
00:13:24,019 --> 00:13:27,340
An agent acts as you with your
permissions and it doesn't gain
478
00:13:27,340 --> 00:13:28,940
access you don't already have.
479
00:13:28,940 --> 00:13:30,259
If you can't open a file,
480
00:13:30,259 --> 00:13:31,659
neither can the action that's
481
00:13:31,659 --> 00:13:32,220
cold comfort.
482
00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:34,779
If your own access is broad,
which is exactly why your admins
483
00:13:34,779 --> 00:13:36,059
care so much about connectors.
484
00:13:36,059 --> 00:13:38,299
It's also why the browser
version asks you to take the
485
00:13:38,299 --> 00:13:41,179
wheel on sensitive sites like
banking and email.
486
00:13:41,179 --> 00:13:42,379
What to do next?
487
00:13:42,379 --> 00:13:43,379
If you take three things from
488
00:13:43,379 --> 00:13:44,450
this episode make them
489
00:13:44,450 --> 00:13:45,129
practical.
490
00:13:45,129 --> 00:13:47,090
Start with the small recurring
wins.
491
00:13:47,090 --> 00:13:49,289
The end of day summary and the
meeting prep.
492
00:13:49,289 --> 00:13:52,169
They carry low risk and they
teach you how the thing behaves.
493
00:13:52,169 --> 00:13:54,009
Treat every approval as a real
494
00:13:54,009 --> 00:13:55,690
decision rather than a formality
495
00:13:55,690 --> 00:13:57,009
because that's what it is before
496
00:13:57,009 --> 00:13:57,169
you.
497
00:13:57,169 --> 00:13:59,169
Trust an action with anything
that matters.
498
00:13:59,169 --> 00:14:02,049
Ask which connectors your
organization has switched on.
499
00:14:02,049 --> 00:14:04,169
One thing worth ignoring is the
feature list that implies
500
00:14:04,169 --> 00:14:05,649
everything is live everywhere.
501
00:14:05,649 --> 00:14:08,330
Some of it is a roadmap date and
knowing which is which will
502
00:14:08,330 --> 00:14:11,090
serve you better than any list
if you want somewhere to start.
503
00:14:11,090 --> 00:14:12,370
The end of day summary is the
504
00:14:12,370 --> 00:14:13,909
friendliest first step, because
505
00:14:13,909 --> 00:14:15,009
a wrong summary costs you
506
00:14:15,009 --> 00:14:15,570
nothing.
507
00:14:15,570 --> 00:14:17,289
The short version is this an
agent?
508
00:14:17,289 --> 00:14:18,570
Is the worker an action?
509
00:14:18,570 --> 00:14:20,210
Is the job it's allowed to do.
510
00:14:20,210 --> 00:14:21,450
A connector is where it reads
511
00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:22,970
from and approval is the moment
512
00:14:22,970 --> 00:14:24,230
responsibility lands back on
513
00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:24,809
you.
514
00:14:24,809 --> 00:14:27,570
Hold those four ideas and the
jargon stops being a wall.
515
00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:29,330
So let me leave you with one
question.
516
00:14:29,330 --> 00:14:30,929
If you had to hand off a single
517
00:14:30,929 --> 00:14:32,490
recurring task this week,
518
00:14:32,490 --> 00:14:33,850
knowing you'd have to approve
519
00:14:33,850 --> 00:14:35,490
every change, which task would
520
00:14:35,490 --> 00:14:36,169
you pick?
521
00:14:36,169 --> 00:14:37,690
If this made the topic feel less
522
00:14:37,690 --> 00:14:40,029
intimidating, subscribe to M365
523
00:14:40,029 --> 00:14:41,809
FM to master the tools and the
524
00:14:41,809 --> 00:14:43,250
mindset shaping the future of
525
00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:43,850
work.
