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The difference between Copilot agents

AI agents in the workplace are here to stay. They look up information, scan documents, answer repetitive questions, or guide complex processes. A real asset, especially in organizations where efficiency and knowledge sharing are key.

Thanks to Microsoft, you can now build your own AI agent without any technical skills. The only catch is choosing the right tool. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the differences so you can pick the best fit for your team.

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What are Copilot agents?

Copilot Agents are AI-powered assistants that integrate fully with your existing Microsoft 365 environment. Think of tools like Teams, SharePoint, or Outlook. They are designed to make information more accessible, reduce repetitive tasks, and support colleagues in working smarter every day.

These agents can connect not only to data within Microsoft 365, but also to external sources. Think websites, documents, or APIs. That makes their range of applications particularly broad.

Copilot Studio as a starting point

Both Agent Builder and SharePoint Agent Builder are part of Copilot Studio. This is the central platform that lets you build, manage, and publish your own Copilot agents within Microsoft 365.

Copilot Studio offers a central platform that brings together both the Agent Builder and the SharePoint Agent Builder. The first is a general-purpose builder that connects to external sources, while the second focuses on document-based knowledge agents.

For IT teams or power users, Copilot Studio also offers additional possibilites, such as:

Performing complex tasks and workflows.
Customizing conversation flows
Adding connectors to external systems
Managing, testing, and analyzing agents in one place

Smart automation without IT knowledge using Agent Builder

With Agent Builder, you can create a smart agent in just a few minutes using a visual interface. No technical skills or IT support needed, everything is intuitive and easy to use.

With the Agent Builder you can:

Build agents in Teams or Microsoft 365
Connect to business data and public sources.
Automate repetitive questions and tasks
Quickly provide answers to colleagues without involving IT

Typical use cases for Agent Builder

A sales agent that always retrieves the most up-to-date customer information.
An HR agent that provides answers to employee questions.
A support agent that guides colleagues through standard processes.

Deeper internal knowledge with the SharePoint Agent Builder

The SharePoint Agent Builder is designed for organizations that work extensively with internal documents, Teams chats, and SharePoint libraries. This tool specializes in finding and understanding existing internal information, while respecting access permissions. In other words, users only see what they’re allowed to see.

With the SharePoint Agent Builder, you can easily search specific SharePoint sites, folders, and Teams chats. The tool is integrated into SharePoint and Teams, so there’s no need for a separate environment.

Which agent should you choose?

	Agent Builder	SharePoint Agent Builder
Do you want to quickly build an agent in Teams to handle frequently asked questions?	✅	❌
Does your team mainly work with SharePoint documents or Teams chats?	❌	✅
Do you want to combine data from multiple systems (CRM, HR, web)?	✅	❌
Is it important that access permissions are respected one-to-one?	⚠️ niet standaard	✅
Do you need to search through documents without restructuring them first?	❌	✅

Both tools can also be used side by side. You don’t have to choose one big agent. In many cases, it’s more effective to create smaller, targeted agents for each team or process.