Microsoft Copilot Mastery: Empowering Productivity and Building AI Solutions

1. Introduction
2. Duration
3. Format
4. Target Audience
5. Prerequisities
6. Workshop Objectives
7. Key Takeaways
8. Training Agenda
9. Building AI Agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio
10. Workshop Format
11. Pricing Options

Duration

24 Hours.

Format

Online training with an in-person option (groups of up to 15 people).

Target Audience

This workshop is ideal for:

• Business Professionals and Managers looking to leverage AI for improved productivity.
• IT Specialists and Developers interested in building custom AI solutions.
• Power Users aiming to enhance their capabilities with advanced AI tools.
• Anyone seeking to drive innovation and efficiency within their organization using Microsoft’s AI capabilities.

Prerequisites:

Participants should have:

• A fundamental understanding of Microsoft 365 applications.
• Readiness to manipulate documents and data within a Microsoft environment.
• Access to Microsoft 365 Copilot (if available for their organization).
• Access to Microsoft Copilot Studio (trial or full access setup).
• Sample non-sensitive PDF documents and an Excel file ready for AI manipulation.
• Access to Microsoft Teams.
• Familiarity with general AI concepts (optional but beneficial).

Workshop Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the core concepts of AI, Generative AI, and the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem.
• Apply effective prompt engineering techniques to maximize productivity with
  Microsoft Copilot tools.
• Utilize Microsoft 365 Copilot across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams to automate tasks and enhance collaboration.
• Design, build, and configure custom conversational AI solutions using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) by integrating external
  knowledge sources (websites, documents) into copilots.
• Develop interactive conversation flows using topics, questions, conditions, entities, and variables in Copilot Studio.
• Integrate custom copilots with external systems through Actions (e.g., Power Automate).
• Understand the principles of building and orchestrating autonomous AI Agents in Copilot Studio.
• Publish and manage custom copilots and agents across various channels, and monitor their performance.

Key Takeaways

• Practical skills in leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot for daily productivity gains.
• Proficiency in crafting effective prompts for various AI applications.
• Ability to design and implement custom conversational AI solutions with Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Competence in integrating external data sources to empower AI responses.
• Foundational knowledge and hands-on experience in building intelligent AI Agents.
• Strategies for deploying, testing, and optimizing AI solutions within an organizational context.

Training Agenda

Module 0: Introduction to AI & The Microsoft Copilot Ecosystem

• Topics & Activities: What is AI? Understanding Generative AI and Conversational AI. Overview of the Microsoft Copilot Family (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio). Key benefits and use cases in business. Introduction to the AI Agent concept (Perceive, Reason, Act) within Microsoft solutions. Q&A.
• Assignment: Conceptual understanding of AI’s role in the modern workplace and the Microsoft Copilot landscape.

Module 1: Mastering Prompt Engineering for Microsoft Copilot

• Topics & Activities: Principles of effective prompt writing (Clarity, Context, Constraints, Creativity). Crafting prompts for summarization, content generation, data analysis, and ideation. Strategies for iterative prompting and refining outputs.
• Assignment #1: Practical Prompting Exercises: Participants will apply prompt engineering techniques across various scenarios.

Module 2: Microsoft 365 Copilot in Action: Word, Excel & PowerPoint

• Topics & Activities: Leveraging Copilot in Word for document creation, summarization, and rephrasing. Using Copilot in Excel for data analysis, formula generation, and visualization insights. Enhancing presentations with Copilot in PowerPoint (slide creation, summarization, design suggestions).
• Assignment #2: Copilot-Assisted Document & Data Tasks: Hands-on exercises applying Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to real-world tasks.

Module 3: Microsoft 365 Copilot in Action: Outlook & Teams

• Topics & Activities: Boosting communication with Copilot in Outlook (drafting emails, summarizing threads). Streamlining collaboration with Copilot in Teams (meeting summaries, action item generation, chat summarization).
• Assignment #3: Enhancing Communication & Collaboration with Copilot: Practical application of Copilot in Outlook and Teams.

Module 4: Introduction to Copilot Studio & Your First Custom Copilot

• Topics & Activities: Deep dive into the Copilot Studio environment. The “quick create” flow using natural language descriptions. Demo: Building a simple custom copilot. Navigating the Copilot Studio interface (Home, Copilots list, Authoring canvas).
• Assignment #4: Creating Your First Copilot Studio Agent: Navigate Copilot Studio and create a basic custom copilot based on a simple description.

Module 5: Configuring Copilot Behavior: Instructions & Generative AI

• Topics & Activities: Understanding the ‘Instructions’ setting to guide copilot personality, tone, and constraints. Accessing and editing instructions for optimal responses. Introduction to Generative AI capabilities in Copilot Studio for automated answers.
• Assignment #5: Defining Copilot Persona & Guidelines: Customize copilot behavior and tone using the instructions setting and test the impact.

Module 6: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with Website & Document Sources

• Topics & Activities: Introduction to RAG via the ‘Knowledge’ section. Connecting to public websites as knowledge sources. Importance of relevant, text-based content. Adding documents (PDF, DOCX etc.) via file upload. Refining knowledge source descriptions for accuracy.
• Assignment #6: Expanding Copilot Knowledge Base: Add multiple website URLs and upload documents as knowledge sources, and verify the copilot can answer questions from these sources.

Module 7: Introduction to Topics & System Topics

• Topics & Activities: Understanding the difference between custom Topics and Generative Answers. Triggering mechanisms (trigger phrases, intent descriptions). Overview of System topics (e.g., Conversation Start, End, Escalation). Demo: Exploring and customizing ‘Conversation Start’.
• Assignment #7: Customizing Core Conversation Flows: Explore and modify key system topics to align with specific business needs.

Module 8: Building Custom Topics: Fixed Responses, Questions & Conditions

• Topics & Activities: Why use custom topics for precise control. Building topics triggered by specific phrases or intent. Using the ‘Send a message’ node for predefined answers. Creating interactive topics with ‘Ask a question’ nodes. Configuring answer types and using ‘Add condition’ for branching logic.
• Assignment #8: Developing Interactive Custom Topics: Create a custom topic that asks a user question and uses conditional branching based on the answer.

Module 9: Leveraging Entities & Variables for Dynamic Responses

• Topics & Activities: Understanding and utilizing Entities (built-in like Age, City; custom entities) to capture structured data from user input. Storing captured data in Variables. Using Variables within messages for personalized and dynamic responses.
• Assignment #9: Implementing Dynamic Data Capture: Modify a topic to use entities for capturing specific data, store it in variables, and reference these variables in subsequent messages.

Module 10: Integrating with External Systems: Introduction to Actions

• Topics & Activities: Concept of Actions: Enabling copilots to perform tasks beyond chat. Connecting to external systems via Power Automate Flows, APIs, www.arekskuza.com and pre-built connectors. Understanding Inputs and Outputs for actions. Conceptual examples of invoking external systems (e.g., retrieving data, submitting requests).
• Assignment #10: Exploring Action Integration: Understand the purpose of Actions and how they enable integration with external systems, identifying how inputs/outputs function.

Building AI Agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio

This dedicated section focuses on the principles and practical application of constructing autonomous and intelligent AI Agents within Microsoft Copilot Studio, leveraging the core components learned in previous modules.

Module 11: Agent Design Principles & Advanced Topic Orchestration

• Topics & Activities: Deep dive into the “Perceive, Reason, Act” loop in the context of Copilot Studio. Designing multi-turn, goal-oriented conversations. Orchestrating multiple topics to achieve complex user objectives. Strategies for handling ambiguity and disambiguation within agent flows.
• Assignment #11: Designing a Complex Agent Flow: Outline a real-world business scenario and design a multi-topic agent flow within Copilot Studio to address it.

Module 12: Advanced Agent Capabilities: Proactive Behavior & System Integration

• Topics & Activities: Exploring concepts of proactive agent behavior (e.g., initiating conversations based on triggers, offering assistance). Advanced integration patterns with Power Automate for complex business process automation. Utilizing adaptive cards for rich user interactions. Security and governance considerations for agents.
• Assignment #12: Implementing an Advanced Agent Feature: Implement a feature demonstrating proactive behavior or a more complex integration with an external system (conceptual or simplified hands-on).

Module 13: Publishing, Channel Integration & Agent Performance Monitoring

• Topics & Activities: The publishing process for complex agents. Deploying agents across various channels (Demo Website, Microsoft Teams, Custom Web Chat, etc.). Best practices for testing and debugging agents. Introduction to analytics and monitoring agent performance, identifying areas for improvement.
• Assignment: End-to-End Agent Testing & Review: Publish a developed agent and conduct comprehensive testing across various scenarios, analyzing its performance and identifying potential enhancements.

Module 14: Workshop Wrap-up & Next Steps in AI Agent Development

• Topics & Activities: Recap of key concepts learned in building AI Agents (Agent Design, Advanced Topics, Entities, Actions, Integration, Monitoring). Q&A session. Discussion of advanced topics and future learning paths (e.g., custom authentication, deeper Power Platform integration, AI Builder, advanced custom entities, scalability). Feedback session.
• Outcome: Solidified understanding of building and deploying advanced AI Agents, with a clear roadmap for continuous development and optimization.

Workshop Format

The workshops are conducted in a highly interactive manner, ensuring maximum engagement and learning effectiveness for participants. The training program is full of case studies and practical examples of tools, demonstrated through simulations and demonstrations. All classes are held online, allowing for convenient participation from any location, using a camera and microphone. This format enables direct interaction with the instructors and other participants, which promotes the exchange of experiences and the expansion of knowledge in an interactive and dynamic way. In the case of offline classes in a training room, the trainer divides the participants into groups in which project work is carried out.

Pricing Options

• €6,000