Choose the right tool to build your declarative agent

2025-05-19

Declarative agents enable you to extend Microsoft 365 Copilot to meet the unique needs of your users. You can build declarative agents using a no-code, low-code, or pro-code approach. This article provides information about the tools that are available for building declarative agents and the pros and cons for each.

Tools for building declarative agents

Several tools are available to help you build declarative agents for Copilot. The following table lists the tools and the potential use cases for each to help you decide which tool is right for you.

Tool	Coding approach	Description	Recommended use case
Copilot Studio agent builder	No-code	Copilot Studio agent builder offers a simple interface for business users to build declarative agents. Simply describe what the agent should do or author an agent with simple configuration experience.	Business users with no coding experience that want to customize Copilot to increase personal and group productivity. From writer coach to onboarding buddy, users can easily create and share agents that answers questions from knowledge sources, generate image, process data, solve math problem and more.
SharePoint	No-code	SharePoint agents are declarative agents that run within SharePoint and Teams. They provide responses based on the data available in an organization's SharePoint implementation.	Business users who want to customize Copilot for a specific purpose or to specify specific sites, document libraries, and files for Copilot to search.
Copilot Studio	Low-code	Copilot Studio allows users to create declarative agents using a drag-and-drop interface. It provides control over business logic and workflow automation and allows users to create declarative agents with advanced features, such as custom API actions, adaptive cards, and CI/CD integration.	Information workers and business users who need a low-code, easy-to-use solution that includes Power Platform integration.
Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit (an evolution of Teams Toolkit)	Pro-code	Agents Toolkit enables the creation of declarative agents with advanced features, such as custom API actions, adaptive cards, and CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) integration.	Developers who need full control over their coding environment, source control, and APIs.

Tool requirements and access

The following table describes the prerequisites for using each tool and where agents from each can be published.

Tool	Requirements	Tool access	Publishes agents to
Copilot Studio agent builder	Microsoft 365 subscription	Select the Create agent option in Microsoft 365 Copilot or Teams.	Users with Microsoft 365 subscriptions (with limited capabilities) Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses or metering enabled
SharePoint	Microsoft 365 subscription Site admin or owner permissions	Install SharePoint.	SharePoint sites
Copilot Studio	Microsoft 365 subscription Copilot Studio license	Install Copilot Studio.	Users with Microsoft 365 subscriptions (with limited capabilities) Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses or metering enabled Mobile apps, messaging platforms
Agents Toolkit	Microsoft 365 subscription (with sideloading enabled) Visual Studio Code or Visual Studio Azure subscription (optional)	Install Agents Toolkit.	Users with Microsoft 365 subscriptions (with limited capabilities) Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses or metering enabled

Copilot Studio agent builder

Copilot Studio agent builder is a great option for users with no coding experience who need a guided process for building declarative agents. You can access the agent builder through the Create agent option in Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Pros	Cons
Ease of use: Designed for users to build agents right inside of M365 Copilot with no coding experience, using a natural language interface.	Complex workflows: Doesn't support complex workflows and integrations.
Quick setup: Provides a guided process for building agents.	Slower feature rollout: Some advanced features are available in Agents Toolkit before they're available in Copilot Studio agent builder.
Accessibility: Suitable for creating personal and group productivity agents without having to write code.
Straightforward agent testing: The test pane allows users to test the end-user experience of agents directly within the tool.
Variety of knowledge sources: Easily add public web, SharePoint, Graph connector data and more as agent knowledge sources.
Generate rich content: Enable image generation and code interpreter with one click.

SharePoint

The SharePoint option is suitable for site owners or editors who want to create agents tailored to specific scenarios within the SharePoint environment. Every SharePoint site comes with a ready-made agent, scoped to the content on that site. Users with site editing permissions can create custom-built agents by changing content scope, identity, and behavior from multiple locations on the SharePoint site.

Pros	Cons
Customization: Site owners, content owners, or editors can create agents tailored to specific needs.	Content limitations: As with all agents, if the agent can't find information in its defined knowledge sources, it might provide outdated content from the internet.
Defined sources: Agents draw on context from specific SharePoint sites and document libraries.	Scalability: Not suitable for large-scale or highly complex applications.
Ease of access: Integrated directly into SharePoint, making it easy for users to access and interact with the agents.	Functionality and visibility limitations (SharePoint): Declarative agents built in SharePoint can't integrate with or use declarative agents not build in SharePoint in Copilot Chat.
Personalized user experience: Provides a personalized user experience based on the specific SharePoint content.	Functionality and visibility limitations (Teams): Chatting with agent in Teams 1:1 is done in immersive viewer from SharePoint.
Integration with SharePoint: Uses existing SharePoint features like document libraries.
Integration with Teams: Users can make a SharePoint agent available in Microsoft Teams by copying the link to the agent and pasting it in a Teams group or meeting chat.

Copilot Studio

Microsoft Copilot Studio is designed for small-scale deployments, such as department-level solutions. It's a great alternative for people who need a low-code tool that is easy to use and that integrates with Microsoft Power Platform.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use: Copilot studio provides a no-code approach that enables business users and information workers to build and customize agents using a drag-and-drop interface without coding.	Less developer control: Limited ability to fine-tune API calls, actions, and response formatting.
Power platform connectors: Enable quick plug-and-play API integration using hundreds of prebuilt connectors.	No support for source control or CI/CD: No built-in support for source control systems (Azure DevOps, GitHub) pull requests, or automated deployments.
Great for personal and departmental use: Fast setup for smaller, targeted agents that don’t require large-scale enterprise governance.	Limited support for Adaptive Cards: You can't customize how responses are displayed beyond basic text formatting.
Prebuilt governance and deployment: Agents are deployed using Copilot Studio’s built-in management tools, reducing complexity for IT teams.	Slower feature rollout: Some advanced features are available in Agents Toolkit before they're available in Copilot Studio.
Built-in test agent: Copilot Studio comes with a built-in test agent that lets you test the agent in real-time.

Agents Toolkit

If your scenario involves the full control, scalability, and direct API integration of a pro-code approach, Agents Toolkit is the best tool to use to create your declarative agent.

The following table lists the pros and cons for using Agents Toolkit.

Pros	Cons
Pro-code flexibility: Ideal for developers who prefer Visual Studio Code and want full control over their coding environment, source control, and access to APIs.	No Power Platform connector support: Unlike Copilot Studio agent builder, Agents Toolkit doesn't support drag-and-drop Power Platform connectors for quick API integration.
Custom API actions: Enables integration with any API using OpenAPI specifications or custom-built REST APIs, providing flexibility beyond Power Platform connectors.	No "No-code" UI: Requires manual JSON editing for agent configuration, rather than a UI-driven toggle system.
Version control and collaboration: Supports some source control systems, pull requests, and CI/CD for better development practices and team collaboration.	Limited composability for makers: Agents built in Agents Toolkit can't be reused in low-code tools such as Copilot Studio and Copilot Studio agent builder.
Fast feature adoption: New capabilities (for example, code interpreter) are often available first in Agents Toolkit before they're added to Copilot Studio and agent builder.	Steeper learning curve: The Agents Toolkit is designed for professional developers, which can be less accessible for business users and information workers.
Advanced support for Adaptive Cards: Enables custom UI rendering inside agents using Adaptive Cards, which isn't available in Copilot Studio.
Complex application bundling: Allows integration of agents with Teams apps, personal tabs, messaging extensions, and other Microsoft 365 applications.
Experimentation support: Developers can fork, test, and iterate on agent capabilities without affecting live deployments.
Copilot connectors and AI enhancements: Supports rich integrations, including semantic search with Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors (formerly Microsoft Graph connectors) and more control over agent reasoning and responses.

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