6.3. Applying Agents Across Copilot Experiences
💡 First Principle: An agent is most useful where the work already happens. Instead of leaving your chat, meeting or document to go find a tool, you bring the agent into the place you're working, usually by @mentioning it, and it works with the context of that place and the permissions you already have.
Ways to bring an agent into your work:
| Experience | How you apply an agent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Chat | Open the agent from Agents in the navigation, or @mention it (for example @Researcher) in a chat prompt | Researcher also stays reachable under Tools in Copilot Chat |
| Microsoft Teams | @mention an agent by name in a chat or channel. A Channel Agent is added through the Add people, agents and bots icon | One Channel Agent per channel; not in private channels; not with external participants; officially supports US English only |
| Teams meetings | Turn on Facilitator before or during a scheduled meeting | See 8.1.2 |
| Word and PowerPoint | Microsoft's guidance indicates agents can be @mentioned from Copilot in Word and PowerPoint | Availability may vary, so confirm in your own tenant |
| Outlook | Declarative agents gained integrated support in classic Outlook in September 2026 | |
| Mobile | Researcher, Analyst and Employee Self-Service are available in the Copilot mobile app |
Filtering chats by agent. Once you work with several agents, your chat history fills with sessions that look alike. Copilot's chat history can be filtered to narrow the list, and filters that target specific agents are rolling out, so check what your own tenant shows. Combined with the All chats view (5.1), filtering is how you get back to "the Analyst session from last Tuesday" without scrolling.
Permissions travel with you, not with the agent. Whichever experience you use an agent in, it works with your identity and your access. An agent you @mention in a Teams channel can't reveal a file to colleagues who couldn't already open it, and an agent never grants anyone new access.
⚠️ Exam Trap: Teams channel scenarios have tight limits. You can't add a second Channel Agent to a channel that already has one, and you can't use a Channel Agent in a private channel or with external participants. If a scenario includes any of these, an answer that relies on adding a Channel Agent there is wrong.
Reflection Question: A project team works mostly in a private Teams channel with two external contractors and wants an agent to answer questions about the project there. Why won't a Channel Agent work, and what's a reasonable alternative way for team members to use agents in their work?
