Welcome to Copilot Developer Camp's Build Path: Build your own agent with the M365 Agents SDK and Semantic Kernel
During the Build Path of the Copilot Developer Camp, you will develop a custom engine agent that runs across Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, and even external channels using the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and Semantic Kernel.
What is a custom engine agent?
Custom engine agents are chatbots powered by Generative AI and enhanced through an orchestration layer. When built using the M365 Agents SDK, these agents are structured around capabilities like intent handling, planner integration, and system message configuration. The Semantic Kernel framework powers multi-step reasoning and external tool usage, enabling your agent to act autonomously while delivering consistent and secure experiences across Microsoft 365 and beyond.
This journey begins in Azure AI Foundry, where you’ll define your agent’s core instructions, tools, and personality. From there, you’ll use the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and Visual Studio to bring your agent to life, customizing its behaviors and integrating it with Semantic Kernel for orchestration. You’ll then test your agent in Microsoft Teams, bring it into Copilot Chat, and see it come to life across Microsoft 365 applications.
The lab includes multiple exercises. Complete them in order, as each one builds on the previous:
- Prepare your agent in Azure AI Foundry
- Build your first agent using the M365 Agents SDK
- Configure your agent’s properties using the SDK
- Integrate your agent with Teams using Azure AI Foundry
- Bring your agent into Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat