Microsoft Copilot Studio
: How to use it, features, and the business problems it solves
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What is Microsoft Copilot Studio?
Microsoft's enterprise agent-building platform for creating AI agents and workflows with natural language and a low-code interface, then publishing them to Teams, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Copilot, websites and more. Agents can connect to internal data, 1,400+ connectors and MCP servers. Pricing is based on Copilot Credits: a pack of 25,000 credits costs ¥29,985 per month, with pay-as-you-go billing through Azure and a pre-purchase plan also available. Internal agents can also be built with Microsoft 365 Copilot (equivalent to ¥4,497 per user per month, excluding tax, billed annually). Supports Japanese.
Business problems it solves
About "Microsoft Copilot Studio"
What is Microsoft Copilot Studio?
Microsoft Copilot Studio is Microsoft's enterprise platform for building AI agents and workflows with natural language and a low-code interface, then publishing and managing them across internal and external channels. You can start simply by describing in words what you want the agent to do, connect internal documents and data as the agent's knowledge, and publish it to Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot, as well as websites, mobile apps and social channels.
You can build anything from an internal help desk or customer-service chatbot that answers questions, to agents that plan and carry out tasks autonomously, voice agents that handle phone calls, and systems where multiple agents work together. Through more than 1,400 external connectors and MCP servers, agents can also operate business systems on your behalf. The official website states that 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Copilot Studio.
Copilot Studio is used as a web app (https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com), and you pay in a usage unit called "Copilot Credits". Internal agents can also be built within the scope included in a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
How to use
- Get set up To use Copilot Studio you need, for example, a Copilot Studio license (a free user license that comes with purchasing a Copilot Credit pack), a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, or a trial license. If you just want to try it, you can sign up for a trial individually.
- Create an agent
Sign in at
copilotstudio.microsoft.comand describe the agent you want in natural language. Then add instructions (how to respond, formatting rules), knowledge (SharePoint, internal documents, websites, etc.) and tools (connectors, flows, APIs, MCP servers). - Test it In the test chat panel, check how the agent understands questions and how it responds. There is also a feature for evaluating quality with test sets before and after publishing.
- Publish it Publish to the channels where you want people to use it, such as Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot or a website. With a trial license, you can create and test agents but cannot publish them.
- Manage and improve it Check conversation outcomes and usage in analytics, and manage the agent inventory, security, role-based access and costs in the Power Platform admin center.
Key features
01Build
- Build with natural language (preview) — Describe the business goal you want to achieve, and Copilot Studio assembles the right combination of agents and workflows
- Agents — AI assistants that converse based on instructions and knowledge and use tools to complete tasks. Some agents can be assigned their own account and take part in business processes
- Workflows and agent flows — Build automations in a drag-and-drop designer. Agent flows offer a Power Automate-like authoring experience and can include human review steps
- Templates — Start from ready-made agents in the agent store or from templates
02Connect
- Organizational knowledge — Ground agents' answers in internal data such as Work IQ (the intelligence layer behind Microsoft 365 Copilot) and SharePoint
- Connectors and MCP — Connect to business systems through more than 1,400 external connectors and MCP servers
- Multi-agent systems — Split complex processes across multiple agents, including agents from Microsoft and partners
- Voice agents — Build voice agents that handle phone calls (IVR)
03A choice of "harnesses"
- GitHub Copilot harness — Reasons its way through the steps itself, handling multi-step work and complex business processes
- Standard harness — For rule-based, repeatable agents that respond according to conversations (topics) designed by the author
- Copilot Chat harness — Brings your organization's knowledge into Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
04Manage
- Administration and governance — In the Power Platform admin center, manage who can create and share agents, data protection, development environments, agent lifecycle, usage and costs
- Analytics and evaluation — Analyze conversation outcomes, track custom metrics and evaluate quality with test sets. ROI tracking with Microsoft Purview and Viva Insights is also supported
Pricing
You pay in Copilot Credits. Each time an agent answers or performs an action, a number of credits based on the task is consumed. The following is as shown on Microsoft's official website (Japan) as of October 10, 2026.
| Purchase option | Price (as listed) | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Equivalent to ¥4,497 per user per month (annual billing, excluding tax) | Includes Copilot Chat and the Copilot Studio Standard harness. For building and using internal agents within Microsoft 365. Requires an eligible Microsoft 365 business or enterprise plan |
| Copilot Credit pack | ¥29,985 per pack per month | 25,000 Copilot Credits for use across the tenant. Also allows publishing to external channels and using the GitHub Copilot harness |
| Pay-as-you-go | Pay only for what you use (billed at month end) | Start without an upfront commitment. Requires an Azure subscription |
| Pre-purchase plan | Discounts based on purchase volume | A one-year prepayment of Copilot Credits (purchased in the Azure portal). Save up to 20%. Automatically switches to pay-as-you-go when used up |
How credits are handled: Capacity purchased as packs applies monthly, and unused credits do not carry over to the next month. If usage exceeds purchased capacity, the service may be restricted. On September 1, 2025, the billing unit changed from "messages" to "Copilot Credits" (with no change to the amount per pack or the pay-as-you-go rate). The pay-as-you-go unit price is not listed on the Copilot Studio page of Microsoft's Japan website and needs to be checked on the Azure pricing page.
Copilot Credit consumption guide (Standard harness agents, from the official documentation)
| Feature | Credits consumed | When used by employees with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license |
|---|---|---|
| Classic answers (predefined responses written by the author) | 1 | No charge |
| Generative answers | 2 | No charge |
| Agent actions | 5 | No charge |
| Tenant graph grounding | 10 | No charge |
| Agent flow actions (per 100 actions) | 13 | No charge |
| Content processing tools (per page) | 8 | No charge |
| Voice (per minute; classic / GenAI / premium GenAI) | 10 / 35 / 75 | — |
"No charge" in the right-hand column applies when employees with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license use the agent under that account (subject to fair-use limits). Agent flows are only free when triggered by an agent calling the flow, and use of computer-using agents is not included.
How it differs from what's included in Microsoft 365 Copilot
According to the official FAQ, Copilot Studio as included in Microsoft 365 Copilot lets licensed users build and use internal agents with Copilot Chat and the Standard harness at no extra cost. When licensed employees use agents within Teams, SharePoint or Copilot Chat, generated answers and similar features do not consume credits (computer-using agents are not included).
If you want to publish to external channels such as websites or apps, or use the GitHub Copilot harness, you need standalone Copilot Studio (credit packs, pay-as-you-go or the pre-purchase plan). There is also the "agent builder" inside Microsoft 365 Copilot for quickly creating lightweight agents, which is aimed at business users and small teams.
Japanese support
- Authoring interface — Shown in the browser's language, with Japanese supported.
- Agent language — You can choose Japanese (ja-JP) as an agent's primary language. The primary language cannot be changed after creation. Note that for agents whose primary language is not English, suggested prompts do not appear in the Microsoft 365 Copilot channel after publishing (they still work in Teams and web chat).
- Pricing and website — Microsoft's Japan website shows pricing in yen, and the documentation (Microsoft Learn) is available in Japanese.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Agents can be placed directly where employees work every day, such as Teams, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Natural language and a low-code interface make it easy to start without programming expertise
- More than 1,400 connectors and MCP let you connect to business systems, covering everything from inquiry handling to business automation
- Permissions, data protection and costs can be managed centrally with the Power Platform admin center and Microsoft Purview
- With a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, internal agents can be built at no extra cost
Cons
- The licensing and billing structure (packs, pay-as-you-go, pre-purchase, and what's included in Microsoft 365 Copilot) is complex, making costs hard to predict
- Credit consumption differs by feature, so costs vary with how agents are used
- Publishing externally requires the paid standalone version, and trials cannot publish
- The barrier to adoption is high for organizations that don't use Microsoft 365, Azure or Power Platform
Reputation and reviews
The official website states that 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Copilot Studio and features case studies from Estée Lauder, Dow, Amgen and Virgin Money. For companies already using Microsoft 365, a key reason for choosing it is being able to roll out agents connected to internal data and Teams while keeping the familiar management framework. On the other hand, there are many combinations of billing units and purchase options, to the point that Microsoft itself provides a usage estimator and a licensing guide, so estimating costs before adoption is essential.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Q. Can I use Copilot Studio for free? A. If you sign up individually for a trial license, you can create and test agents for free. However, trials cannot publish. For full use, you need a Copilot Credit pack (¥29,985/month), pay-as-you-go, the pre-purchase plan, or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Q. If I have Microsoft 365 Copilot, do I need to buy Copilot Studio separately? A. If you only use internal agents within Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, Copilot Chat, etc.), you can build them within the scope included in Microsoft 365 Copilot. If you want to publish to external channels such as websites, or use the GitHub Copilot harness, you need standalone Copilot Studio.
Q. What are Copilot Credits? A. They are the unit that measures Copilot Studio usage. Each feature consumes a set amount, such as 2 credits for a generative answer and 5 credits for an agent action. A pack gives you 25,000 credits for ¥29,985 per month, and unused credits do not carry over to the next month.
Q. Can I build agents in Japanese? A. Yes. The authoring interface can be displayed in Japanese, and you can choose Japanese as an agent's primary language.
Q. Does everyone who uses an agent need a license? A. Agents built and published with standalone Copilot Studio do not require a license for the users. Costs are based on the credits the agent consumes.
Q. What do I need to use pay-as-you-go? A. You need an active Azure subscription that can be linked to your Copilot Studio environment. Create a billing policy in the Power Platform admin center and link the environment to the Azure subscription, and you will be billed at the end of each month only for the credits actually used.
How Microsoft Copilot Studio differs from other AI tools
| Service | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot Studio | Low-code agent-building platform integrated with Microsoft 365 | Rolling out agents connected to Teams and internal data within Microsoft's management framework |
| Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft's AI assistant | Individuals and employees using AI in chat and Office apps |
| Dify | Open-source platform for building LLM apps and agents | Choosing models freely and building agents or chatbots, including in your own environment |
| n8n | Workflow automation tool (self-hostable) | Adding AI processing to automations that connect many SaaS tools |
| Chatbase | AI chatbot trained on your own data | Quickly adding a customer-support chatbot to a website |
Microsoft Copilot is an assistant for "using" AI, while Copilot Studio is a platform for extending that Copilot and for "building and distributing" your own agents. For organizations that don't use Microsoft 365, or that want to choose models freely, options such as Dify and n8n are also available.
The information on this page is as of October 10, 2026, and is based on the Microsoft Copilot Studio product page and plans and pricing page on Microsoft's official website (Japan), and on the official Microsoft Learn documentation (Copilot Studio overview, licensing for Standard harness agents, billing rates and management, language support). Pricing and features may change, so please check the official website for the latest information.
