Copilot Studio: Beginners Guide 2026

Key insights

• Microsoft Copilot Studio is a visual low-code platform for building and publishing AI agents.
  Pick a harness first — common options are the standard harness, the GitHub Copilot harness, and Copilot chat.
• The tutorial shows a step-by-step build: create an agent, set name and logo, write instructions, choose a model, upload knowledge (example: employee handbook), and add a leave-request skill.
  Finally, test in Preview and publish the agent to Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
• Follow the simple roles: instructions steer the agent, knowledge provides answers, and skills perform actions.
  Turn off web search for agents that must rely only on company documents.
• Testing note: Preview chats consume service credits, so plan tests to control cost.
  Run focused tests, fix behavior, then scale testing before organization-wide access.
• Extend agents with topics, tools/actions, and triggers to guide conversations, connect systems, and automate tasks.
  Use analytics after publishing to monitor use, spot problems, and improve responses.
• Best practices for beginners: start from templates, choose the right harness first, check default settings (like web search), and test thoroughly before you publish.
  These steps speed up builds, protect data, and reduce post-release fixes.

Overview of the tutorial

Anders Jensen [MVP] published a hands-on YouTube tutorial titled Copilot Studio Tutorial for Beginners (2026) that walks viewers through building a complete AI agent from scratch. The video demonstrates how to give the agent knowledge, add a practical skill, and publish the result to Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Jensen shows every menu and setting he changes, making the tutorial practical for IT pros and business users who want a repeatable workflow.

The presentation emphasizes a clear beginner path and highlights changes in the 2026 Copilot Studio experience. In particular, Jensen stresses harness selection before authoring and explains why that choice affects capabilities and deployment. The tutorial aims to leave viewers able to build, test, and publish an agent while knowing which settings to verify before broad release in an organization.

Step-by-step build demonstrated

Jensen begins with a blank agent and walks viewers through naming, branding, and the instruction layer that defines agent behavior. Next, he shows how to choose a model from the model picker and then upload an internal document as a knowledge source so the agent answers questions from the company handbook. After grounding the agent in company content, he builds a leave request skill in plain language and integrates it into the agent’s topics and actions.

The tutorial also covers hands-on testing in the Preview pane and the final publishing steps to both Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Jensen reproduces the complete authoring flow so viewers can follow the same clicks and settings he uses. This approach helps learners replicate the outcome quickly while learning which defaults they may want to change on future agents.

Key settings, tradeoffs, and costs

Jensen highlights three core concepts that shape agent behavior: instructions steer the assistant, knowledge supplies factual grounding, and skills perform actions. He also warns that even testing in Preview consumes credits, so organizations should plan testing and budget accordingly. This creates a tradeoff between thorough testing and resource consumption that teams must manage to avoid unexpected costs.

Another tradeoff involves the default web search setting, which Jensen advises switching off for agents that should only use internal company data. Turning off web search improves data control and compliance, yet it can also limit the agent’s ability to provide up-to-date public information. Teams must therefore balance privacy and accuracy needs when configuring each agent.

Choosing a harness: benefits and challenges

The tutorial reflects the 2026 guidance that recommends choosing a harness—for example the standard or the new GitHub Copilot harness—before building an agent. Jensen explains that harness choice affects authoring experience, available tooling, and how the agent can be deployed. While the GitHub Copilot harness can streamline some automation scenarios, the standard harness often offers broader compatibility for classic enterprise workflows.

However, selecting a harness also introduces challenges, such as differences in feature sets and expected maintenance patterns. Teams must weigh the ease of low-code creation against longer-term extensibility and integration requirements. Jensen’s walkthrough encourages evaluating organizational priorities first, then matching the harness to those priorities to avoid costly rework later.

Testing, publishing, and governance

Jensen demonstrates preview testing until the agent behaves as intended, and then publishes it to Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot so users can interact with the agent in daily workflows. He also points out that monitoring and analytics are crucial after publishing to identify usage patterns and areas that need improvement. Proper governance and access controls remain essential to protect company data and limit unintended actions.

Publishing introduces tradeoffs between fast delivery and rigorous validation; while rapid rollouts can show value quickly, they can also expose gaps in training data or permissions. Therefore, Jensen recommends checking settings and testing critical scenarios before giving broad access. This balance between speed and safety forms a recurring theme throughout the tutorial.

Practical recommendations and conclusions

For beginners, Jensen’s tutorial offers a clear, repeatable sequence: create the agent, pick the harness and model, add knowledge and instructions, author skills, test in Preview, and publish. He focuses on the practical defaults he adjusts on almost every build, which helps new authors avoid common pitfalls. As a result, the video serves both as a step-by-step guide and a checklist for governance and cost control.

In closing, the tutorial highlights the power and accessibility of Copilot Studio as a low-code tool for building AI-driven assistants while also reminding viewers of tradeoffs around cost, data exposure, and harness choice. For teams that balance these considerations intentionally, Jensen’s walkthrough provides a pragmatic path from idea to a working agent inside Teams and Microsoft 365. Overall, the video is a useful primer for any organization starting to adopt Copilot Studio in 2026.

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