Add custom knowledge

In this exercise you will update the declarative agent you created in the previous exercise with custom instructions and grounding data. This exercise assumes you have a SharePoint site with a document library named “Products” that contains sample product files.

This exercise should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Before you start

Before you can start this exercise, you will need to upload the product-related documents to Microsoft 365 that the declarative agent will use as grounding data. Complete the steps below to prepare for the exercise.

[!NOTE] When you upload documents to a new SharePoint Online site, there’s a delay before the documents are indexed and available for use by Copilot. If you wish to test your agent immediately, then upload the documents to an existing site. The documents will be indexed and available for use by the agent without delay. If you choose to use a new SharePoint Online site, the documents may take longer to be indexed and available for use by Copilot.

The instructions below guide you through uploading the documents to a new site. If you’d like to use an existing site, start with the section labeled Upload sample data and use your existing library in place of the Products library.

Download the sample data

  1. In a web browser, navigate to the course’s GitHub repo.

  2. Select the download raw file button to download Products.zip.

    :::image type=”content” source=”../media/download-github.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge highlighting the download raw file button in GitHub.”:::

  3. Open the downloaded folder and extract all contents to a new folder on your machine named Products that you can access later.

Create a SharePoint site

  1. In a web browser, navigate to https://www.microsoft365.com and sign in with the Microsoft 365 account you’re using for this lab.
  2. In the left-hand menu, select Apps (grid icon) then select SharePoint from the catalog of apps.
  3. From the left-hand menu, select Create (plus icon) and then select Site.
  4. Select Team site as the type of site.
  5. On the Select a template page, select Standard team.
  6. On the Preview page, select Use template.
  7. On the Give your site a name page, enter Product support then select Next.
  8. On the next configuration page, change the Privacy settings to Public.
  9. Select Create site. Creation of the site may take a few moments before the Finish button is activated.
  10. Select Finish.

Create a document library

  1. From the Product support SharePoint site, select the New button at the top of the page then select Document library.
  2. On the Create a new document library page, select Blank library.
  3. In the Name field, enter Products then select Create.

Upload sample data

  1. From the Products library, select the Upload button then select Files.
  2. Navigate to the folder on your computer where you saved the sample files in an earlier step.
  3. Select all of the files in your local Products folder and then select Open to upload them to SharePoint.
  4. Wait for the upload to complete. The files will now appear in the Products library in SharePoint.

Copy the SharePoint URL

Next, copy the direct URL to the site for use when configuring your agent’s knowledge.

  1. From the Products library page in SharePoint, select the Settings icon in the top right and choose Library settings then More library settings.

    :::image type=”content” source=”../media/sharepoint-library-settings.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing the library settings option from the settings menu.”:::

  2. Locate the Web address property. Your SharePoint site URL is the portion of the Web address that is in the format https://DOMAIN.sharepoint.com/sites/SITE_NAME/LIBRARY_NAME. Your URL should be https://DOMAIN.sharepoint.com/sites/ProductSupport/Products.
  3. Copy your SharePoint site URL and save it for use in upcoming lab steps.

Configure your agent with custom knowledge

Add the SharePoint URL to your agent as a grounding knowledge source.

Add SharePoint URL

  1. From your Product Support agent’s overview page in Copilot Studio, select Add knowledge in the Knowledge section.

    Screenshot of Copilot Studio in Microsoft Edge highlighting the Add knowledge button for the Product support agent.

  2. On the Add knowledge page of the wizard that opens, select SharePoint.

  3. In the text box, paste the URL of your Products SharePoint library then select Add. This should be in the format: https://DOMAIN.sharepoint.com/sites/ProductSupport/Products.

  4. Select Add on the Add SharePoint window then wait for the knowledge source to be added to the agent. This may take a minute or two.
  5. Notice that the Products library is listed under the Knowledge section of the agent’s overview information.

Note: Copilot Studio agents access documents on behalf of the user. Your agent will only be able to get answers and content from documents your end users have access to.

Update custom instructions

Next, update the agent’s instructions to describe how the agent should use the knowledge source.

  1. From the agent’s overview page in Copilot Studio, select Edit within the Details section.
  2. Update the contents of the Instructions text box to the following: You are an agent tasked with answering questions about Contoso Electronics products. Start every response by enthusiastically thanking the user for their question or comment, then respond to their question or comment. You will use documents from the Products folder in SharePoint as your source of information. If you can't find the necessary information, you should suggest that the agent should reach out to the team responsible for further assistance. Your responses should be concise and always include a cited source.
  3. Select Save in the Details section.

Test your agent in Copilot Studio

Finally, test your agent’s ability to use the custom knowledge source.

  1. From the Test your agent pane in your agent’s overview page in Copilot Studio, select the refresh button to refresh the test pane and load your agent’s latest changes.
  2. In the text box for the test conversation, enter Tell me about Eagle Air and send the message.
  3. Wait for the response. Notice that the response contains information about the Eagle Air drone. The response contains citations and references to the Eagle Air document stored in SharePoint.

Let’s try a few more prompts:

  1. In the message box, enter Recommend a product suitable for a farmer and send the message.
  2. Wait for the response. Notice that the response contains information about the Eagle Air and some extra context as to why the Eagle Air is recommended. The response contains citations and references to the Eagle Air document stored in OneDrive.
  3. In the message box, enter Explain why the Eagle Air is more suitable than Contoso Quad and send the message.
  4. Wait for the response. Notice that the response explains in more detail why the Eagle Air is more suitable than the Contoso Quad for use by farmers.

Finally, let’s test the fallback response by asking a question that the agent can’t answer:

  1. In the message box, enter When was Mark8 released? and send the message.
  2. Wait for the response. Notice that the response suggests that the agent should reach out to the team responsible for further assistance as defined in the instructions.