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 should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Before you start

Configure your agent with custom knowledge

First, configure your agent to use the SharePoint site data.

Add SharePoint URL

Update custom instructions

TODO: Insert steps

Update custom instructions

Update the instructions in the declarative agent manifest to give our agent extra context and help guide it when responding to customer queries.

In Visual Studio Code:

  1. Open the appPackage/instruction.txt file and update the contents with:

     You are Product Support, an intelligent assistant designed to answer customer queries about Contoso Electronics products, repairs, returns, and warranties. 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.

  2. Save your changes.

Test the behavior of your agent

Test your declarative agent in Copilot Studio and validate the results.

Test the instructions

Continuing in the web browser:

  1. In Microsoft 365 Copilot, select the icon in the top right to expand the Copilot side panel.
  2. Find Product support in the list of agents and select it to enter the immersive experience to chat directly with the agent.
  3. Select the sample prompt with the title Learn more and send the message.
  4. Wait for the response. Notice how the response is different from the previous instructions and reflects the new instructions, no longer starting its response with the phrase from the previous instructions.

:::image type=”content” source=”../media/test-custom-instructions.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing Microsoft 365 Copilot. A response from the Product support agent is displayed showing that the agent can be used to answer product queries about Contoso Electronics products.” lightbox=”../media/test-custom-instructions.png”:::

Test the grounding data

Next, let’s test the grounding data.

  1. In the message box, enter Tell me about Eagle Air and send the message.
  2. 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 OneDrive.

:::image type=”content” source=”../media/test-product-info.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing Microsoft 365 Copilot. A response from the Product support agent is displayed showing product details for Eagle Air. A document is cited and referenced in the response as the source of grounding data.” lightbox=”../media/test-product-info.png”:::

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.

    :::image type=”content” source=”../media/test-product-recommendation.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing Microsoft 365 Copilot. A response from the Product support agent is displayed showing product details for Eagle Air as a product recommendation. A document is cited and referenced in the response as the source of grounding data.” lightbox=”../media/test-product-recommendation.png”:::

  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.

    :::image type=”content” source=”../media/test-product-explanation.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing Microsoft 365 Copilot. A response from the Product support agent is displayed with an explanation of why the Eagle is air is more suitable for use by farmers.” lightbox=”../media/test-product-explanation.png”:::

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.

:::image type=”content” source=”../media/test-fallback.png” alt-text=”Screenshot of Microsoft Edge showing Microsoft 365 Copilot. A response from the Product support agent is displayed. The agent can’t answer the question so makes a suggestion to find information from another source.” lightbox=”../media/test-fallback.png”:::