Teams Tips: Refine a Copilot Agent – Tech Tip for January 7, 2026

In this week’s tech tip, we’re showing how Copilot agents in Microsoft Teams become more useful once you refine them for real, everyday work. Creating an agent is only the first step. The real value comes from editing it with clear instructions, and providing context, so it supports a task you already do—like preparing for customer calls or meetings.

This article walks through a practical, high-volume business example: refining a general Copilot agent into a Pre-Call Briefing Agent. It’s a simple, safe way for executives and customer-facing teams to learn how Copilot agents can work for them in Teams—no automation, integrations, and no admin access required. Let’s dive in!

Refining a Copilot Agent in Teams

When you first create a Copilot agent, it’s often broad by design.

Refining the Agent Focus Helps:

• Clarify what the agent should and shouldn’t do.
• Improve consistency in responses.
• Make the agent more useful for a specific business scenario.

In this week’s tip, we turn our general Teams-based Copilot agent from our previous tip into a more refined one that can assist with client calls and updates. A Copilot add-in license is required to create Copilot agents in Teams.

Why a Pre-Call Briefing Agent is Useful

Many employees join multiple meetings each day, often with limited time to prepare. Important information may be spread across calendars, emails, prior meeting notes, and CRM systems.

A Copilot Agent Can Help By:

• Pulling together meeting context.
• Summarizing what happened last time.
• Highlighting risks, opportunities, and next steps.
• Reducing last-minute prep time.

Even without advanced system connections, this type of agent can guide preparation and prompt the user for missing details.

Creating a Suggested Prompts Gallery

It is a great idea to brainstorm for suggested prompts that an agent would respond to for a simple request related to pre-call briefs. Not only does this cut down on time, but it fits simple prompts directly into the agent’s workflow.

• The prompt: “Give me a briefing for my next call” would be a great example.
• More concise prompt gallery examples might include:
  • “Brief me for my next meeting”
• Get specific:
  • “Prepare a quick briefing on [Company]”
  • “What should I know before my [time] call with [Contact]?”

TIP: Think of agent prompts in terms of offering quick ways for you to refine your Copilot agent’s tasks. Base prompts on time, calendar dates, or context—or draft prompts that are ‘company’ or ‘person’ specific. Come up with your own!

Edit Your Copilot Agent in Teams

Remember: The goal for this agent is a single, executive-ready summary, built to be more client-specific, and delivered directly within Teams.

Open An Existing Agent:

• Select the ‘Copilot’ icon from the Teams navigation menu at left.
  • Alternatively: If Copilot is not visible, select ‘View More Apps’ and ‘Copilot’ from the Apps area (or search for the Copilot app).
• From Copilot’s menu: select ‘…’ (Options) next to the agent you want to modify and select ‘Edit’ from the available drop-down.
• From the ‘Configure’ tab:
  • Edit the ‘Name’ field of the agent to: “Pre-Call Briefing Agent.”
  • Edit the ‘Description’ field of the agent to: “An agent to provide concise, executive-ready briefings for upcoming customer meetings using available meeting context, prior notes, and user-provided information.”
  • Refine and clarify the ‘Instructions’ field: “Help summarize pre-call briefings in clear bullet points. Highlight action items with the owner and due date when mentioned.”
  • Expand the Instructions: “Keep the tone professional and concise. Identify the upcoming meeting (title, attendees, time, duration). Identify the customer or account. Summarize recent activity or the last meeting, if available. Highlight action items, risks, and open questions. Suggest talking points and next steps. Ask the user for clarification if information is missing.”

• • Add Suggested prompts:
    • General: “Brief me for my next meeting”
    • Company-specific: “Prepare a quick briefing on [Company]”
    • Person-specific: “Give me a briefing on my upcoming meeting with [Contact Name] at [Company]”
    • Time or Calendar-based: “What should I know before my [time] call with [Contact] at [Company]?”
    • Context-based: “Summarize everything I need to know before talking to [Company]”
  • Select ‘Update’ to update the Copilot agent.
  • Test your newly edited Copilot agent!

TIP: Always double-check your own data and the data that Copilot is responding with. Remember: you are supplying the agent with the most important data it requires for the outcome. The data that you provide to the agent should steadily build over time. Always validate and review details before sharing with your agent or externally.

Refining a Copilot agent is where it becomes truly useful. With clear instructions and focused prompts, even a simple agent can support everyday tasks like preparing for client calls or meetings. Start small, test often, and refine as you go—we hope this week’s tech tip helps you get more value from Copilot agents in Teams!

Reach Out to TechWise Group

Interested in learning more about Microsoft Teams and Copilot agents? Reach out to TechWise Group. We’ll help you make the most of your Microsoft tools.