What are custom engine agents?

Let's start with a few definitions and a quick overview of how you would build a custom engine agent. This overview should help you see whether custom engine agents might be a good fit for your work.

What is an agent?

An agent is an application that uses artificial intelligence to answer questions and automate processes for users. Agents can determine which functions meet a user's goal and then call those functions on the user's behalf.

What is a custom engine agent?

A custom engine agent is an application that uses artificial intelligence to answer questions and automate processes for users in Microsoft 365.

In the context of Microsoft 365, a "custom engine" refers to not using the foundation model, orchestrator, and responsible AI controls provided by Microsoft 365 Copilot. This approach allows organizations to choose the best solution for their needs.

End users typically access custom engine agents through chat experiences in Microsoft Teams. By integrating your agent into Microsoft 365, you meet your end users where they are, and in the flow of their work.

How to implement a custom engine agent in Microsoft 365

To implement a custom engine agent in Microsoft 365, you first build a bot. The bot logic integrates with your own AI model and orchestrator and determines how your agent responds. You integrate the bot with Microsoft 365 as a Microsoft 365-enabled Teams app and distribute the agent to users from the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal.