Copilot Studio Agent Setup

Configure the Copilot Studio intake agent for environment requests.

Overview

The intake agent provides a conversational interface for users to request new Power Platform environments. It:

• Collects environment requirements through guided conversation
• Auto-classifies requests into governance zones
• Validates naming conventions and security groups
• Submits structured requests to Power Automate

Agent Configuration

Create New Agent

1. Open Copilot Studio
2. Click Create > New agent
3. Configure basic settings:

Setting	Value
Name	Environment Request Agent
Description	Request new Power Platform environments with automated governance classification
Instructions	Help users request Power Platform environments by collecting requirements and classifying into appropriate governance zones

Authentication Setup

1. Go to Settings > Security
2. Configure authentication:

Setting	Value
Authentication	Authenticate with Microsoft
Require users to sign in	Yes
Access	Restricted to your organization

---

Topics

Topic 1: Request Environment (Main)

Trigger Phrases

Add these trigger phrases:

• "I need a new environment"
• "Create an environment"
• "Request environment"
• "New Power Platform environment"
• "Provision environment"
• "Set up a new environment"

Conversation Flow

[Trigger] User requests environment
    |
    v
[Message] Welcome + explain process
    |
    v
[Question 1] Environment name
    |
    v
[Condition] Validate naming convention
    |-- Invalid --> [Message] Error, retry
    |
    v (Valid)
[Question 2] Environment type
    |
    v
[Question 3] Region
    |
    v
[Question 4] Business purpose
    |
    v
[Question 5] Expected users
    |
    v
[Question 6] Data sensitivity
    |
    v
[Question 7-9] Classification questions
    |
    v
[Calculate] Zone classification
    |
    v
[Message] Display zone + rationale
    |
    v
[Condition] Zone >= 2?
    |-- Yes --> [Question 10] Security group
    |
    v
[Condition] Zone >= 2?
    |-- Yes --> [Question 11] Zone rationale
    |
    v
[Message] Summary + confirmation
    |
    v
[Action] Submit to Power Automate
    |
    v
[Message] Confirmation + request number

Slot Collection

Question 1: Environment Name

Setting	Value
Question	What would you like to name this environment? Use the format: DEPT-Purpose-TYPE (e.g., FIN-Reporting-PROD)
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.environmentName
Required	Yes

Validation (Condition Node):

Power Fx: IsMatch(Topic.environmentName, "^[A-Z]{2,4}-[A-Za-z0-9]+-[A-Z]+$")

If false: "Environment name must follow the pattern: DEPT-Purpose-TYPE (e.g., FIN-Reporting-PROD). Please try again."

Question 2: Environment Type

Setting	Value
Question	What type of environment do you need?
Entity	Choice
Options	Sandbox, Production, Developer
Variable	Topic.environmentType

Question 3: Region

Setting	Value
Question	Which geographic region should host this environment?
Entity	Choice
Options	United States, Europe, United Kingdom, Australia
Variable	Topic.region

Question 4: Business Purpose

Setting	Value
Question	Please describe the business purpose for this environment (at least 20 characters).
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.businessPurpose
Required	Yes

Validation:

Power Fx: Len(Topic.businessPurpose) >= 20

If false: "Please provide more detail about the business purpose (minimum 20 characters)."

Question 5: Expected Users

Setting	Value
Question	How many users will use this environment?
Entity	Choice
Options	Just me (1), Small team (2-10), Large team (11-50), Department (50+)
Variable	Topic.expectedUsers

Question 6: Data Sensitivity

Setting	Value
Question	What's the highest data sensitivity level for data in this environment?
Entity	Choice
Options	Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted
Variable	Topic.dataSensitivity

Question 7: Customer Data

Setting	Value
Question	Will this environment process customer or client data?
Entity	Boolean (Yes/No)
Variable	Topic.hasCustomerData

Question 8: Financial Data

Setting	Value
Question	Will this environment handle financial transaction data?
Entity	Boolean (Yes/No)
Variable	Topic.hasFinancialData

Question 9: External Access

Setting	Value
Question	Will external parties (clients, vendors) access this environment?
Entity	Boolean (Yes/No)
Variable	Topic.hasExternalAccess

Zone Classification

Add Variable node after classification questions:

Variable: Topic.zone Type: Number

Power Fx Expression:

If(
    Topic.dataSensitivity = "Restricted" ||
    Topic.hasCustomerData ||
    Topic.hasFinancialData ||
    Topic.hasExternalAccess,
    3,
    If(
        Topic.dataSensitivity = "Confidential" ||
        Topic.environmentType = "Production" ||
        Topic.expectedUsers <> "Just me (1)",
        2,
        1
    )
)

Add Variable for auto flags:

Variable: Topic.zoneAutoFlags Type: Text

TrimEnd(
  If(Topic.dataSensitivity = "Restricted", "RESTRICTED_DATA,", "") &
  If(Topic.hasCustomerData, "CUSTOMER_PII,", "") &
  If(Topic.hasFinancialData, "FINANCIAL_TRANSACTIONS,", "") &
  If(Topic.hasExternalAccess, "EXTERNAL_ACCESS,", "") &
  If(Topic.dataSensitivity = "Confidential", "CONFIDENTIAL_DATA,", "") &
  If(Topic.environmentType = "Production", "PRODUCTION_WORKLOAD,", "") &
  If(Topic.expectedUsers <> "Just me (1)", "TEAM_WORKLOAD,", ""),
  ","
)

Display Classification

Message node:

Based on your responses, this environment has been classified as **Zone {Topic.zone}**.

**Classification triggers:**
{Topic.zoneAutoFlags}

**What this means:**
{If(Topic.zone = 1, "Zone 1 - Personal Productivity: Standard governance, self-service allowed.",
  If(Topic.zone = 2, "Zone 2 - Team Collaboration: Enhanced governance, manager approval required.",
    "Zone 3 - Enterprise Managed: Full governance, manager and compliance approval required."))}

Question 10: Security Group (Zone 2/3 Only)

Condition: Topic.zone >= 2

Setting	Value
Question	What Entra security group should have access? Enter the exact group name.
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.securityGroupName

Question 10b: Security Group ID (Zone 2/3 Only)

Condition: Topic.zone >= 2

Setting	Value
Question	What is the Entra security group GUID? (e.g., 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012)
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.securityGroupId

Validation (Condition Node):

Power Fx: IsMatch(Topic.securityGroupId, "^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$")

If false: "Please enter a valid GUID in the format: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012"

Question 11: Zone Rationale (Zone 2 and 3)

Condition: Topic.zone >= 2

Setting	Value
Question	Please provide a brief rationale explaining why this environment requires Zone {Topic.zone} classification.
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.zoneRationale

Summary and Confirmation

Message node:

**Environment Request Summary**

- **Name:** {Topic.environmentName}
- **Type:** {Topic.environmentType}
- **Region:** {Topic.region}
- **Zone:** Zone {Topic.zone}
- **Purpose:** {Topic.businessPurpose}

{If(Topic.zone >= 2, "- **Security Group:** " & Topic.securityGroupName, "")}

**Approval required:**
- Manager approval: {If(Topic.zone >= 2, "Yes", "No")}
- Compliance review: {If(Topic.zone = 3, "Yes", "No")}

Would you like to submit this request?

Confirmation node: Yes/No

Submit to Power Automate

Action: Call an action

Select the Power Automate flow that creates the EnvironmentRequest record.

Input mapping:

Flow Input	Topic Variable
environmentName	Topic.environmentName
environmentType	Topic.environmentType
region	Topic.region
zone	Topic.zone
zoneFlags	Topic.zoneAutoFlags
dataSensitivity	Topic.dataSensitivity
hasCustomerData	Topic.hasCustomerData
hasFinancialData	Topic.hasFinancialData
hasExternalAccess	Topic.hasExternalAccess
businessPurpose	Topic.businessPurpose
expectedUsers	Topic.expectedUsers
securityGroupName	Topic.securityGroupName
securityGroupId	Topic.securityGroupId
zoneRationale	Topic.zoneRationale

Confirmation Message

Message node:

Your environment request has been submitted!

**Request Number:** {Topic.requestNumber}

**What happens next:**
{If(Topic.zone = 1,
  "Your request will be processed automatically. You'll receive an email when your environment is ready.",
  If(Topic.zone = 2,
    "Your request has been sent to your manager for approval. Once approved, the environment will be provisioned automatically.",
    "Your request requires both manager and compliance approval. You'll be notified at each stage."))}

You can check the status anytime by saying "Check request status" and providing your request number.

---

Topic 2: Check Request Status

Trigger Phrases

• "Check request status"
• "Status of my request"
• "REQ-"
• "Where is my request"
• "Track my request"

Conversation Flow

Question: Request Number

Setting	Value
Question	What is your request number? (e.g., REQ-00001)
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.requestNumber

Action: Query Dataverse

Call flow or use Dataverse connector to query EnvironmentRequest by fsi_requestnumber.

Display Status:

**Request: {Topic.requestNumber}**

- **Environment:** {Flow.environmentName}
- **Status:** {Flow.state}
- **Zone:** Zone {Flow.zone}

{If(Flow.state = "Completed",
  "Your environment is ready! URL: " & Flow.environmentUrl,
  If(Flow.state = "PendingApproval",
    "Awaiting approval from: " & Flow.approverName,
    If(Flow.state = "Provisioning",
      "Your environment is being created. This typically takes 5-10 minutes.",
      If(Flow.state = "Failed",
        "There was an issue with your request. An administrator has been notified.",
        "Your request is being processed."))))}

---

Topic 3: Cancel Request

Trigger Phrases

• "Cancel my request"
• "Withdraw request"
• "I don't need the environment anymore"

Conversation Flow

Question: Request Number

Setting	Value
Question	Which request would you like to cancel? Enter the request number.
Entity	User's entire response
Variable	Topic.requestNumber

Action: Check Status

Query request to verify it's in Draft or Submitted state.

Condition: State allows cancellation

• If Yes: Update state to Cancelled, confirm
• If No: "This request cannot be cancelled because it's already {state}."

---

Topic 4: Help

Trigger Phrases

• "Help"
• "What can you do"
• "Commands"
• "Options"

Message

I can help you with Power Platform environment requests!

**Available commands:**

1. **Request a new environment** - Start the environment request process
2. **Check request status** - Look up the status of an existing request
3. **Cancel a request** - Cancel a pending request

**About governance zones:**

- **Zone 1** - Personal productivity, minimal governance
- **Zone 2** - Team collaboration, manager approval required
- **Zone 3** - Enterprise managed, full compliance review

**Naming convention:**

Environment names should follow: `DEPT-Purpose-TYPE`
Example: `FIN-QuarterlyReporting-PROD`

What would you like to do?

---

System Topic Customization

Greeting

Customize the default greeting:

Welcome to the Environment Request Agent!

I can help you:
- Request a new Power Platform environment
- Check the status of your requests
- Learn about our governance zones

What would you like to do today?

Fallback

Customize fallback for unrecognized intents:

I'm not sure I understood that. I can help you with:

- **Request environment** - Start a new request
- **Check status** - Look up a request
- **Help** - See all options

Please try one of these, or rephrase your question.

End of Conversation

Is there anything else I can help you with?

You can always come back to:
- Request another environment
- Check request status
- Get help

Have a great day!

---

JSON Output Schema

When calling Power Automate, the agent sends this JSON structure:

{
  "requestId": "guid-generated-by-flow",
  "timestamp": "2026-01-29T14:30:00Z",
  "requester": {
    "upn": "john.smith@example.com",
    "displayName": "John Smith",
    "department": "Finance"
  },
  "environment": {
    "name": "FIN-QuarterlyReporting-PROD",
    "type": "Production",
    "region": "unitedstates"
  },
  "classification": {
    "zone": 3,
    "autoFlags": ["CUSTOMER_PII", "FINANCIAL_TRANSACTIONS"],
    "dataSensitivity": "Confidential",
    "zoneRationale": "Environment will process quarterly financial reports containing customer account data."
  },
  "access": {
    "securityGroupId": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012",
    "securityGroupName": "FIN-QuarterlyReporting-Users",
    "expectedUserCount": 25
  },
  "businessContext": {
    "purpose": "Quarterly financial reporting automation for SEC 10-Q filings",
    "expectedUsers": "Finance reporting team, 25 users including 3 external auditors"
  },
  "approvalRequired": {
    "manager": true,
    "compliance": true,
    "zoneReviewRequired": false
  }
}

See templates/json-output-schema.json for the complete schema.

---

Testing

Test Scenarios

Scenario	Expected Zone	Approval
Personal sandbox, just me, internal data	Zone 1	Auto
Team sandbox, 10 users, confidential	Zone 2	Manager
Production, customer PII	Zone 3	Manager + Compliance
Any environment with external access	Zone 3	Manager + Compliance

Test Procedure

1. Open agent in test mode
2. Say "I need a new environment"
3. Walk through conversation
4. Verify zone classification
5. Confirm request submitted
6. Check EnvironmentRequest table

---

Publishing

1. Complete testing
2. Click Publish in Copilot Studio
3. Configure channels:
4. Teams (recommended)
5. Web (optional)
6. Share agent URL with users

---

Next Steps

After agent setup:

1. Review troubleshooting guide
2. Test end-to-end flow
3. Train users on agent usage