AI for professionals
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents
Use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, then build and test your first agent in Copilot Studio.
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for microsoft 365 users, office workers and IT staff rolling out Copilot. It has 9 modules and takes about 7.4 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 7.4 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Microsoft 365 users, office workers and IT staff rolling out Copilot
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: analyst, operations specialist, project coordinator and team lead using AI tools. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- A Microsoft work or school account. Copilot Chat covers most exercises; Copilot inside the apps and the Researcher and Analyst agents need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence; Copilot Studio has a free trial. Every exercise says what to do without a licence. Hardware: A laptop or desktop with a browser.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Explain the difference between Copilot Chat, Copilot and agents
- Use Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint and check its output
- Write prompts with goal, context and source, and save the good ones
- Build, ground, test and publish a simple agent in Copilot Studio
- Manage hallucination and data protection risks
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Microsoft 365 users, office workers and IT staff rolling out Copilot.
Level: Beginner. Beginner. For anyone who works in Microsoft 365: Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams. No coding, and no AI background needed.
What you need
Software: A Microsoft work or school account. Copilot Chat covers most exercises; Copilot inside the apps and the Researcher and Analyst agents need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence; Copilot Studio has a free trial. Every exercise says what to do without a licence..
Hardware: A laptop or desktop with a browser.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
9 modules in order, at your own pace. 7.4 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1Copilot and Copilot Studio: what each one is13m
- 2How Copilot works: models, grounding, chat and agents43m
- 3Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, with lab practice: 25m
- 4Prompting Copilot, and saving the prompts that work, with lab practice: 30m
- 5The Researcher and Analyst agents, with lab practice: 27m
- 6Build your first agent in Copilot Studio, with lab practice: 37m
- 7Grounding an agent in your own knowledge, with lab practice: 36m
- 8Responsible AI in Copilot: hallucination, prompt injection and data, with lab practice: 35m
Show the other 1 modules
- 9Final Assessment4m
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
You need a Microsoft work or school account. Copilot Chat covers most exercises; Copilot inside the apps needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and every exercise says what to do without one.
Show what to download (2 tools)
Required
- 01Free
Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Microsoft, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser, plus Windows, macOS, Android and iOS apps
- Account
- None needed
Microsoft Copilot is free for individuals; you must be at least 13 (older in some countries). Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost for organisations with an eligible Microsoft 365 licence and needs a work or school (Microsoft Entra ID) account.
Steps
- 1.Open copilot.microsoft.com.
- 2.Optionally click Sign in and use your personal Microsoft account.
- 3.Type your question in the message box.
- 4.For work or school use, sign in at microsoft365.com with your organisation account and open Copilot Chat.
- Copilot Chat with a work or school account adds enterprise data protection. Use it for work material if your organisation provides it.
Open Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chatcopilot.microsoft.com
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 02Free trial
Microsoft Copilot Studio
Microsoft, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser (Chrome 91, Firefox 89 or Safari 16.4 or newer)
- Account
- A work or school Microsoft account (personal email addresses are rejected)
The trial lets you build and test agents in the test chat panel, but you cannot publish them. When it expires you can extend it by 30 days, and agents keep working for up to 90 days after expiry. Your organisation's IT admin can block self sign-up. Check the vendor page for the current trial length.
Steps
- 1.Open the Copilot Studio page and click Try for free (or go to copilotstudio.microsoft.com).
- 2.Enter your work or school email address and click Next.
- 3.Follow the prompts to finish sign-up. The trial starts straight away.
- 4.Create an agent and test it in the test chat panel.
- If sign-up fails with a message that it could not be completed, ask your IT administrator to allow self-service trials.
- Plan your lab so you do not need to publish the agent, as trials cannot publish.
Open Microsoft Copilot Studiomicrosoft.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise the checks every Copilot user needs: verify an AI summary against the data, write a prompt that gives exact output, and keep an agent to its sources and limits.
- Check the AI's work: financeAI Workbench, about 20 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Check the AI's work: finance
- Prompt to specAI Workbench, about 25 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Prompt to spec
- Answers with sourcesAI Workbench, about 25 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Answers with sources
- A safe agentAI Workbench, about 30 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): A safe agent
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 8 hours
Designing, testing and rolling out an HR policy agent in Copilot Studio: design brief, risk register, test report and support procedure
Design and test an HR policy agent built in Copilot Studio for a mid-sized company, as the business owner of the agent. Write the design brief and risk register, test the agent against real employee questions, and write the procedure that keeps its answers correct after launch. The sample pack shows each document for a fictional logistics company.
- 4documents in the pack
- 6steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 5things to hand in
- 8 hof work, at your pace
- PlanDesign brief: HR policy agent for Teams
- Risk registerRisk register: HR policy agent
- Test reportPre-launch test report: HR policy agent
- ProcedureKeeping the HR policy agent correct after launch
Do it in the lab: 4 steps.
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
AI for Project Management
Eight short weeks of using AI for charters, schedules, risks, minutes and status reports, and of knowing where its estimates fall short: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Analyst
- Operations specialist
- Project coordinator
- Team lead using AI tools
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Skills Pragati, Lisa Crosbie, Microsoft Learn. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Skills Pragati · Lisa Crosbie · Microsoft Learn. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course for?
Anyone who works in Microsoft 365 and wants to use Copilot properly, and team leads or business champions who want to build a first agent in Copilot Studio. No coding or AI background is needed.
Do I need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence?
Not to take the course. Copilot Chat, available with a Microsoft work or school account, covers most exercises, and Copilot Studio has a free trial. Copilot inside Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, and the Researcher and Analyst agents, need the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licence; the exercises say what to do without it.
Is this a Microsoft course or exam preparation?
No. It is built on free public lessons, including Microsoft Learn's PL-7008 episodes and Skills Pragati's AB-730 preparatory labs, credited on each module. EDWartens is not affiliated with Microsoft, and the course is not official preparation for any Microsoft exam or credential.
Will I build a real agent?
Yes, if you have access to Copilot Studio or its trial. You build a small agent grounded in a public web page in module 6, and the project takes an HR policy agent from design brief to tested launch.
Is the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a Microsoft certification.
How long does the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course take?
About 4.5 hours of video lessons, plus time for the notes, the practice questions and the final assessment. The optional project adds about 8 hours.
What can I do after finishing it?
You can use Copilot in daily work with a checking habit. You can write and save prompts your team can reuse. You can design, test and publish a simple Copilot Studio agent grounded in your own documents. The project leaves you with a design brief, risk register and test report you can show an employer.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course cover, module by module?
The Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course has 9 modules. It opens with "Copilot and Copilot Studio: what each one is", goes through "How Copilot works: models, grounding, chat and agents", "Prompting Copilot, and saving the prompts that work", "Build your first agent in Copilot Studio" and "Responsible AI in Copilot: hallucination, prompt injection and data" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course?
After the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course: Tell apart Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, agents and Copilot Studio; Explain grounding and why permissions shape every Copilot answer; Use Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, and check its output. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course, and does it cost anything?
For the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course, software: A Microsoft work or school account. Copilot Chat covers most exercises; Copilot inside the apps and the Researcher and Analyst agents need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence; Copilot Studio has a free trial. Every exercise says what to do without a licence. Hardware: A laptop or desktop with a browser. The course itself is free.
Is the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents is rated beginner. Beginner. For anyone who works in Microsoft 365: Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams. No coding, and no AI background needed. It is written for microsoft 365 users, office workers and IT staff rolling out Copilot, and takes about 7.4 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course?
Skills from the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents course (for example: tell apart Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, agents and Copilot Studio) are used in roles such as analyst, operations specialist, project coordinator and team lead using AI tools, and in office and knowledge worker work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio Agents, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.