Agent Build-Along Series

Choose your tier. Build it. Ship it. A self-serve service for producing engaging, industry- and function-specific Agent Build-Along sessions across the Microsoft platform stack.

Microsoft 365 Copilot · Copilot Studio · Azure AI Foundry · Cowork

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What is this?

A guided workshop series for everyone in your organisation — from business makers to professional developers — where we build a working agent together at the right tier of the Microsoft platform stack.

This repo is the self-serve generator behind the series: pick an industry, pick a function, pick a tier, and produce a ready-to-run Build-Along session — complete with scenario, scaffolding, sample data, and facilitator narrative.

Walk away with a deployable agent and the confidence to build more.

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3 Tiers — Meet Builders Where They Are

Tier	Platform	Audience	Duration	Approach
1 — Foundation	Microsoft 365 Copilot Agent Builder	Business makers, end users, departmental teams	60 min	No-code
2 — Extend	Copilot Studio	Citizen developers, power users, ops teams	90 min	Low-code
3 — Pro-Code	Azure AI Foundry	Pro developers, architects, AI engineers	180+ min	Code-first
Bonus	Cowork	Business makers, end users, departmental teams	75 min	No-Code

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## Tier 1 — M365 Copilot Agent Builder

Author your first agent — no code required.

What we'll build

• A custom agent scoped to a real workplace scenario
• Grounded with knowledge sources (SharePoint sites, files, web URLs)
• Configured with custom instructions and conversation starters
• Tested in the preview pane and shared with your team

Session flow: Define → Ground → Refine → Test & Share

Prerequisites

• Microsoft 365 Copilot licence (or Copilot Chat free)
• Modern browser (Edge / Chrome)
• A workplace scenario in mind (or use our template)

You'll walk away with a working agent you can use immediately, plus a repeatable pattern for future use cases.

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## Tier 2 — Copilot Studio

Orchestrate multi-step agents across enterprise systems.

What we'll build

• A copilot with generative answers and authored topics
• Custom actions that call APIs and Power Platform connectors
• Knowledge sources (SharePoint, Dataverse, public web, enterprise data)
• Channel deployment to Microsoft Teams and a public web embed

Session flow: Design → Connect → Author → Publish

Prerequisites

• Copilot Studio access or trial environment
• Familiarity with Power Platform helpful (not required)
• A multi-step workflow or process in mind

You'll walk away with a published copilot running in Teams or on the web, plus a pattern for connecting copilots to enterprise systems.

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## Tier 3 — Azure AI Foundry

Ship a code-first agent with evaluations and observability.

What we'll build

• A code-first agent with custom tools and function calling
• Grounding via Azure AI Search and your own data
• Model selection from the Foundry catalog (with optional fine-tuning)
• Evaluations, tracing, and managed-identity deployment

Session flow: Provision → Build → Evaluate → Deploy

Prerequisites

• Azure subscription with Azure AI Foundry access
• VS Code, plus Python or .NET familiarity
• Sample data or a use case ready to ground on

You'll walk away with a deployed agent with code, evaluations, and tracing in place — plus reusable SDK templates.

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Pick an industry (Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Public Sector, Energy, Professional Services) → Pick a function (Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Operations, IT, Customer Service) → Pick a tier (1, 2, or 3) → Generate a ready-to-run Build-Along session.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• [Add prerequisite — e.g., Node.js 20+ / Python 3.11+]
• [Add prerequisite — e.g., access to template repository]

Next Steps — Join or Host a Build-Along

1. Pick your tier — Start where your skills are today. Move up the pyramid as you grow.
2. Reserve a seat — Register via the rollout calendar — sessions run on a rolling schedule throughout 2026.
3. Show up & build — Bring a real scenario. Leave with a working agent you can share.

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Repository Structure

agent-build-along/
├── tiers/
│   ├── tier-1-agent-builder/      # M365 Copilot Agent Builder templates
│   ├── tier-2-copilot-studio/     # Copilot Studio templates
│   └── tier-3-foundry/            # Azure AI Foundry templates
├── industries/                     # Industry scenario libraries
├── functions/                      # Function-specific overlays
├── generator/                      # Self-serve generation engine
├── assets/                         # Sample data, prompts, narratives
└── examples/                       # Sample generated sessions

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Contact

Questions, or to host a Build-Along for your team: Brian O'Shea — Sr Partner Solution Architect, CS Tech EMEA brianoshea@microsoft.com

Microsoft UK&I Partner Solution Architects · Agent Build-Along Series