Make an agent act on its own with an event trigger
Task · Copilot Studio: autonomous agent
Time saved · 3-6 hrs to build, then 2-5 hrs a week (estimate, not measured)
⚠️ Licensing: you need a Copilot Studio license (prepaid Copilot Credits or pay-as-you-go through Azure), a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, or a Copilot Studio trial. A trial lets you build and test in the test chat, but you can't publish. Agent usage is metered in Copilot Credits; for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users, generative answers and tenant grounding used in Copilot Chat, Teams or SharePoint are zero-rated. Steps follow Copilot Studio's standard experience: if your Home page shows a New experience toggle, Microsoft's quickstart turns it off. Each trigger run is a message to the agent and counts toward Copilot Credits, so frequent triggers cost more. Triggers only use the maker's credentials, so people using the agent may reach data through your access. Admins can block triggers.
Steps
- Start with an agent that already has the tools it needs (for example, the ticket flow) and generative orchestration turned on
- On the Overview page, go to Triggers and select Add trigger
- Pick the event, for example When an item is created in SharePoint for a new requests list, sign in if asked, and select Next
- Set the trigger parameters and add the payload instructions below so the agent knows what to do with each event
- Create a test item, then select the test trigger icon beside the trigger, choose the instance and select Start testing; watch the activity map
- Publish only when the tests behave. After publishing, check the Activity page to see each run
Prompt / template
Trigger payload instructions: A new request was added to the Team Requests list. Read the title and description. Classify it as IT, Facilities, HR or Other. If it is IT, use the Create IT ticket tool with a short title, the description, and a priority. For anything else, post a one-line summary with the category to the [Teams channel] using the Teams tool. Don't contact the requester directly. Agent instructions to add: When a trigger runs, act only on the item in the payload. Never delete or edit list items. If the request is unclear, mark it Other and include the reason.
Source · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/authoring-trigger-event
Also see · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/authoring-triggers-about
Also see · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/billing-licensing
Last checked · 2026-10-20