Everyone wants an AI agent. An agent that answers customer questions, prepares quotes, or sorts notifications. Within Microsoft, you have two major building sites: Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry.

They partially overlap. But they are built for different people and different needs.

Copilot Studio: quick building, close to Microsoft 365

Copilot Studio is a low-code environment. You build an agent with a visual editor and natural language.

  • Strengths: quick results, integrations with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Dataverse, and hundreds of standard connectors.
  • Publishing: in Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, on your website, or in other channels.
  • Management: fits within the governance of the Power Platform.
  • Suited for: internal assistants, knowledge base agents, simple process automation. Built by a maker or business analyst.

Microsoft Foundry: full control for developers

Microsoft Foundry is the platform in Azure for building and managing AI applications and agents with code.

  • Strengths: choice of many models, custom logic, complex tools, and multi-agent scenarios.
  • Open standards: support for protocols like MCP and A2A, enabling agents to collaborate with other systems and agents.
  • Management: evaluation, monitoring, and security at the Azure level.
  • Suited for: agents that deeply integrate into your business processes, with high demands on scale, quality, or customization. Built by developers.

How to choose

Ask yourself these questions:

  1. Who will build and maintain it? A business maker points towards Copilot Studio. A development team towards Foundry.
  2. Where does the agent live? Mainly in Teams and Microsoft 365? Then Copilot Studio is a logical start.
  3. How complex is the logic? Multiple steps, custom models, or collaborating agents? Then you arrive at Foundry.
  4. How critical is it? Agents that serve customers or prepare decisions demand strict evaluation and monitoring.

It's not either/or

The two work together. You can make an agent from Foundry available in Copilot Studio or Microsoft 365 Copilot. This way, you build the brain with code and provide employees access via the environment they already know.

What we learn in practice

From our own work with agents, we know: technology is rarely the hardest part. The real questions are: what task do you assign the agent? What knowledge does it need? And how do you verify it's doing well? Start there, and the platform choice follows naturally.

With 365 Agent, we build and manage AI agents for organizations, from initial idea to working agent.

Want to know which agent brings the most to your organization? Schedule a meeting and we'll think along the best route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a developer for Copilot Studio?

Not for simple agents. Technical knowledge helps with complex integrations.

What is the difference with Azure AI Foundry?

Microsoft Foundry is the successor and new name of Azure AI Foundry.

Can an agent from Copilot Studio later move to Foundry?

The construction differs, so it's not an automatic migration. However, you can use both platforms alongside each other and let them collaborate.