Creating a Custom Agent in Microsoft Copilot

In Microsoft Copilot, you can create custom GPTs called agents. I created one called a citation checker. My citation checker reviews my students papers to make sure all references they include in their references list are found somewhere in the manuscript. The agent begins by asking me to upload a student's manuscript. So, I'll go to the add content button and then I'll upload the file. I'll browse my computer and find the students paper and attach it to the chat. Along with the attachment, I'll also use one of their pre-filled prompts and go ahead and send that to the agent. My agent is now checking through the students manuscript to find the references list. It's asking me, would I like it to list all the references exactly as the student wrote them? Yes, I do. So, I'll say yes and send that message back. It generates a list of all of the students references exactly how the student had written them in their manuscript. I can review all of their references very quickly. Next, it will ask me, do I want the chatbot agent to find where in the manuscript each reference is cited? So, I'll just say yes and send that message back. The agent next reads through the student's paper and identifies on which page number or page numbers each reference appears to make sure that all references the student included in the references list is cited somewhere in the paper. After giving me my list of page numbers, it next asks if I would like it to verify any of these references on Google Scholar or similar to get the official citation links. I said yes, please verify. And then I'm just copying and pasting one reference to spot check it. And I am also asking it for a citation link so that I could go and review the reference myself if I wanted to. It runs the search and then it returns with the Google Scholar citation.

The citation is linked for me. And the very last thing my agent does is it asks me, do I want the DOI or the official APA source for it? For this one, I'll say verify the DOI just to make sure. And now I can confirm that this is a full official citation cited properly in the students manuscript. Now that you know what agents do, I'm going to show you how to build one. Come back into Copilot's homepage and click on new agent from the left-hand menu. You'll see that there's two fields. You can describe what you want your agent to do in natural language. Or you can click on the configure tab and it gives you fields to fill out as you go along. There are some templates you can use, but I'm going to build this from scratch. So you start by giving it a name just called mind citation checker. You give it a short description. The description sentence will appear under the name. And then most important is you've got to spend a lot of time writing your instructions. I have actually written my instructions in a separate word document because I did want to give them a lot of thought and I'm going to link them with this video. So you're welcome to read through what I've written and repurpose it for your own use again. But there is some language in here you might want to use even for an agent being put to a different purpose. For example, I always tell my agents to begin conversations by asking any clarifying questions. If I've provided too few details, I want it to ask me for more information. I also remind my agents that this is a dialogue, so they should only be asking me one question at a time. There's other things in here as well, so I encourage you to read through my instructions and consider incorporating some of that language into your agents. Scrolling down to the knowledge base, this is where you can start putting in your sources that you want to use to build your agents knowledge base. You can attach files. You can decide if you want to be able to search websites by toggling these options on or off only using specified sources. If you're not sure what anything means, you can always click the little I button and then there's also an option to learn more. Scrolling down a little bit more, then it will ask what do you want your agent to do. Do you want it to create documents for you, charts, code? Do you want it to create images? I didn't need any of these things, so I left them toggled off. And then the very last part is the suggested prompts. I like mine to start very simple with just one prompt, start here. And I just usually say, "Let's begin." Because in the instructions, I've already told it exactly what I need it to do and how to start the conversation. After you've configured your agent by filling out all the fields on the left hand side, you preview your agent off to the right here under the agent preview window. So, I start engaging with it just like I would if it were in a live environment. It's asking me for a student's manuscript, which is exactly what I told it to do in the instructions. I'd also like to draw your attention to these little thumbs up and thumbs down icons. You should get into the habit of reading each answer, and when you're finished, you can go ahead and click the blue create button, and it will add it to your agent menu over to the left. There are other agents that Microsoft has already built, which you can click on all agents to see. There might be some that Microsoft already has that could be of real use to you.

This example demonstrates a custom Microsoft Copilot Agent designed as a reference checker for student writing. The agent was created to help faculty and teaching staff quickly identify potential issues between in-text citations and reference lists, supporting more efficient assessment workflows while preserving instructor judgment.

The agent analyzes a student submission and cross-checks the references listed at the end of the document against the in-text citations used throughout the paper. It highlights references that may not appear in the narrative, as well as citations that may not have a matching reference entry.

• Check whether every reference list entry is cited at least once in the body of the paper
• Identify in-text citations that may not have a corresponding reference list entry
• Upon request, verify references using Google Scholar and return DOI information when available

• Evaluate whether students interpreted source material accurately
• Determine whether sources appropriately support a thesis or argument
• Replace instructor judgment in academic integrity or misconduct decisions