Copilot Studio Tools Deep Dive: From Connectors to MCP
Copilot Studio's tool surface has grown significantly, and most people are still treating it like it only has connectors. This session is a comprehensive look at every tool type available to your agent today: connectors, REST APIs, prompt actions, Power Automate agent flows, and the newest addition, Model Context Protocol (MCP). Each one unlocks different capabilities, and knowing when to reach for which one is the difference between an agent that feels powerful and one that feels patched together.
We'll start with how generative AI uses tools at runtime: how the orchestrator decides which tool to call, what happens when it picks the wrong one, and how your tool descriptions and input schemas directly influence that decision. Most developers skip this part and then wonder why their agent ignores a perfectly functional action.
From there we'll work through each tool type with live demos. By the end you'll understand not just how to add tools, but how to design them so your agent's AI layer uses them correctly, consistently, and without surprises in production.
About the speaker
Christina Wheeler
Christina Wheeler is a Principal FastTrack Solution Architect at Microsoft, working in engineering as part of the Dynamics 365 Service Agents Pod supporting first party and custom Copilot Studio agents for Service. Prior to joining the FastTrack team, she spent three years as a Solution Engineer in Financial Services (FSI) supporting enterprise insurance and banking customers with Power Platform solutions.
A highly respected Power Platform expert and technical trainer, Christina has been a tech enthusiast since childhood. She began programming at age 11 and built her first computer at 13. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she started her career as a .NET developer in financial services before moving into consulting, specializing in SharePoint, Dynamics 365 (F&O and CRM), and the Power Platform. She has worked with organizations worldwide to architect and implement Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Power Platform solutions across financial, educational, commercial, and government sectors.
Her publications include contributions as the technical editor of “SharePoint 2007 Developer’s Guide to Business Data Catalog,” co-author of “SharePoint 2010 Field Guide,” “SharePoint 2013 Inside Out,” and author of “Mastering Microsoft Teams: Creating a Hub for Successful Teamwork in Office 365.” Christina received her first MVP award October 2017 in M365 Apps & Services and became a Business Applications MVP in 2022 before retiring from the MVP program to join Microsoft.