Forum Discussion
Copilot Studio agents problems connecting to Sharepoint knowledge source
I'm experiencing exactly the same issue. Our Copilot Studio agent was working perfectly with its SharePoint knowledge source — it was still fine up until this Tuesday, then suddenly stopped retrieving any SharePoint content.
Same symptoms as described here:
- The knowledge source still shows as "Ready" and the connection looks healthy
- The content is fully searchable and openable directly in SharePoint (same account), so it's not a permission issue
- It fails in both the published production version and the test environment
- The agent triggers the SharePoint source but returns zero matches, even for phrases that appear verbatim in the files
I've already tried refreshing and re-adding the SharePoint knowledge source with no effect. Has anyone found a resolution on this? Thanks!
Possible Workaround / SolutionI found a few things that may be related to this issue. I’m sharing them here in case they help others facing the same problem.
1. XLSX files are not always retrieved
If your knowledge source contains an XLSX file, the agent may sometimes fail to retrieve information from it. In my case, the agent was working previously, but it sometimes stopped retrieving content from the XLSX file without showing any explicit error.
2. Direct file path vs. folder path
I also noticed different behavior when using a direct path to a DOCX file versus the folder path.
Not working – Direct file path:
https://example.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/Shared Documents/FolderA/Document.docx
Working – Folder path:
https://example.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/Shared Documents/FolderA/
The direct DOCX file path was working previously, but it is no longer retrieving the content for me. Using the folder path works instead.
3. Encoded URL vs. normal SharePoint path
I also noticed that the URL-encoded SharePoint path that was working previously is no longer working.
Not working:
https://example.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/Shared%20Documents/FolderA
Working:
https://example.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/Shared Documents/FolderA/
So, changing the path from the encoded format (%20, %26) to the normal SharePoint path with spaces and special characters resolved the issue in my case.
Summary
Based on my testing:
- XLSX knowledge sources → Retrieval can be inconsistent.
- Direct DOCX file path → Previously worked, but currently not working for me.
- Folder path → Working.
- URL-encoded folder path → Not working for me.
- Normal SharePoint folder path → Working.
These are observations from my environment, so I’m not sure whether this is a permanent fix or a temporary workaround. Hopefully, this helps others troubleshoot the same issue.
cc: jferCould you please try testing with a different folder from the same SharePoint site and let me know whether it works?
I’m facing the same issue as well. In my case, some folders from the same SharePoint site are working correctly, while another folder is not returning any results.
It would be helpful to know if you observe the same behavior with different folders.
