Clarity around the different types of connectors available for Microsoft 365 Copilot

Working with some of the largest and most technical of Microsoft's partners in the Global System Integrators (GSI) team, we are still often met with confusion around the different types of connectors available in M365 Copilot. While agent extensibility could easily be a full week or more of discussion topics and sessions, I wanted to spend a moment to focus specifically on some of the various types of connectors available to agent makers working with M365 Copilot.

 

GRAPH CONNECTORS

Graph Connectors play a crucial role in enhancing the knowledge scope of Microsoft 365 Copilot, by enabling the integration of external data sources into the Microsoft Graph. This integration allows Copilot to reason over a broader range of enterprise content, thereby improving the relevance and accuracy of responses to user queries. By ingesting unstructured business data through Graph Connectors, organizations can ensure that their critical content is indexed and accessible within Microsoft 365 Copilot. This process involves semantic indexing, which optimizes data retrieval and enhances the matching of search queries to content, providing more relevant results than simple keyword matches.

 

The relevance of Graph Connectors to Microsoft 365 Copilot is particularly significant in the context of enterprise search and data utilization. Copilot leverages these connectors to access and summarize information from various external sources, such as third-party applications, databases, and cloud services. This capability allows users to find, summarize, and learn from their business data through natural language prompts in Copilot. For example, when a user asks Copilot to summarize recent communications or project updates, Graph Connectors enable Copilot to utilize relevant data from integrated sources, ensuring comprehensive and accurate responses.

 

As an agent maker using M365 Copilot, one important consideration of Graph Connectors is that they offer high-performance operations, due to direct access to information via the Large Language Model (LLM). However, keep in mind that data accessed is not pulled from the external data sources in real-time, as the Graph Connectors sync this business data on a set schedule. Additionally, your operations will be limited to retrieval-based ("read only") tasks when interacting with externally-synchronized Graph data. It should also be noted that these types of connectors will work best for working with unstructured data.

 

Moreover, Graph Connectors are not limited to Microsoft 365 Copilot; they also power other intelligent experiences within the Microsoft ecosystem, such as Microsoft Search and Context IQ. This extensibility allows users to hover over in-text citations to preview external items referenced in responses and dive deeper into the referenced content by selecting links at the bottom of Copilot responses. The ability to configure custom connectors and utilize pre-built ones further enhances the flexibility and utility of Graph Connectors, making them a valuable tool for organizations looking to leverage their external data within Microsoft 365. By integrating these connectors, organizations can ensure that their data is not only accessible but also actionable, driving better decision-making and productivity.

 

POWER PLATFORM (FLOW) CONNECTORS

Power Platform Connectors are integral to extending the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot by enabling seamless integration with various external applications and services. These connectors act as proxies or "wrappers" around APIs, allowing Copilot to interact with other apps and services within the Microsoft ecosystem and beyond. By leveraging Power Platform connectors, users can connect their accounts and utilize prebuilt actions and triggers to build sophisticated workflows and applications. This integration enhances Copilot's ability to retrieve and process data from diverse sources, thereby providing more comprehensive and actionable insights to users.

 

In the context of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power Platform connectors enable the creation of custom agents that can perform specific actions based on enterprise data. For instance, connectors can be used to retrieve sales opportunities, manage orders, or even check the weather at a customer's location for site visits. This functionality is particularly valuable for businesses looking to automate routine tasks and streamline operations. By integrating these connectors, Copilot can ground its responses in real-time data from various enterprise systems, ensuring that users receive accurate and relevant information.

 

While the performance of a Power Platform Connector will inherently not be as speedy as data retrieval via Graph Connectors, agent makers should consider advantages to using Power Platform Connectors in the right scenarios. The API wrapper can perform real-time operations with the external business data, not requiring data synchronization to the Graph to access. Additionally, these types of connectors offer the ability to add and update records, in addition to retrieval. I have also seen use cases where Power Platform Connectors are preferred when dealing with structured data, even in retrieval-only agents and tasks.

 

Beyond that, Power Platform Connectors are essential for extending Copilot's capabilities through Copilot Studio. This platform allows makers to add custom knowledge and skills to agents using connectors, thereby expanding the range of actions that Copilot can perform. For example, connectors can bring in data from Microsoft Graph, Dynamics 365, and other non-Microsoft enterprise sources, enabling Copilot to provide more nuanced and detailed responses. The ability to use these connectors in a no-code environment makes it accessible for users with varying technical expertise, empowering them to create intelligent, automated experiences that address unique business challenges.

 

CONCLUSION

By understanding the different types of connectors, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and the scenarios where each work best, agent makers can use one of the most powerful tools for working with external business data. For additional technical detail, please see the links below:

 

Copilot connectors and actions overview (preview) - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn

Use Power Platform connectors (preview) - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn

Extend Copilot for Microsoft 365 with connectors | Microsoft Learn

Build Microsoft Graph Connectors for Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Learn