From idea to Security Copilot agent: Create, customize, and deploy
This week at Microsoft Secure, we announced the next big step forward in agentic security. In addition to Microsoft and partner-built agents, you can now create your own Security Copilot agents, extending the growing ecosystem of agents that help teams automate workflows, close gaps, and drive stronger security and IT outcomes. Why it matters: no two environments are the same. Out-of-the-box agents give you powerful starting points, but your workflows are unique. With custom agents, you get the flexibility to design and deploy solutions that fit your organization. Two ways to build: Your choice, your workflow Security Copilot gives you options. Analysts can easily build with a no-code interface. Developers can stay in their preferred coding environment. Either way, you end up with a fully functional, testable, and deployable agent. For full documentation and detailed guidance on building agents, check out the Microsoft Security Copilot documentation. But now, let’s walk through the key steps so you can get started building your own agent today. Option 1: Build in Security Copilot, no coding required Step 1: Create in natural language Click ‘Build’ in the left nav, describe what you want your agent to do in plain language, and submit. Security Copilot will engage in a back-and-forth conversation to clarify and capture your intent so you start with precision. Step 2: Auto-generate the configuration Security Copilot instantly creates a starter setup, giving you: An agent name and description Clear instructions and input parameters Recommended tools pulled from the catalog, including Microsoft, partner, and Sentinel MCP tools This saves time and generates a strong foundation you can build on Step 3: Customize to fit your needs Tailor the configuration to your needs, you can edit any part. Update instructions, swap tools, or add new ones from the tool catalog. If the right tool isn’t available, you can create one in natural language or a form-based experience. You’re in full control of how your agent works. Step 4: Keep YAML and no-code views aligned Every change you make is automatically reflected in the underlying YAML code. This ensures consistency between the no-code visual and code views, so both analysts and developers can work with confidence. Toggle on ‘view code’ to see it live. Step 5: Test and elevate with autotune instruction optimization Run full end-to-end tests or test individual components to see how your agent performs. Security Copilot shows detailed outputs and a step-by-step activity map of the agent’s dynamic plan, including the tools, inputs, and outputs. While you can test without it, turning on autotune instruction optimization delivers major advantages: Refined instruction recommendations you can copy directly into your config AI quality scoring on clarity, grounding, and detail to ensure your agent is effective before publishing Faster iteration with confidence your agent is tuned for real-world use Explore the activity graph tab to view a visual node map of the run, and click any node to see details of what happened at each step. Step 6: Publish and share When you’re ready, publish the agent into your Security Copilot instance at either a user or workspace scope (depending on admin permissions). If you’re a partner, you can also download the agent code, publish to the Microsoft Partner Center and contribute it to the Microsoft Security Store for broader visibility and adoption by customers. Benefit: Build production-ready agents in minutes without writing a single line of code. It’s that easy to build an agent tailored to your unique workflows, and you are not limited to the Security Copilot portal. If you prefer a developer-friendly environment, you can build entirely in VS Code using GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Sentinel MCP tools. You still get AI-powered guidance, YAML scaffolding, and testing support, along with rich context from Sentinel data and the full platform toolset, all while staying in the environment that works best for you. Option 2: Build in VS Code using GitHub Copilot + Microsoft Sentinel MCP Tools Step 1: Set up your development environment Enable the Microsoft Sentinel MCP server in VS Code. This gives you direct access to the collection of Security Copilot agent creation MCP tools and integrates with GitHub Copilot for code generation – all while staying in your preferred workspace. Step 2: Define agent behavior from natural language with platform context Describe the agent you want to build in natural language. GitHub Copilot interprets your intent, selects the relevant MCP tools, find relevant skills and tools in Security Copilot for your agent, and crafts the agent instructions. The agent YAML gets generated and outputted back to you. Because your agent is built on Microsoft Security Copilot and Sentinel, it automatically leverages rich data and tooling across the platform for context-aware, more effective results. Step 3: Iterate, customize and extend your agent Modify instructions, add tools, or create new tools as needed. Use prompts to vibe code your edits or copy the YAML into the code editor and directly modify the agent YAML there. GitHub Copilot keeps the chat and code in sync. Step 4: Deploy to Security Copilot for testing Once you’re ready to test your agent YAML, prompt GitHub Copilot to deploy the agent to your user scope. Then head to the Security Copilot portal to test and optimize your agent with autotune instruction optimization. Take advantage of detailed outputs, activity maps, and AI scoring to refine instructions and ensure your agent performs effectively in real-world scenarios. Step 5: Publish and share your agent Once validated, publish the agent into your Security Copilot instance at either user or workspace scope (depending on admin permissions). Partners can also download the agent code, publish to the Microsoft Partner Center, and contribute it to the Microsoft Security Store for broader discoverability and adoption. What you get: Full code-level control and the same AI-powered agent development experience while staying in your preferred workspace. Whichever approach you choose, you can build, test, and deploy agents that fit your workflows and environment. Microsoft Security Copilot and Microsoft Sentinel give you the tools and advanced AI guidance to create agents that work for your organization. Explore the Microsoft Security Store Automate your workflows with pre-built solutions. The Microsoft Security Store gives you a central place to discover and deploy agents and SaaS solutions created by Microsoft and partners. Browse ready-to-use solutions, learn from proven approaches, and adapt them with your own customizations. It’s the quickest way to expand your ecosystem of agents and accelerate impact. More resources about the Security Store: What is Security Store? Microsoft Learn Build, deploy, defend Security Copilot puts the power of agentic AI directly in your hands. Start with ready-to-use agents from Microsoft and partners, or create custom agents designed specifically for your environment and workflows. These agents streamline decision-making, surface critical insights, and free your team to focus on strategic security initiatives - making operations faster, smarter, and more responsive. Join us at Microsoft Ignite, online or in-person, for hands-on demos and insights on how Security Copilot agents empower teams to act faster and protect better. More resources on building Security Copilot agents: Watch the Mechanics video to see agents in action: Security Copilot agents Mechanics video For more detailed guidance on building agents, check out the Microsoft Security Copilot documentation Special thanks to my co-authors, Namrata Puri (Principal PM, Security Copilot) and Sherie Pan (PM, Security Copilot), for their insights and contributions
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