How to Select Effective Topics when developing a Copilot Studio Agent

Creating an intelligent and helpful AI agent in a Copilot Agent Studio begins with one of the most critical steps: selecting the right topics. Whether you're building a customer support assistant, a task automation agent, or a learning tutor, the topics you define shape how your agent interacts with users and what problems it can solve. Here's a practical guide to selecting impactful topics that will set your Copilot up for success.

1. Understand the User’s Goals

Start by identifying the primary purpose your users want to achieve. Ask:

• What problems are users trying to solve?

• What tasks are they repeatedly performing?

• Where do they face friction or confusion?

For example, if you're building a copilot for a project management tool, your users might need help with task creation, reporting progress, or setting deadlines. Each of these can be a dedicated topic.

2. Think in Use Cases, Not Features

Topics should reflect user intentions, not just the underlying features of a product or system. A common mistake is to mirror your product’s menu structure rather than how people actually think about their needs.

Bad:

• “Settings”

• “Data Sync Options”

Better:

• “Change my notification preferences”

• “Sync my calendar with Google”

Topics should sound like the questions or commands users would naturally ask.

3. Group Related Actions

Good topics balance specificity and breadth. A topic like "Create and edit tasks" is manageable—it covers a few closely related actions. But avoid overly broad topics like "Manage everything" or overly narrow ones like "Rename a subtask in a recurring weekly project".

When in doubt, use the rule of three:

• Can I group at least three related actions in one topic?

• Are these actions logically and semantically connected?

• Would a user expect these actions to be handled together?

If yes, that’s a solid candidate for a single topic.

4. Prioritize High-Impact, High-Frequency Areas

Your initial topics should target the “80/20” opportunities—where 20% of user intents generate 80% of support or interaction volume. Focus on:

• Frequently asked questions

• Repetitive tasks

• Points of failure or confusion

Use logs, analytics, or direct user interviews to find these hotspots.

5. Write Clear, Actionable Titles

Name your topics with clarity. Use verbs when possible and avoid vague terms. Good examples:

• “Reset my password”

• “Track my order”

• “Schedule a meeting”

These titles are intuitive and immediately tell users what the topic is about.

6. Avoid Redundancy and Overlap

Make sure your topics don’t compete with each other. Overlapping topics confuse both the AI and the user. If you have “Book a flight” and “Book a trip,” clarify whether those mean the same thing or need to be merged, split, or rephrased.

7. Test with Real Queries

Before finalizing your topics, simulate real user inputs. Ask others (or yourself) to type what they might say in a natural conversation. If their intent doesn’t clearly map to one topic, you may need to rework your topic list or training examples.

8. Plan for Scalability

Your first set of topics won’t be your last. Design with growth in mind:

• Use categories or tags to group topics as they expand.

• Make it easy to plug in new intents without reworking old ones.

• Regularly review usage data to retire underused topics and optimize active ones.

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In a Copilot Agent Studio, thoughtful topic selection sets the foundation for a helpful, intuitive user experience. Prioritize real user needs, group intents logically, and aim for clarity in everything you build. With strong topics in place, your Copilot will be more responsive, effective, and aligned with what your users actually want to achieve.