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AI

The Five Fields That Make or Break an Agent

How well your agent works lives in five configuration fields, not the icon, though a clear icon helps people find it.

Lesson 3

Instructions and description first.

If you are time-constrained, invest in this order: Instructions (behavior) → Description (routing) → Knowledge (quality over quantity) → Starter prompts (onboarding and testing) → Name (specific, 30 characters).

Five Agent Builder fields

InstructionsDescriptionKnowledge sourcesConversation startersCapabilitiesTop two fields carry most of the behavior
Instructions and description first, knowledge and starters follow.

Core principles

  1. Name (30 chars): specific, "MillerKnoll Onboarding Guide" not "Helper." Routing uses this plus description.
  2. Description (~1000 chars): when Copilot should invoke this agent, vague descriptions mean wrong or no routing. Include audience, topics, sources, tone. "An agent for new employees" is too thin.
  3. Instructions (up to 8000): role and scope, how to use knowledge, response format, edge cases, examples. Anticipate off-scope questions, redirect, do not guess.
  4. Knowledge (up to 20 sources): SharePoint, uploads, connectors, current, curated content beats a sprawling outdated site. Permissions follow the user; test multiple roles.
  5. Starter prompts: realistic questions users actually ask, they teach specificity and are the fastest smoke test.

Check yourself

If you can only invest deeply in two of the five Agent Builder fields, which two does this lesson prioritize?

Do this in Copilot

Rewrite Description from scratch (200+ words if warranted). Add scope boundaries or uncertainty language to Instructions. Test on Try It tab.

Paste into Agent Builder (Configure tab) and adapt for your agent, then add scope language to Instructions.

Draft a strong description

Then add to Instructions something like:

Answers questions from MillerKnoll associates about their first 90 days, onboarding steps, HR policy locations, IT setup, benefits enrollment, and who to contact. Draws from [your SharePoint site / handbook]. Plain language, welcoming tone. Does not handle performance management, compensation, or security incidents, directs those to HR or IT.
Open Copilot →
  • Scope boundaries
  • Uncertainty language
  • Scope: You are [role]. You answer [in scope]. You do not answer [out of scope], direct users to [team].
  • Uncertainty: If not confident from available sources, say so and recommend [who to contact]. Never speculate.
  • Format: Keep answers to 3–5 sentences where possible; numbered steps when listing actions.

Did you run this in Copilot? Mark complete when you have tried it.

Next lesson: Testing, Refining, and Knowing When It's Good Enough →