Copilot Studio MCP Setup: Connect an Agent to an MCP Server (Wizard and Connector)

To connect a Microsoft Copilot Studio agent to an MCP server, open the agent's Tools page, select Add a tool, then New tool, and choose Model Context Protocol. The MCP onboarding wizard asks for a server name, description and URL, then an authentication type. Create a connection, select Add to agent, and the server's tools are available to the agent.

Copilot Studio is a cloud service, so it can only reach remote servers. Microsoft's docs say it supports the Streamable HTTP transport and "no longer supports SSE for MCP after August 2025." Your agent also needs generative orchestration turned on.

Checked against: Microsoft Learn's Extend your agent with MCP, Connect your agent to an existing MCP server and MCP troubleshooting pages on 2 November 2026. eSEOspace did not test Copilot Studio.

Before you start

• Generative orchestration on. Microsoft says "you must turn on generative orchestration to use MCP."
• A remote MCP server URL that speaks Streamable HTTP. A local server on your laptop will not work.
• Its auth details: an API key name, or OAuth endpoints and a client ID if the server does not support dynamic registration.
• Permission to create connections in the Power Platform environment.

Microsoft's docs note that when you connect a non-Microsoft MCP server, "you're responsible for the tools and resources you access." Review the server first with our MCP server risk checklist.

Option 1: The MCP onboarding wizard (recommended)

Basic details

1. Open your agent and go to the Tools page.
2. Select Add a tool, then New tool.
3. Under Create new, select Model Context Protocol.
4. Fill in Server name, Server description and Server URL.

Write the description carefully. Microsoft says the agent's orchestrator "uses this information to identify whether to call your server at runtime." A vague description means the agent may not call it.

Authentication

Pick one:

For API keys, Microsoft says "the user of the agent provides the API key." For Dynamic and Manual OAuth, Copilot Studio shows a callback URL after you select Create. Copy it into your app registration with the identity provider.

Our MCP authentication guide explains these OAuth modes in plain English.

Finish the connection

1. On Add tool, select Create a new connection (or reuse one).
2. Select Add to agent.

Microsoft says each tool or resource the server publishes "is automatically available," and changes on the server are reflected dynamically.

Option 2: Custom connector in Power Apps

Use this when you need more control over the connector or want to reuse it elsewhere in Power Platform.

1. On the agent's Tools page, select Add a tool > New tool > Custom connector.
2. In Power Apps, choose New custom connector > Import OpenAPI file.
3. Import a YAML schema for your server and complete the setup.

Microsoft's sample schema marks the MCP endpoint with a special extension:

swagger: '2.0'
info:
  title: Contoso
  description: MCP Test Specification, YAML for streamable MCP support in Copilot Studio
  version: 1.0.0
host: contoso.com
basePath: /
schemes:
  - https
paths:
  /mcp:
    post:
      summary: Contoso Lead Management Server
      x-ms-agentic-protocol: mcp-streamable-1.0
      operationId: InvokeMCP
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success

Checked against Microsoft Learn on 2 November 2026. Replace the host, path and descriptions with your own server's.

Microsoft also describes a third route: registering your server in Agents 365 through the Agents 365 CLI and the Microsoft 365 admin center, after which it is available in Copilot Studio once approved.

Data policies apply

Microsoft says MCP access in Copilot Studio "relies on Power Platform connectors." So if a DLP data policy restricts connectors, "it also regulates access to the MCP server and its tools for your agent." If a server will not appear, ask your Power Platform admin whether a policy is blocking it.

Known issues

Microsoft's troubleshooting page lists schema limits worth checking if tools go missing:

• Tools with reference-type inputs are filtered out; "reference type inputs and outputs aren't supported."
• Enum inputs are treated as plain strings.
• Input schemas with a type that is an array of several types get truncated. The fix is a single type per field.
• Setting exclusiveMinimum to an integer instead of a Boolean throws a System.FormatException.

Test it

Open the agent's test pane and ask a question only the MCP server can answer. Check that the tool was called and the answer uses its output. If not, revisit the server description, since that drives whether the orchestrator picks it.

Next step

Read Microsoft and MCP for how Copilot Studio fits with Microsoft 365 and Work IQ, and Microsoft Copilot vs Claude for MCP for a comparison. If you need an MCP server built for your business data, see our MCP development service.

Frequently asked questions