Public regulatory research agent
A policy officer creates a web-grounded Agent using public Ofqual, DfE, JCQ or sector guidance to manually check for updates, monitor consultations and summarise public changes.
Where the action happens
Copilot Chat / Agent Builder
Product or feature needed
Web-grounded agent with instructions and selected public sources
AI required
Yes
Extra credits
Usually no - if kept to simple public/web grounding, but tenant settings may vary
Technical skill
Low to medium
Risk level
Low - keep it public-source only and do not upload sensitive AO data
Licence dependency
Personal Agents stage — basic web/public Agent use can be available before Premium, subject to tenant web-search policy; richer organisational grounding has additional dependencies.
Credit dependency
Usually none for a simple public/web Agent; tenant configuration may vary.
UK availability
available
What it can do
- Can use selected public websites and, where the tenant allows it, broader web search as knowledge for interactive research.
- Useful for a person-led check of public regulator or government pages without needing internal work data.
- Can compare or explain public guidance when the user starts the task and reviews the sources.
Limitations
- This is interactive research, not unattended monitoring: the Agent does not by itself create a scheduled Power Automate website check.
- Web search can be disabled by tenant policy.
- A public website knowledge source or search result is not a guaranteed change-detection service; users should review the source page and date.
Prerequisites
- Web content/search must be permitted by the organisation.
- Use only approved public sources for this low-risk pattern.
Workarounds
For scheduled monitoring, use Power Automate with an approved fetch/integration step such as HTTP or a suitable connector, then optionally use AI to interpret the detected change.
Needs premium licensing. External dependency: Power Automate HTTP/API or external connector may require Premium licensing..
Notes
Manual/web-grounded Agent research and scheduled external monitoring are separate capabilities. AI interpretation does not itself provide unattended web connectivity.
Watch-outs for Personal Agents
- Do not overstate what a basic Agent can do: it is often closer to a reusable helper than an autonomous system.
- Basic Agents do not automatically gain broad access to organisational work data.
- If the Agent needs SharePoint, Microsoft Graph, connectors or broader work grounding, check licensing, admin controls and permissions.
- Shared Agents should have an owner, purpose, scope and review date.
Sources
- Add knowledge sources to your declarative agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot checked 2026-09-05
Last checked: 2026-09-05
Community feedback
Has your organisation tried this? Confirm whether it's possible, whether it's useful, and share any tips.
0
Confirmed possible
0
Reported not possible
0
Found it useful
0
Not useful
Loading feedback…