Welcome to this Cloud Wars Agent and Copilot Minute. In these discussions, I’ll be analyzing opportunities, impact, and outcomes possible with AI; today’s focus: Agent skills that are available from the Microsoft Copilot Acceleration Team, or CAT.
Highlights
00:15 — We’ve built AI tools to capture retiring experts’ knowledge, read emails, and follow up on unanswered emails. Later I discovered that Microsoft had created similar tools and made them available in a gallery called CAT Agent skills.
01:18 — Skills are written instructions for specific tasks, which can be downloaded and integrated into agents. The gallery includes 67 skills that work in Copilot Studio, 45 in Cowork, and 39 in Scout. I’ll highlight three skills: Institutional Knowledge Archivist, Work Brief, and Awaiting Reply, which I had previously developed independently. These skills automate tasks like capturing departing leaders’ knowledge, managing work briefs, and following up on unanswered emails.
03:19 — I advise caution in using these skills, as they run with the agent’s permissions and are community-contributed, not official product features, from Microsoft engineers, MVPs, consultants, practitioners — about 43 contributors so far. One honest caveat: every one of these skills runs with your agent’s permissions. The gallery says so right on the page. So add only what you trust.
More CIO and AI Agent Insights:
- Cowork Experiment Delivers Powerful AI Cost Lessons
- Tools Streamline Creation of Reusable Skills
- Governance, Billing Considerations With the Always-On Microsoft Scout
- 4 Requirements to Drive Results That Go Beyond ‘AI Theater’
- How AI Diagnosed a Fabric Capacity Problem for Quick Resolution
Community Summit North America is the largest independent innovation, education, and training event for Microsoft business applications delivered by Expert Users, Microsoft Leaders, MVPs, and Partners. Register now to attend Community Summit in Nashville, TN from October 11-15.
Kenny Mullican
CIO
Paragon Films
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