An external system exposes tools through an open standard. How does a Copilot Studio agent connect?
Why D is the answer
Model Context Protocol
The Model Context Protocol is the open standard Copilot Studio agents use to reach tools from external systems.
In detail
- Model Context Protocol is that open standard.
- It avoids a one-off integration for each system.
Use case
An illustrative scenario, not a real incident.
A vendor publishes its tools through an open standard, and the agent connects to them with MCP.
See it in different ways
flowchart TD
A{"What must the agent reach?"} -->|"Tools with an open standard"| B["Model Context Protocol"]
A -->|"A service with a connector"| C["Connector"]
A -->|"An app with no API"| D["Computer use"]mindmap
root((Integration))
Has a connector
Connector
Open tool standard
Model Context Protocol
No API
Computer use
Azure AI services
Foundry Toolsflowchart LR S0["MCP server"] --> S1["Add to the agent"] --> S2["Agent calls tools"]
Key point: MCP connects agents to external tools.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A static PDF of the API, uploaded to the agent as a knowledge source
- A PDF of an API cannot call it.
- B. A shared mailbox
- A mailbox is not a tool connection.
- C. A manual export to Excel
- An export is not live access.