Connect to Data via MCP Servers

Enhance Copilot CLI by connecting to Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that expose enterprise data sources.

⏱️ Estimated time: 10–15 minutes

MCP servers are what transform Copilot CLI from a code assistant into a full enterprise productivity tool. In this module you’ll connect Copilot to your Microsoft 365 data, CRM system, and Power BI reports - giving it real-time context about your work, customers, and analytics.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external data sources and tools. Think of MCP servers as plugins that give Copilot new abilities - each server exposes a set of tools that Copilot can call on your behalf.

There are two types of MCP connections:

Type How it works Example
stdio Copilot launches a local process and communicates via stdin/stdout WorkIQ, MSX CRM
http Copilot connects to a remote HTTP endpoint Power BI

All MCP configuration lives in ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json (for Copilot CLI) or your VS Code .vscode/mcp.json.

WorkIQ (Microsoft 365 Data)

WorkIQ provides access to your emails, calendar, Teams chats, and files from Microsoft 365.

Quick Install

The quickest way to add WorkIQ is to just ask Copilot:

“Install WorkIQ so I can access my emails and calendar”

Copilot will handle the setup for you. Alternatively, you can install it manually:

Install the Plugin

Run these commands in Copilot CLI:

/plugin marketplace add github/copilot-plugins
/plugin install workiq@copilot-plugins

Configure MCP (optional)

The plugin install above already sets up the connection. If you want to configure WorkIQ manually (e.g., for VS Code), add it to your MCP server settings (~/.copilot/mcp-config.json or .vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "workiq": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@microsoft/workiq", "mcp"],
      "type": "stdio",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

Then accept the license agreement once:

workiq accept-eula

Use WorkIQ

After configuration, Copilot can query your Microsoft 365 context. Try prompts like:

  • “What did my manager say about the Q1 roadmap?”
  • “Summarize my unread emails from today”
  • “What meetings do I have this week?”
  • “Find the document that was shared in last Friday’s team meeting”

First-time auth: The first time you use WorkIQ, it will trigger a Microsoft Entra login flow in your browser. Sign in with your corporate account and grant the requested permissions. This only happens once.

References: WorkIQ CLI overview · WorkIQ MCP README

Power Prompts

Once WorkIQ is connected, the real magic begins. These prompts show what’s possible when Copilot has full access to your M365 data - emails, Teams, calendar, and files working together.

“What did I miss?”

Pull everything from my emails, Teams messages, and calendar from the 
last 2 business days. Identify the top 5 things that need my attention - 
action items assigned to me, decisions waiting on me, meetings I need to 
prep for, and anything urgent.

Copilot triages across all your communication channels at once - no more switching between Outlook, Teams, and Calendar to piece together what happened while you were out.

Account 360

Pick my most-mentioned customer from the last week of emails and Teams 
messages. Then do a full 360: pull every internal thread, email, and 
meeting note about them, research their latest news, and generate a 
briefing with our engagement history and recommended next steps.

One prompt replaces 30 minutes of manual research. You get a complete customer briefing - engagement history, open threads, and actionable next steps - ready to share with your team.

Meeting prep on autopilot

Look at my calendar for the next 2 business days. For each external 
customer meeting, pull the last 5 email and Teams exchanges with that 
customer, summarize what we've discussed recently, identify any open 
action items, and generate a prep doc with talking points for each meeting.

Walk into every customer meeting fully briefed. Copilot cross-references your calendar with your communication history and builds personalized prep docs automatically.

MSX CRM (Dynamics 365)

The MSX CRM server connects Copilot to Dynamics 365 - giving it access to accounts, opportunities, activities, and pipeline data from Microsoft Sales Experience.

Once configured, Copilot can query and update your CRM data with prompts like:

  • “Show me the top 5 opportunities closing this quarter”
  • “What’s the latest activity on the Contoso account?”
  • “Update the revenue estimate for opportunity OPP-1234 to $500K”
{
  "servers": {
    "msx-crm": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["mcp/msx/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MSX_CRM_URL": "https://microsoftsales.crm.dynamics.com",
        "MSX_TENANT_ID": "${input:tenant_id}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Power BI (Remote MCP)

Query your Power BI semantic models using plain English. Ask questions about revenue, trends, KPIs - Copilot translates your question into DAX and returns the answer.

  • “What was total revenue by region last quarter?”
  • “Show me the trend of customer churn over the past 12 months”
{
  "servers": {
    "powerbi-remote": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/mcp/powerbi"
    }
  }
}

You need access to at least one Power BI workspace and semantic model. Authenticates via your Microsoft Entra credentials.

Further Helpful MSFT-Internal MCP Servers

These Agent365 servers give Copilot direct access to Microsoft 365 services via Microsoft Graph. They work for all Microsoft employees.

WorkIQ vs Agent365 - what’s the difference?

WorkIQ is great for searching and reading across all your M365 data in one go - emails, Teams, calendar, SharePoint. If you just need to find or summarize information, WorkIQ is all you need.

Agent365 servers add direct actions on individual services - sending emails, posting in Teams, creating calendar events, editing Word docs. If you want Copilot to do things (not just read), add the Agent365 servers you need.

Setup: Add any of these to .vscode/mcp.json in your repo root. The tenant_id input will prompt you on first use - use your corporate Microsoft Entra tenant GUID.

📧 Agent365 Mail

Send, receive, and search emails directly from Copilot. Great for drafting responses, summarizing threads, or finding attachments without leaving your terminal.

  • “Draft a reply to the latest email from Sarah about the Q2 budget”
  • “Find all emails with attachments from last week”
{
  "servers": {
    "agent365-mail": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://agent365.svc.cloud.microsoft/agents/tenants/${input:tenant_id}/servers/mcp_MailTools"
    }
  }
}

💬 Agent365 Teams

Read and send Teams messages. Useful for catching up on channels you missed or posting updates without context-switching.

  • “Summarize what was discussed in the #project-alpha channel today”
  • “Post a status update to my team’s general channel”
{
  "servers": {
    "agent365-teamsserver": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://agent365.svc.cloud.microsoft/agents/tenants/${input:tenant_id}/servers/mcp_TeamsServer"
    }
  }
}

📅 Agent365 Calendar

Manage your calendar - check availability, create meetings, and review upcoming events. Especially powerful combined with WorkIQ for automated meeting prep.

  • “What’s my schedule for tomorrow?”
  • “Find a 30-minute slot with Jessica and Tom next week”
{
  "servers": {
    "agent365-calendartools": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://agent365.svc.cloud.microsoft/agents/tenants/${input:tenant_id}/servers/mcp_CalendarTools"
    }
  }
}

📄 Agent365 Word

Read and work with Word documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Let Copilot extract key information from long documents so you don’t have to read them yourself.

  • “Summarize the executive summary from the Q1 strategy doc”
  • “Extract the action items from the meeting minutes document”
{
  "servers": {
    "agent365-wordserver": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://agent365.svc.cloud.microsoft/agents/tenants/${input:tenant_id}/servers/mcp_WordServer"
    }
  }
}

📂 Agent365 SharePoint

Access files and content from SharePoint and OneDrive - search across your org’s shared resources, find documents, and browse folder structures.

  • “Find the latest version of the partner onboarding deck on SharePoint”
  • “List all files in our team’s shared project folder”
{
  "servers": {
    "agent365-sharepoint": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://agent365.svc.cloud.microsoft/agents/tenants/${input:tenant_id}/servers/mcp_ODSPRemoteServer"
    }
  }
}

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