Copilot & AI
How does authentication work in Copilot Studio?
Quick answer
Authentication in Copilot Studio has two halves. End-user authentication signs the person in — typically Microsoft Entra ID on Teams and web channels — so knowledge retrieval respects what that user may access. Action authentication covers what the agent touches: Power Automate flows and connectors run under configured connection identities with their own credentials and consent. Production design means choosing per-action identities deliberately, scoping least privilege, and testing every path as a non-maker user.
Key takeaways
- Users authenticate via Entra ID; actions run under connection identities.
- Knowledge trimming follows the signed-in user where supported.
- Service-owned identities survive staff departures.
Detailed Explanation
Authentication in Copilot Studio has two halves. End-user authentication signs the person in — typically Microsoft Entra ID on Teams and web channels — so knowledge retrieval respects what that user may access. Action authentication covers what the agent touches: Power Automate flows and connectors run under configured connection identities with their own credentials and consent. Production design means choosing per-action identities deliberately, scoping least privilege, and testing every path as a non-maker user.
How it works
At runtime the agent exchanges the channel sign-in for Entra ID tokens, then executes each knowledge lookup and action call under the resolved identity — user tokens for user-scoped content, configured connection identities for service work. Channels without sign-in skip the first step, so everything downstream runs effectively anonymous.
Limitations and considerations
Anonymous channels weaken user-scoped enforcement — never attach sensitive knowledge or privileged actions to them. Connection-owner departures silently break actions; service-owned identities prevent it.
For broader context, see the Copilot Studio Hub — it collects the guides around this topic.
When to use it
Map authentication before publishing: which channels sign users in, which knowledge is user-trimmed, and which identity each action runs under.
Practical example
An HR agent on Teams authenticates employees via Entra ID for salary-policy answers, while its ticket-creation flow runs under a service identity that can write to the HR system.