How-Tos
How to add computer use in Microsoft Copilot Studio
Microsoft Learn steps to add Copilot Studio computer use: pick a CUA model, bind a Windows machine, and lock down sites, apps, and credentials.
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When a production agent has to fill a form, click a menu, or pull data off a screen and there is no API, Microsoft Copilot Studio documents computer use as a first-class tool. It drives a Windows machine with a virtual mouse and keyboard. You describe the job in natural language. If a person can use the website or desktop app, computer use can too.
This is a Microsoft Learn procedure for Windows GUI agents—not a model launch. Typical jobs include automated data entry, invoice processing, and data extraction. The tool is powered by Computer-Using Agents (CUA): vision plus reasoning against a GUI, so it can keep going when buttons or screens change. You do not write code.
Prerequisites
Computer use is only available for agents with generative orchestration turned on. Microsoft also notes that the features in this article apply to agents or agent flows powered by the standard harness.
Add the Computer use tool
In Copilot Studio:
- Go to the Tools page for your agent and select Add tool.
- In Add tool, select New tool.
- Select Computer use.
- Provide instructions that describe the task. Instruction templates are available.
- Select Add and configure. Fill the four required fields below.
- Optionally review the other fields on the configuration page.
- Select Save.
Required fields:
- Name — display name so you can tell this tool from others on the agent.
- Description — a short explanation of what the tool does and when to use it. The agent uses this text to decide when to call it.
- Model — the CUA model that executes the run.
- Instructions — the steps to perform, including URLs and application names.
Inputs are optional. Use them for values that change every run, such as a form field. At execution time, computer use combines your instructions with those input values.
Choose a model
Microsoft lists these models on the configuration page:
| Provider | Model | Tier | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Computer-Using Agent (CUA) | Standard | Generally available |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Standard | Generally available |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Standard | Experimental |
| Anthropic | Claude Opus 4.6 | Premium | Experimental |
To use an Anthropic model, your administrator must turn on access to external models for the environment.
Computer use bills through the Agent action feature. Each run is a sequence of steps; a step may include one or more clicks, keystrokes, or navigations. Each step consumes 5 Copilot Credits on a standard model, or 15 Copilot Credits on a premium model. Claude Opus 4.6 is the premium model in that table. Microsoft’s four-step time-sheet example costs 20 credits on a standard model and 60 on a premium model.
Bind the machine and credentials
Select the target machine the agent uses. Refresh updates the list. Manage machines and See machine details open Power Automate. How you register that host is covered in a separate Learn article; this page does not spell out those steps.
Connection is the connection for this tool. Update or create a connection to change credentials.
Credentials to use:
- Maker-provided credentials (default) — the maker’s credentials. Microsoft marks this as suitable for autonomous agents. If you share an agent with this setting, anyone using it can act with the original author’s access on the configured machine.
- End user credentials — the person interacting with the agent. Each user must have access credentials to the machine.
Stored credentials fill website and desktop sign-in prompts during a run. Store passwords in Power Platform internal storage (encrypted, no preconfiguration) or in an Azure Key Vault you provide.
Internal storage needs Type (Website or Desktop app), Username, Password, and a Login domain or desktop app name. Website examples from the docs include www.contoso.com, *.contoso.com, and contoso.com (all pages on that site are included; wildcards cover subdomains). For desktop apps, open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc, check Processes, and use the product or process name—examples given are Microsoft Edge, msedge, and Notepad.
Password fields work on all websites and most Windows applications (WinForms, WPF, UWP, WinUI, Win32). Electron, Java, Unity, games, command-line interfaces, Citrix, or other virtualized environments might not be supported.
For Azure Key Vault, enter subscription ID, resource group name, and key vault name from the vault Overview page. The Azure subscription must have the PowerPlatform resource provider registered, and the user who creates the environment variable must have appropriate Key Vault permissions. Then provide username, Azure secret name, and the same domain or app-name fields.
Human supervision names an Outlook contact if the agent detects potentially harmful instructions that could alter model behavior. Each run is tied to the user who started it, so a reviewer who did not initiate the run likely cannot see the activity. After the response time limit, an unanswered request expires and the run stops.
Allow lists and HTTPS
By default the tool can operate on any website or application. Enable Access control to limit it to specific URLs and desktop apps, using the same domain and process-name patterns as stored credentials.
Access control only prevents actions on sites and apps that are not allow-listed. It does not stop the model from opening them. If only microsoft.com and Microsoft Edge are listed, the model can still use Edge’s search bar to open Bing; once Bing is open, interaction fails.
Turn on Enforce HTTPS so the tool works only with addresses that start with https://. It then does not interact with HTTP sites.
Test, then publish
After you save a name, description, and instructions, select Test. The left panel shows instructions plus a step-by-step log of reasoning and actions. The right panel previews the machine. Test completed appears when the task finishes. Stop testing immediately stops all actions on the machine. If the result is wrong, tighten the instructions.
Publish after you are satisfied. Autonomous agents run in the background and are the better fit. Conversational agents (for example Microsoft Teams) can still use the tool, with two constraints from the docs: if you select User authentication, each person in the conversation needs valid credentials for the machine; and when the tool runs, it shares reasoning messages and screenshots of the machine in the chat.
Instructions and machine hardening
Write instructions as if you are briefing a colleague. Include the full URL and exact application name. State submit and send actions explicitly. Break awkward UI into individual clicks. Use a numbered list for long tasks. Ask for extracted values as plain text or as JSON with no extra commentary, and mention any downstream tool (such as email) in the agent instructions so both tools are on the agent.
Microsoft ships sample instruction sets for invoice transfer from a PDF, inventory data entry, and portfolio lookup. Start from those if you are new to the tool.
On the host, Microsoft recommends dedicated machines, least-privilege accounts, a trusted web allow list (for example Microsoft Edge policy via Microsoft Intune), and limiting which desktop apps can run (for example application control). Pair those host controls with the tool’s own allow list and HTTPS setting.
Next step
In Copilot Studio, confirm generative orchestration is on, add Computer use from Tools, pick a generally available model, bind a machine, and run Test. Then enable access control and Enforce HTTPS before you publish. Use the invoice-processing sample and the embedded walkthrough video on Microsoft Learn as your first run.