Using Copilot Studio Create Item in SharePoint, No Power Automate Flow

In this “Copilot Studio Create Item in SharePoint” article, you’ll learn how to create Item in SharePoint List directly from Copilot Studio—without using Power Automate flows using the Copilot Create Item tool. This tutorial explains how to use the built-in SharePoint connector in Copilot Studio to dynamically create list items through a Copilot Studio agent.

Are you looking to create SharePoint list items without relying on Power Automate? Thanks to the latest enhancements in Microsoft Copilot Studio, you can now seamlessly integrate SharePoint connectors, dynamically configure parameters using AI, and build a fully functional Copilot agent—all without a single flow!

In this guide, we will walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to:

• Use the SharePoint Create Item tool in Copilot Studio

• Configure parameters dynamically using AI and user input

• Set up effective agent instructions and prompts

• Build an end-to-end AI-powered employee leave management solution

Let’s dive in!

Copilot Studio Create Item Tool: Create SharePoint List Item Using Copilot Studio Without Power Automate

Before starting the demo, let’s understand what Microsoft Copilot Studio is, what tools are in Copilot Studio and what Agent Instructions or prompt engineering are.

What is Microsoft Copilot Studio?

Microsoft Copilot Studio is a low-code/no-code platform designed for building intelligent Copilot agents using AI models like GPT-4o, integrating with external tools such as SharePoint, Dataverse, and many more. You can now automate business processes, answer questions, or even manage SharePoint content—all from a conversational interface.

What is Copilot Studio Tool?

Copilot Studio is a low-code development platform by Microsoft that allows users to build, customize, and deploy their own AI-powered Copilot agents. It provides a visual interface where you can define how your Copilot interacts with users, integrates with external systems (like SharePoint, Dataverse, or APIs), and processes data using AI.

Key Highlights:

• You can create custom topics, invoke Power Automate flows, or use built-in tools like SharePoint connectors.

• It supports natural language understanding (NLU), response models like GPT-4o, and custom prompt engineering.

• With Copilot Studio, both technical and non-technical users can design intelligent bots that work across Microsoft Teams, websites, or apps—without writing much code.

Example: You can create a Copilot that reads or writes items to a SharePoint list using the Create Item Tool, all without needing a Power Automate flow.

Want to get started with Copilot Studio? Read my previous article to get started with the Copilot Studio tool.

What is Copilot Agent Instructions (Prompt Engineering)?

One of the most powerful features of Copilot Studio is the ability to configure Agent Instructions. These instructions work as system-level prompts that guide how your Copilot behaves, responds, and interprets user input.

• You can define role-based behaviors for the Copilot, such as acting like a leave management assistant, HR executive, IT helpdesk, etc.

• Instructions help the Copilot stay focused and maintain context throughout the conversation.

• You can include sample Q&A or scenarios to improve performance.

Example Instruction:
“You are an HR assistant. Help employees apply for leave by collecting their name, leave type, and date range, then create a SharePoint list item using the Create Item Tool.”

This feature allows high customization of AI behavior without retraining the model—just smart prompt design!

Now, I will explain this demo step by step.

Use Case: Employee Leave Management System

We’ll use the example of an Employee Leave Management Application to demonstrate how you can add a leave request directly into a SharePoint list using Copilot Studio.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• A Microsoft 365 account

• Access to Copilot Studio

• A SharePoint Online site with a custom list (e.g., “Employee Leave Requests”)

• SharePoint site URL and list name

• Necessary SharePoint permissions (Contribute access or higher)

Step 1: Use the SharePoint Connector in Copilot Studio

1. Open your Copilot Studio.

2. Go to the Tools section → Click + Add tool → Choose SharePoint.

3. Select the Create Item tool.

4. Provide your SharePoint site URL and list name (e.g., “EmployeeLeaveRequests”).

This will allow Copilot to interact directly with your SharePoint list.

From your agent Tools menu, click on the “Add a tool” button.

Then, click on your connector; here, for my scenario, I have clicked on the “SharePoint” connector. Then, you will see the list of SharePoint tools; if you notice, these are nothing but the Power Automate flow SharePoint actions.

Then, select your intended tool. For this demo, I have selected “Create item” tool.

Already I have added this “Create Item” tool from Copilot Studio agent, as you can see here.

I will open this tool and show you the configuration.

Step 2: Configure Parameters Dynamically Using AI

Once you’ve added the Create Item tool:

1. Click the tool to configure parameters.

2. Use AI-based dynamic expressions to extract user input (like employee name, leave type, start date, end date, etc.).

3. Map these variables to the respective SharePoint list columns.

Tip: Use prompts like “Please enter your leave details” and extract values using custom AI variables.

Below are my configurations for my “Create Item” SharePoint tool.

Basically, there are three configuration sections for the create item tool; these are:

• Tool details
• Inputs configuration
• Completion

Configuration screen 1:

In the “Tool details” screen, we can configure the tool name, description, authentication, etc.

In the “Inputs” section, we need to configure the site address, list name and mapping of list columns. To configure a list column, you need to click on the “Add input” button and select your column. For the column value, don’t pass anything; the default value is “Dynamically fill with AI”; this will do your job automatically.

For the completion, you can configure what your agent does when it finishes using this tool. By the way, this is an optional configuration.

In the after running dropdown list, we have the below option:

• Don’t respond (Default): This doesn’t respond to anything.
• Write the response with generative AI: This is an AI-based response.
• Send specific response: With this we can configure a custom manual response the way we want.
• Send adaptive card: With this we can configure a custom response with the adaptive card format.

Step 3: Configure Agent Instructions and Prompts

To ensure your Copilot behaves intelligently:

1. Open the Instructions tab.

2. Add clear guidelines such as:

   • “Capture employee leave request details.”

   • “Ask the user for dates, leave type, and reason.”

   • “Create a new item in SharePoint only after validating the inputs.”

3. Add helpful Prompts and Trigger Phrases like:

   • “I want to apply for leave”

   • “Submit my leave request”

Below are my instructions or prompts for my employee leave management use cases, which I have configured.

You need to configure the instructions for your agent from your agent overview page “Instructions” section as shown below:

Note:

• The above instructions or prompts are just samples; you can pass them as per your requirements.
• Read this “Write Agent Instructions” document from Microsoft for better understanding the instructions guidelines.

That’s it I am done with the configuration, now I will test my agent.

Step 4: Test the End-to-End Workflow

Now it’s time to test your Copilot agent.

1. Enter a leave request in conversational form.

2. The Copilot agent will:

   • Prompt for required info

   • Validate user input

   • Create the SharePoint list item using the configured tool

No need for Power Automate flows!

I just asked my agent, “I want to apply for leave,” and then the agent instructed me to input the details. I did that, and my leave request got created successfully in my SharePoint site.

Here is my new leave request item in the SharePoint Online leave management list:

Benefits of This Approach

Final Thoughts

Thus, in this article, we have learnt how to create SharePoint Online list items using the Copilot Create Item tool without using the Power Automate flow step by step from a Copilot Agent.

With Microsoft Copilot Studio’s native SharePoint connector, you can build powerful automations without touching Power Automate. This not only saves time but also enables smarter, AI-driven workflows.

Whether you’re a SharePoint admin, Power Platform developer, or business user, this approach is a game-changer.

Watch the Full Video Tutorial

About Post Author

Microsoft Techy

As a SharePoint and Power Platform Maven, my greatest joy comes from sharing my expertise with colleagues, friends, and the tech community, helping them navigate the ever-evolving world of technology and guiding them through the dynamic landscape of modern technology.

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