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In today’s competitive retail landscape, customers expect shopping experiences that are fast, personal, and effortless. They no longer want to browse through endless product lists or generic filters — they want instant, tailored recommendations that fit their needs.
The Personalized Shopping (Preview) agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio delivers exactly that. It’s an intelligent, conversational AI assistant that helps shoppers discover products through natural, human-like dialogue. Built on the same foundation as Microsoft’s managed agents, it brings personalized recommendations, real-time insights, and brand consistency into a single, easy-to-manage solution.
What Is the Personalized Shopping Agent?
A new kind of digital store assistant
The Personalized Shopping agent is a conversational AI designed specifically for retail. Instead of relying on search boxes or filters, shoppers can simply describe what they’re looking for — and the agent handles the rest.
For example, a customer might type:
“I’m looking for a birthday gift for a 5-year-old who loves science.”
The agent interprets intent, scans your product catalog, and suggests suitable options like science kits or STEM toys, explaining why each product fits. If the request is broader — for example, “What do I need for winter hiking?” — the agent can ask follow-up questions like “Where will you be hiking?” before refining its recommendations.
Throughout the process, it maintains your brand’s tone and voice, ensures that results come only from approved data sources, and always aligns with your business policies. It’s like having a 24/7 in-store shopping assistant, ready to guide customers through every step of their journey.
Built on Copilot Studio’s Managed Agent Foundation
The Personalized Shopping agent operates within Microsoft Copilot Studio, leveraging its powerful managed agent framework. This architecture allows retailers to build, customize, and maintain AI-powered assistants without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure.
If you’d like a deeper understanding of how managed agents work — including their deployment model, scalability, and benefits — check out my detailed guide:
👉 Managed Agents in Copilot Studio
That article explains the core mechanics behind Copilot Studio’s agent ecosystem and how Microsoft handles maintenance, updates, and security at scale.
Key Features and Benefits
Natural conversation and contextual understanding
The agent enables free-flowing, human-style conversations. Customers can type or speak naturally, and the AI interprets context to return relevant results.
Intelligent product recommendations
Each suggestion includes context — why a particular item suits the customer’s needs, preferences, or constraints. This adds trust and transparency to the interaction.
Clarifying dialogue
When the AI isn’t sure, it asks smart clarifying questions, ensuring accuracy without frustrating the shopper.
Brand-controlled experience
Retailers can customize tone, phrasing, and safety filters to reflect brand personality and business rules.
Real-time data integration
Because it connects directly to your product catalog and inventory APIs, the agent always recommends items that are available and up to date.
Grounded and trustworthy responses
Every recommendation comes from verified product data — no hallucinations, no misinformation. The AI is grounded in facts you control.
Actionable analytics
Copilot Studio provides built-in analytics dashboards so you can measure engagement, track popular queries, and continuously refine user experience.
Why It Matters for Retailers
1. Boosts conversion and basket size
Customers are more likely to buy when suggestions feel relevant and confident. Personalized recommendations shorten decision time and increase average order value.
2. Reduces friction and frustration
By removing the need to manually browse, filter, or guess product terms, the agent simplifies the entire discovery process.
3. Creates a scalable, personal touch
Even small or mid-sized retailers can deliver a concierge-level experience — without hiring extra staff.
4. Ensures consistent experiences across channels
The same conversational logic can run across your website, mobile app, or in-store kiosk, ensuring seamless engagement everywhere.
5. Cuts support costs
Common product discovery questions are handled automatically, freeing your support or sales teams for higher-value interactions.
6. Enables continuous optimization
Data from user interactions help you understand intent trends, improve your catalog tagging, and fine-tune prompts for better accuracy.
Real-World Use Cases
Gift recommendations
A shopper asks, “What should I get for a music lover’s birthday?” The agent suggests record players, headphones, or accessories, explaining the value of each.
Seasonal or themed shopping
Queries like “What do I need for a beach vacation?” trigger curated collections, from swimwear to sunscreen — all tailored to the shopper’s preferences.
Cross-selling and upselling
While viewing a product, the agent might suggest related items such as cases, accessories, or complementary products, increasing the basket size naturally.
In-store or associate support
Employees can use the same AI assistant to locate inventory, compare products, or answer customer questions more efficiently.
Internal merchandising
Teams can use the agent internally to explore assortment options, test bundles, or simulate customer journeys.
How to Implement the Personalized Shopping Agent
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Access Copilot Studio
Sign in to Microsoft Copilot Studio and verify that your organization has access to the Personalized Shopping (Preview) template. -
Connect your product catalog
Integrate your commerce or product data source, including item details, prices, stock levels, and attributes. -
Set brand tone and safety guardrails
Define how your brand communicates — friendly, expert, concise — and establish restrictions (for example, don’t display out-of-stock items). -
Design conversation topics
Build or auto-generate conversation topics such as “Shop by occasion,” “Find a gift,” or “Compare items.” -
Configure backend actions
Set up APIs for recommendations, inventory checks, and promotions so the agent can perform dynamic lookups. -
Test the experience
Use the built-in test panel in Copilot Studio to simulate conversations, evaluate tone, and adjust flows. -
Publish across channels
Deploy the agent to your e-commerce site, mobile app, or customer service portal. -
Monitor, measure, and iterate
Analyze user interactions, satisfaction, and conversion metrics. Use feedback loops to improve continuously.
How to Install Personalized Shopping Agent in Copilot Studio?
Installing a personalized shopping agent is straightforward; you just need to install it from your Copilot Studio “Install a managed agent” section.
I have already installed this personalized shopping agent, so it is showing as installed.
Installing this agent in the backend of your Power Platform environment will create the following solution files:
- Personalized Shopping
- PSA Demo Components Solution
- Personalized Shopping Bot
- PSA Application
- Industry Agent Service Permissions – PROD
- Industry Agent Roles Solution
Note:
- The installation process may take up to 30 minutes.
After installing your Shopping Assistant agent, you can pass something like “Show me all products” in the Copilot Studio chat panel, and then all products from the backend will be displayed, as shown below:
YouTube Demo: Shopping Assistant Agent Complete Walkthrough
Watch the full demo with the complete walk-through in my YouTube channel.
Best Practices for Success
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Start with a focused category — Pilot the agent in one area (e.g., gifts, apparel) before expanding across the full catalog.
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Keep conversations natural — Avoid over-templated replies; prioritize fluid, conversational tone.
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Show fewer, better results — Limit product lists to 3–5 high-quality options with explanations.
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Personalize when possible — If the user is logged in, use past purchase history or preferences to enhance recommendations.
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Ensure grounded responses — Always pull product data from verified APIs or databases.
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Refine continuously — Use analytics to find unanswered queries and enhance prompt design.
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Align with brand personality — Train the agent’s voice to match your brand (helpful, witty, professional, etc.).
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Track meaningful KPIs — Conversion rate, chat-to-purchase ratio, and engagement time provide real insight into performance.
The Future of Conversational Shopping
The Personalized Shopping agent marks a major shift toward AI-driven commerce. Instead of browsing endless categories, customers can simply describe what they need — and the AI curates an experience that feels human, immediate, and intuitive.
For retailers, this technology bridges the gap between personalization and automation. It blends product data, conversation design, and AI understanding to create interactions that feel personal at scale.
Built within Copilot Studio, the Personalized Shopping agent inherits Microsoft’s robust enterprise foundation: compliance, scalability, and reliability. You manage the customer experience; Microsoft manages the underlying AI infrastructure.
Conclusion: Shopping Assistant Agent
Thus, in this article, we have learned how to install a personalized shopping agent in Copilot Studio and how to work with this shopping assistant agent with the demo data.
The Personalized Shopping (Preview) agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio gives retailers a powerful way to transform e-commerce into a guided, conversational experience. It helps customers find what they love faster, increases engagement, and builds lasting brand loyalty.
Because it’s built on Copilot Studio’s managed agent framework, you get enterprise-grade reliability without technical overhead — letting your team focus on what truly matters: creating outstanding, personalized shopping journeys.
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