Component Collections

Designing a new feature for Copilot Studio that enables scalable reuse of bot components across agents and environments required solving for modularity, collaboration, and enterprise-grade governance. The team reimagined how makers share and manage content—balancing simplicity for low-code users with robust controls for large organizations. This work addressed a top customer need and unlocked new adoption and monetization pathways.

Overview

Component Collections is a feature in Copilot Studio that allows makers to group and reuse bot components—such as topics, actions, entities, and knowledge—across multiple agents and environments. This modular approach streamlines bot development, supports Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), and enables scalable content sharing, including monetization by ISVs.

Background + Motivation

The feature was born out of a clear and repeated customer need. Numerous enterprise clients across industries expressed frustration with the limitations of existing export/import mechanisms, which required full bot redeployments for even minor updates. This created inefficiencies, increased risk of regressions, and hindered collaboration across teams.

Component Collections emerged as a solution to:

  • Reduce duplication of effort

  • Align content across bots

  • Enable reuse across environments

  • Support ALM scenarios

  • Empower ISVs to package and distribute bot content

It quickly became one of the top-requested features in the Copilot Studio backlog, with several customers identifying it as a blocker for adoption.

Process

Discovery + Research: Using the Jobs to be Done framework, the design team mapped out the needs of both creators and consumers of component collections. This included:

  • Entry points at both the agent and environment level

  • Use cases for internal reuse, external publishing, and modular bot construction

  • Feedback loops with design leadership and cross-functional partners


Information Architecture: Following the Build conference, the IA of Copilot Studio was reassessed to determine the most intuitive placement for the feature. This led to:

  • A redesign of the Copilot Studio Library to accommodate shared elements

  • Clarification of repository roles (Library, Catalog, AppSource, etc.)

  • Removal of redundant entry points to reduce user confusion


Cross-Functional Collaboration: The design process involved deep coordination with:

  • Engineering: To align on technical constraints and implementation feasibility

  • DataVerse Team: To update the paradigm of shared repositories

  • PMs and Designers: Across Copilot Studio and Power Platform to ensure consistency and scalability


Iteration + Validation: Designs were reviewed through peer critiques, triad reviews, and experience reviews (XRs). Feedback was solicited from:

  • Design leadership

  • Engineering partners

  • Product stakeholders

The feature was bug-bashed and refined prior to its public preview launch at MPPC

Stack

Stack

Stack

“ We are expecting this feature to significantly increase Monthly Average Users/Revenue given it’s the second most requested feature in our backlog from customers ”

Lessons Learned

  • Modularity Drives Adoption: Reusable content is a game-changer for enterprise scalability.

  • Clarity Is Key: UI paradigms must clearly communicate permissions and access levels.

  • Enterprise Readiness Requires Guardrails: Features like parent agent locking and dependency exclusion are essential for large-scale deployments.

  • Design for Everyone: Simplifying workflows for low-code users expands reach and usability.