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Microsoft 365 Copilot doesn’t connect to MCP servers directly. Instead, you build an agent in Copilot Studio — Microsoft’s tool for making custom Copilot assistants — give it Variable as a tool, and publish it to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams. Your team then talks to Variable through that agent.

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Before you start

  • MCP is enabled for your Variable account. Check the MCP URL row in Company settings. If it shows Not enabled, email us.
  • You can create agents in Copilot Studio. You need a Copilot Studio license and access to an environment. Your organization’s data policies must also allow custom connectors — Copilot Studio runs MCP servers through Power Platform connectors, so a policy that blocks them blocks Variable too.
  • Someone can approve Teams apps if you want to share the agent beyond yourself. Making an agent available to your organization needs a Microsoft 365 admin’s approval.

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Set up the agent

1

Create an agent

In Copilot Studio, create a new agent. Give it a name and instructions that say what it’s for — for example, “Answer questions about our product carbon footprints using Variable.” See Microsoft’s quickstart for the basics.
2

Add Variable as an MCP tool

Open the agent’s Tools page, select Add a tool -> New tool -> Model Context Protocol, and fill in:The agent reads the description to decide when to call Variable, so keep it specific. Select Create, then Next.
3

Connect your Variable account

In the Add tool dialog, select Create a new connection. A Variable sign-in window opens: sign in, pick the account to connect, and select Allow. Then select Add to agent.
4

Test it

In the agent’s test pane, ask “list my Variable accounts”. The agent should reply with the accounts you belong to and which one is active.
5

Publish to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams

Select Publish. Then go to Channels, open Teams and Microsoft Copilot, keep Make agent available in Microsoft Copilot selected, and select Add channel. See agent in Teams installs it for you; Availability options shares it with colleagues or submits it for admin approval. Microsoft’s Teams and Microsoft Copilot channel guide covers the sharing options.

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Why “Dynamic discovery”

Copilot Studio offers three OAuth 2.0 types. Variable needs Dynamic discovery:
  • Dynamic discovery — Copilot Studio reads Variable’s OAuth metadata, registers itself as a client, and finds the sign-in and token endpoints on its own. This is called dynamic client registration (DCR), and it’s how every Variable MCP client connects.
  • Dynamic and Manual — both ask you to type in endpoints, and Manual also asks for a client ID and secret. Variable doesn’t issue client secrets, so leave these alone.
Microsoft has a separate page on dynamic client registration for Microsoft 365 declarative agents and plugins, built with the Agents Toolkit. You don’t need it for a Copilot Studio agent — selecting Dynamic discovery is the whole setup.

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How sign-in works for your team

Each person signs in to Variable with their own account the first time the agent calls a Variable tool for them. Copilot shows a sign-in card; after Allow, the agent acts with that person’s permissions, in the account they picked. Someone who isn’t a member of your Variable account can’t read its data through the agent. To work in a different account, ask the agent — e.g. “switch my Variable account to ACME Furniture”. The choice is remembered for that person in this agent.

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Troubleshooting

For anything else, see the general troubleshooting table.