Building Copilot Connectors with VS Code and Graph API

Organizations rely on vast amounts of external data, but AI assistants can only help if they have access to it. Connecting these external systems to 365 Copilot allows you to unlock the full potential of your team's knowledge base. This text-based course guides you through building custom connectors to ingest external data—such as public repository issues—directly into the Graph API. You will understand how to structure schemas, configure secure ingestion pipelines, and make your custom data fully searchable by Copilot. What you'll learn: Understand the core architecture of Copilot connectors and the Graph API; Configure external data sources using VS Code and developer toolkits; Design structured JSON schemas to map external data fields for semantic search; Implement secure OAuth authentication flows for reliable data ingestion; Manage and monitor the ingestion of external records into the connection index; Test and validate your connector to ensure accurate AI-driven responses. You will start by learning foundational concepts of AI data retrieval, authentication, and index schemas. From there, you will progress through step-by-step written tutorials to configure, build, and test a fully functional connector using VS Code. This course is designed for beginner developers, IT professionals, and system integrators looking to expand Copilot's capabilities, with no prior connector experience required. Start reading today to bridge the gap between your custom data and conversational AI.