Egnyte Agent for M365

The Egnyte agent for Microsoft 365 allows users to interact with Egnyte-stored files, directly within the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience (MS Teams, Outlook, Office files)

 

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Overview

Benefits

Use Cases

Security and Compliance

Prerequisites

Using the Egnyte Agent with MCP

Admin Setup 

Configure Egnyte agent for M365 in Microsoft Teams Admin Center

Configure Egnyte agent for M365 in Microsoft Admin Center

For End User

Egnyte in Copilot Cowork (plugin)

Egnyte as a data source in Copilot Chat and Researcher

Best Practices

How to Disable the Search Egnyte Integration

Disable Search Egnyte in MS Teams

Disable Search Egnyte in MS Copilot

Limitations

Overview

Egnyte agent for MS Copilot can be used in MS Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot Web interface, Outlook and productivity apps (Office). Users can seamlessly generate concise summaries and accurate answers from Egnyte-stored files directly within the MS Teams environment by simply writing a prompt in the Copilot tab. The prompt also displays the source files where the summaries were generated from for quick file actions such as preview and share, simplifying information retrieval and enhancing productivity.

The data stays within Egnyte's security controls and won't be retained outside of it during AI interactions. Additionally, the integration adheres to Egnyte’s permission model, such that a user’s AI will never have access to more data than that user is entitled to.

The Egnyte agent runs on the Egnyte MCP server. It is published as part of the certified EgnyteM365 app. This enables the admins to install and approve one app rather than a custom built or side loaded agent. 

There are three separate ways to work with Egnyte content in Microsoft 365 Copilot, all built on Egnyte MCP: 

• Egnyte agent 
• Egnyte added as a source in Copilot Chat and the Researcher agent (through the Egnyte federated connector)
• Egnyte Cowork plugin. 

Adding Egnyte as a source is independent of the agent; users do not need to go through the agent to do it.

Benefits

• Ask questions against shared content stored in Egnyte directly within the Copilot tab.
• Get Egnyte-stored file summaries in the Copilot tab with links to relevant documents and quick access to the source files via the Open in Egnyte action.
• Maintain organizational security with Egnyte permission-based controls to the documents.
• Displayed content and documents remain secure and protected within Egnyte.

Use Cases

• Identifying key information and takeaways from complex documents like contracts, reports, or meeting notes.
• Surfacing insights by querying across related files, ideal for finding repeated themes, inconsistencies, or dependencies.

Security and Compliance

• Copilot interactions only return content the user is authorized to access, based on Egnyte’s granular subfolder permissions
• All Copilot usage adheres to existing Egnyte policies, including lifecycle management, retention schedules, classification labels, and legal holds.

Prerequisites

• Enabled Egnyte for M365 in the Microsoft Admin center
• Users need to be logged in to the Egnyte domain in MS Teams
• Users need to select the Egnyte agent on the right side panel with listed agents
• Active licenses for MS Teams and MS Copilot
  • To check Microsoft plan, Admin can navigate to the Microsoft Admin center and can look at all the licences per user on the main screen.
    
  • Microsoft plans with available products are listed here.
• Admins who have enabled Search Egnyte App in their tenant are recommended to disable it (optional). Refer to the section How to Disable Search Egnyte for more information.
• An eligible Microsoft 365 plan with Copilot Chat (basic) for the Egnyte Agent in Copilot Chat. There is no additional Microsoft cost applicable for the agent itself.
• A paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license (Premium seat) and enrollment in the Microsoft Frontier program for Egnyte in Cowork. Cowork tasks are metered in Copilot Credits.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on licence per user for Egnyte as a data source in Copilot Chat and Researcher. 
• The users must have Essential, Elite or Ultimate, or Platform Enterprise and Enterprise Lite plan with the AI add-on. Essential, Elite and Ultimate plans include the full MCP toolset; Platform plans support a reduced toolset (browse, advanced search, read and retrieve)
• An active Egnyte MCP server for the domain, with Microsoft Copilot allowed as an MCP client (Egnyte Settings > AI Powered Features > MCP Server)

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Using the Egnyte Agent with MCP 

As the agent runs on the Egnyte MCP server, it can do a lot more than answer questions and write summaries. 

The MCP server exposes a set of tools that the agent utilises on the user’s behalf, always within the Egnyte permissions, with classification and audit logging enforced.

What can be done

• Browse and navigate Egnyte folder structure
• Run advanced search across content, including by metadata
• Open and retrieve specific files and read their content
• Ask questions and get answers and summaries grounded in Egnyte documents
• Ask questions to Egnyte Agents, including Agents converted from Knowledge Bases
• Create and share secure links to files, and work with project folders

The exact set of tools depends on the Egnyte plan (as listed below). 

Egnyte plan and MCP scope (Platform and New Generation Plans)

The Egnyte MCP server is available on New Generation plans (Essential, Elite, Ultimate), and on Platform plans (Platform Team, Platform Business, Platform Enterprise Lite, Platform Enterprise, AFS, CFS) with the AI add-on. The MCP tools available depend on the plan generation.

New Generation Plans (Essential, Elite, Ultimate) - Full Toolset

• Browse the file system, run advanced search, and read and retrieve file content
• AI-powered Q&A and summarisation on documents
• Agent Questions
• Link sharing and project folder tools

Platform plans with the AI add-on - Core Toolset

• Browse the file system
• Run advanced search across the content
• Read and retrieve file content.

AI-powered Q&A and summarisation on documents, agent questions, link sharing and project folder tools are not available on Platform plans.

 

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Admin Setup 

Getting Started

Activation needs to be done in both the Microsoft Teams Admin Center and the Microsoft Admin Center. This ensures the Egnyte Copilot agent is enabled for all domain users or for specific groups across Teams, Outlook, M365, and Office apps, maintaining a consistent experience across the Microsoft environment.

Configure Egnyte agent for M365 in Microsoft Teams Admin Center

1. To install Egnyte for M365, navigate to Microsoft Teams Admin Center. Unfold the Teams apps on the sidebar and click on Manage apps.
   
2. Search for Egnyte app and check if the status is Unblocked.
   
3. Click on the app name to confirm the app is available to everyone or selected groups. Click on Edit availability to make changes in the availability. 
   
   
4. Click on Grant admin consent in the Permissions tab.
   
5. Provide consent in the pop-up. Click Allow access.
   
   The changes will then be visible.
   

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Configure Egnyte Agent for M365 in Microsoft Admin Center

1. To configure Egnyte agent for M365, navigate to Microsoft Admin Center. Unfold Copilot on the sidebar and click on Agents.
   
2. Search for Egnyte agent and check if the status is available for all users. 
   
3. Select Users and adjust agent availability, if needed. Click on Deploy. 
   
    
4. Click on Next. 
   

5. Assign users and click on Next. The admin can choose to select:

   • Just me: The agent will be deployed only for the admin
   • Entire organization: The agent will be deployed to all the users in the organization
   • Specific user/groups: Search and select specific users/groups and the agent will be deployed only to the selected user(s)/group(s).

   

6. Click on Accept Permissions to accept permission requests. 
   
7. Click on Accept after reviewing permissions.
   
8. Click Next to continue. 
   
9. Review the details and click on Finish Deployment.
   
10. Click on Done to finish the deployment. 
    
    The Deployed to in the Users tab will show the user(s) for which the deployment has been completed. 
    

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For End User

1. Navigate to MS Copilot in MS Teams, Outlook, M365 or Office app.
   
2. Select Egnyte on the right side panel. 
   
   The user can begin interacting with the Egnyte agent. 
   
   With the first attempt to use the Egnyte agent, the user will be asked to authenticate and provide consent for the access to Egnyte content. 
   Click on Sign in to Egnyte.
   
3. Provide the credentials and sign in to Microsoft account.
   
4. Provide the Egnyte domain name. 
   
5. Click Next and confirm consent. 
   
   The user will get the responses to their queries based on Egnyte-stored files along with the direct file references. 
   
    

It is possible that the user gets logged out due to inactivity and would be required to sign in again after searching for the Egnyte app. In such a scenario,

1. Search for the Egnyte App.
   
    
2. If the user is already logged in and they wish to log-in using a different account, they can click on Sign out, search for the app again and follow the steps mentioned ahead. 
   
    
3. Click on Sign in.
   
    
4. Provide the new user credentials and repeat the login steps mentioned above.
   
    

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Egnyte in Copilot Cowork (plugin)

The Egnyte Cowork plugin lets Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork use Egnyte content for long running, multi-step tasks, while keeping Egnyte permissions and governance. Like the agent, it runs on the Egnyte MCP server.

Prerequisites

• A paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licence (Premium seat) for each user
• The organisation enrolled in the Microsoft Frontier program
• Cowork enabled in the Microsoft 365 Copilot environment (Anthropic turned on in the tenant)
• Copilot Credits capacity, because Cowork tasks are metered on top of the seat
• An admin role of AI Admin, Security Admin or Office Apps Admin to manage Frontier settings

Admin setup (Microsoft side)

1. Turn on the Frontier program. In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, go to Copilot > Settings, search for Frontier, and select Copilot Frontier. 
   
2. Turn on ‎Frontier‎ features for the entire organization or selected groups/users. Click on Save.
   
3. Verify if Egnyte plugin is enabled in Agents > Tools.
   
   Check details, and edit availability if needed.
    

For End User

1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot and start a Cowork task.
   
2. Select Customise > add or select Egnyte as a source.
   
   
3. Users will be prompted to authenticate to the Egnyte domain on first use. Enter the Egnyte domain.
   
4. Enter the credentials and give consent for Egnyte in the last step.
   

The Egnyte plugin will then be enabled and users can run the task. Cowork uses Egnyte content within the user’s permissions and shows source references.

 

Egnyte as a data source in Copilot Chat and Researcher

Egnyte surfaces as a content source in Copilot Chat and the Researcher agent through the Egnyte federated connector. Federated connectors use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to query Egnyte in real time with the user's identity and permissions. 

No Egnyte content is indexed into Microsoft 365, and in Researcher the connector is read only. This is separate from the Egnyte agent: users add Egnyte as a source in Copilot settings, not through the agent.

Licensing

Each user who queries Egnyte needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license (or Microsoft 365 E7). It is not available with a Copilot Studio license or Microsoft 365 Copilot pay-as-you-go.

Connect Egnyte in Copilot Chat

1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Select the ellipsis (...)menu -> Settings.
   
2. Select Sources in the left panel. Search for Egnyte and click on Connect.
   
3. Provide the consent for the connection and complete the sign-in to Egnyte.
   
   
   
4. Enter the prompt. Copilot fetches answers from Egnyte in real time and shows source references. Users can turn the source off again in Copilot Chat settings, as needed. 
   

Connect Egnyte in Researcher

1. Open the Researcher agent. If Egnyte as a source is already added in Copilot Chat, Egnyte connector is also enabled for Researcher.
   
2. In the Sources menu toggle Egnyte on or off, depending on the needs.
3. Run the research prompt. Researcher reads Egnyte content within the associated permissions.
   

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Best Practices

• ​​Focus on What, Not Where:
  Users should frame questions around the information they need rather than the file or folder location.
  • Less effective: What’s in the “Marketing Q4” folder?
  • More effective: Summarize the key marketing strategies for Q4 based on recent reports.
• Be Specific for More Accurate Responses:
  Queries that clearly describe the required information return more relevant and precise results. 
  • Example: What were the final budget numbers in “Q4_Financials_Final.xlsx”?
• Use the UI for Core Actions:
  Actions such as signing in, signing out, or sharing files should be completed using the dedicated Web UI options to ensure expected behavior.

How to Disable the Search Egnyte Integration

Technical Requirements to uninstall Search Egnyte integration:

• Must be Global Admin in Microsoft tenant

Disable Search Egnyte in MS Teams

1.  To disable Search Egnyte integration in MS Teams, navigate to the Microsoft Teams Admin Center. Unfold the Teams apps on the sidebar and go to Manage apps.

   This action affects all domain users or all users in a selected group using Microsoft Teams and blocked apps can be reversed at any time. 

   
   

2. Search and select the Search Egnyte (legacy) app. Block the app from the details view by clicking on the Block app option. 
   
    
3. A confirmation will appear saying that the app is blocked.
   

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Disable Search Egnyte in MS Copilot

1. To Block Search Egnyte integration in MS Copilot, navigate to the Microsoft Admin Center. Unfold Copilot on the sidebar and go to the Agents section.

   This action affects all domain users or all users in a selected group using Microsoft Copilot and blocked apps can be reversed at any time. 

   
   

2. Search and select the Search Egnyte (legacy) app and click on Block. 
   
3. Check Block agent and click on Save.
   
   
   
   
4. A Confirmation will appear on the agent being blocked.
    
   The status Blocked will also be visible on the Agents listing.
   

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Limitations

• Limited Source Set: Responses are typically derived from a focused set of documents (around five), ensuring relevance. 
• Independent Query Processing: Each request is processed individually, without retaining conversational context across queries.
• Copilot-Driven Output: Egnyte supplies the raw data, while Microsoft Copilot determines how this data is interpreted and displayed to the user, as required.