JackArnott explores options for persistently displaying a Copilot Agent chat pane within a SharePoint intranet, raising questions about customization and user experience enhancements.

Overview

In this article, JackArnott discusses a client request related to integrating a Copilot Agent directly into a SharePoint intranet build. The client desires a user experience where:

  • The Copilot chat pane is always visible (persistently open) on SharePoint pages.
  • The pane can proactively initiate conversations, resembling a customer service chatbot.
  • Less user reliance on clicking the existing Copilot icon in the UI.
  • Avoiding solutions like embedding via an iFrame, which are perceived as clunky and possibly detrimental to usability.

Challenges Raised

  • Persistent Pane: SharePoint’s standard Copilot integration requires users to click the Copilot icon, located at the top right, to initiate the chat experience. There is no out-of-the-box feature to keep the pane open by default for every user session.
  • Proactive Interaction: Ideally, the Copilot Agent would be able to trigger dialogue automatically (e.g., via welcome messages or guided prompts), providing a more engaging, chatbot-like presence.
  • Technical Feasibility: The author notes that Copilot suggests this setup is possible, but attempts to implement it using JavaScript have been unsuccessful, suggesting that deeper customization or APIs may be needed which are potentially unsupported or undocumented by Microsoft.

Integration and Customization Options

  1. Current Options:
    • Copilot is available in SharePoint, but user interaction is generally user-initiated (icon click).
    • iFrame-based embedding is possible but suboptimal in terms of user experience.
  2. Desired Customization:
    • The client wants Copilot to be always-on in the SharePoint sidebar, ideally initiating conversations.
  3. Problems Encountered:
    • Provided JavaScript solutions from Copilot do not yield the desired persistent or proactive experience.
    • There may be platform limitations on customizing the built-in Copilot component in SharePoint environments.

Questions and Community Engagement

The author is reaching out to the community or knowledgeable readers to:

  • Confirm if persistent Copilot panes and proactive chatbot behaviors are possible within SharePoint.
  • Share best practices, workarounds, or unsupported methods for achieving these requirements.
  • Explore experiences where standard Copilot functionality was extended for custom intranet user interactions.

Conclusion

While the integration of Copilot into SharePoint is maturing, significant customization—especially practices like keeping chat panes persistently open or automatically starting conversations—appears to be restricted by the current Microsoft offering. The article highlights the demand for further flexibility and shares an open call for proven solutions or documentation supporting such use cases.

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