Understanding Topics, Triggers, and Actions in Copilot Studio
Hey community! If you're new to Copilot Studio, you'll hear three terms a lot:
Topics, Triggers, and Actions. In this blog, I’ll explain what they mean—with a real example from my chatbot called SightSpeak.
What is a Topic?
A Topic is a conversation your chatbot is designed to handle. Each topic is like a mini flow or script. It guides the bot on how to respond when someone asks something specific. Example: I created a topic called “Book a Demo”. This topic helps users schedule a product demo with us.
What is a Trigger?
A Trigger is what starts the topic. It’s a set of phrases or keywords a user might type—like:
“I want a demo”
“Schedule a meeting”
“Book a session”
When the chatbot sees one of those phrases, it knows to launch the Book a Demo topic. You can write your own triggers or let Copilot suggest them using AI.
What are Actions?
Actions are what make your chatbot useful beyond just talking. In my Book a Demo topic, I added two powerful actions:
- Power Automate Flow: Sends an email to my sales team with the user’s info
- Teams Notification Plugin: Instantly alerts us in Microsoft Teams when someone books
These actions help us respond fast—without anyone having to monitor the chat manually. I’ve also created a demo video where I walk through everything step by step. Go check it out to see how it actually works in Copilot Studio from setting up the topic to testing it live!
Watch the demo here:
And don’t forget to like, comment, or subscribe if you find it helpful! Thanks for reading, More awesome blogs are on the way with SightSpeak AI, so stay tuned for what’s next!