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Microsoft 365 Copilot

Bring the SkyWatch satellite imagery catalog into your Microsoft 365 Copilot environment. Search 100+ satellites, compare providers, check live pricing, and order through SkyWatch Explore, all from inside Copilot Chat.

MCP Endpoint: https://api.skywatch.co/mcp

No API Key Required

The SkyWatch agent uses the public MCP endpoint with guest authentication. No SkyWatch account, API key, or secrets are needed in your tenant.

There are two ways to install the SkyWatch agent in your Microsoft 365 tenant. Both paths use the same MCP backend with the same data and response quality. Only the install mechanism differs.

Your situationRecommended path
Any Microsoft 365 tenant (no Copilot Studio license)Option A: Teams custom app sideload
Already using Microsoft 365 Copilot or Copilot StudioEither Option A or Option B
AppSource Listing

A one-click install from Microsoft AppSource is in certification. Until it is live, use one of the install paths below.

Option A: Teams Custom App Sideload​

Works for every Microsoft 365 tenant. Your IT admin uploads the SkyWatch Teams app package, and users discover the agent in Copilot Chat. Total time: approximately 15 minutes.

Prerequisites:

  • Any Microsoft 365 tier that includes Teams (Business Basic and above)
  • Microsoft Teams Administrator role for the person performing the install

Steps:

  1. Obtain the SkyWatch app package. Request SkyWatch-Agent.zip (17 KB) from your SkyWatch contact. It contains the app manifest, declarative agent definition, MCP connector config, and two icons. No executable code, no secrets.

  2. Open Microsoft Teams Admin Center at https://admin.teams.microsoft.com and sign in with a Teams Administrator account.

  3. Navigate to the apps catalog. Left sidebar > Teams apps > Manage apps.

  4. Upload the package. Click + Upload new app > Upload a custom app and select SkyWatch-Agent.zip.

  5. Allow the app. Search the catalog for SkyWatch, open its detail page, and change the Status dropdown from Blocked to Allowed.

  6. Choose who gets the app. On the same page, open the Users and groups tab and pick one:

    • Install for entire organization: every Microsoft 365 Copilot user sees the agent
    • Install for specific users: pilot group or single user
    • Self-service: users discover and add it themselves from the agent picker

  7. Verify the install. Open https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat, then right sidebar > Get agents, search "SkyWatch", and click Add. Try:

    Which satellites offer SAR imagery?

    You should see a Markdown table of SAR satellites with resolutions and providers.

Propagation Delay

New app deployments take 30 to 60 minutes to appear in users' Copilot agent picker because Microsoft caches the catalog. The first call may also take 5 to 10 seconds due to a cold start. Subsequent catalog queries return in under a second.

Ongoing management:

  • View or change install scope, block, or remove: https://admin.cloud.microsoft > Copilot > Agents > All agents, then search "SkyWatch"
  • Uninstall entirely: Teams Admin Center > Manage apps > SkyWatch > Delete from tenant

Option B: Copilot Studio​

Best when your organization already has Microsoft 365 Copilot rolled out. No package upload is needed. You connect the MCP server through Copilot Studio's UI and publish to your tenant. Total time: approximately 10 minutes.

Prerequisites (one of):

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot license (includes Copilot Studio access for declarative agents)
  • Microsoft Copilot Studio standalone license
  • Copilot Studio free 30-day trial (Admin Center > Billing > Purchase services > "Copilot Studio")

Steps:

  1. Open Copilot Studio at https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com and sign in with the licensed user account.

  2. Create a new agent. Click + Create > Agent > start from scratch:

    • Name: SkyWatch
    • Description: Search satellite imagery archive, compare providers, check pricing.

  3. Add the MCP server tool. In the agent editor, find the Tools section (shown as Actions, Connectors, or Knowledge in some UI versions) and click + Add tool. Choose Model Context Protocol (MCP) if listed, otherwise select Custom connector or Custom tool.

  4. Configure the MCP connection:

    FieldValue
    Server nameSkyWatch
    Server URLhttps://api.skywatch.co/mcp
    AuthenticationNone

    Click Connect. Copilot Studio auto-discovers all four SkyWatch tools.

  5. Add suggested conversation starters (optional but recommended):

    • Find satellite imagery over [location] from the last 60 days with cloud cover under 10%
    • What does very-high resolution imagery over [location] cost?
    • Which satellites offer SAR imagery?
    • Show me a yearly time series of [location] from 2020 to 2025

  6. Publish. Click Publish in the top-right and select at minimum the Microsoft 365 Copilot channel.

  7. Verify. Open https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat. SkyWatch appears in the agent picker. Run any of the suggested prompts.

Test Prompts​

After install, paste any of these into Copilot Chat with the SkyWatch agent enabled:

Which satellites offer SAR imagery?
Find satellite imagery over Vancouver from the last 60 days with cloud cover under 10%
What does very-high resolution imagery over Toronto, Canada cost?
Show me a yearly time series of Phoenix from 2020 to 2025

Every prompt should return a populated Markdown table with capture dates, products, resolutions, cloud cover, prices, and direct links to SkyWatch Explore.

Technical Reference​

DetailValue
MCP endpointhttps://api.skywatch.co/mcp
AuthenticationNone (public, anonymous, read-only)
Tools exposed4 (see MCP Server)
TLS1.2 or higher
HostingAWS Lambda, US West (Oregon)
Rate limit100 req/s burst, 10 req/s sustained per source IP
Response timeget_satellites, get_offerings: under 1 s. search_archive_imagery, calculate_pricing: 5 to 18 s (live catalog search)
ComplianceSOC 2 Type 2, NIST SP 800-53 Moderate, AWS Foundational Technical Review, GDPR, CCPA

Data Privacy​

Only the search parameters typed by your users (location, date range, resolution preference, cloud cover threshold) are sent to SkyWatch.

What is not transmitted:

  • Personally identifiable information
  • Authentication tokens
  • Document content
  • Email content
  • Chat history beyond the current prompt

Anonymous request metadata is logged for usage analytics. No user or tenant identifiers cross the SkyWatch boundary. The SkyWatch privacy policy covers MCP server data flows in detail.

FAQ​

Does this require new licensing? No. Option A works with any Microsoft 365 tier that includes Teams. Option B requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot or Copilot Studio license that you would already have if you use Copilot Studio for other agents.

Can we pilot with a small group before rolling out broadly? Yes. In Option A step 6 choose Install for specific users. In Option B publish to a specific security group through Copilot Studio's publish flow.

How do we remove it later? Option A: Teams Admin Center > Manage apps > SkyWatch > Delete from tenant. Option B: Copilot Studio > SkyWatch agent > Unpublish.

Will SkyWatch see who in our company uses the agent? No. SkyWatch sees anonymous, aggregated request counts only. No user or tenant identifiers cross the SkyWatch boundary.

Is there an SLA? The public MCP endpoint is provided on a best-effort basis and is rate limited as documented above. It is suitable for individual users, small teams, and pilot evaluations. Enterprise-grade SLA, dedicated capacity, authenticated access, and contractual data-handling commitments are available under a separate commercial agreement. Contact your SkyWatch representative.

We need data residency in our region. What are the options? Multi-region deployments are available under commercial agreement. Reach out to discuss.

Troubleshooting​

ProblemWhat to do
Agent doesn't appear in the picker after installWait 30 to 60 minutes for Microsoft's catalog cache to propagate. Sign out of Copilot Chat and back in to force a refresh.
Agent appears but shows "We couldn't find this agent"Hard refresh the browser (Cmd+Shift+R / Ctrl+Shift+R) or try an incognito window. This is a known Microsoft-side cache lag and resolves within an hour.
Search and pricing prompts take 10 to 20 secondsExpected. search_archive_imagery and calculate_pricing query the live SkyWatch catalog. Copilot shows a "Searching..." indicator while waiting.
429 Too Many Requests during heavy useRate limiter triggered. Wait 60 seconds and retry. For sustained higher throughput, contact SkyWatch for an enterprise tier.
Upload fails with "app ID already exists"The package was previously uploaded and not fully removed. Go to Manage apps, open the existing SkyWatch entry, and use Upload file to update the version instead of uploading as new.
TooManyRequests from Microsoft when installingMicrosoft backend throttle on rapid delete, upload, and install operations. Wait 10 minutes and retry.