Comprehensive Guide to Managing Plugins and Skills in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Managing plugins and skills in Microsoft 365 can enhance your organization’s operations significantly. Plugins serve as essential integrations that allow agents to engage with various reusable capabilities such as workflows, skills, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. In this article, we will dive into how you can upload, install, uninstall, and delete plugins and skills while effectively managing their availability and overseeing MCP servers within the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Understanding Plugins and Skills

Plugins are crucial tools that provide additional functionality to agents in the Copilot channel. They not only enhance user experience but also equip agents with specialized data and actions suited to different business requirements. Your organization’s administrators can control which plugins are accessible, ensuring alignment with overall governance policies.

The plugin catalog can encompass a variety of third-party plugins from independent developers along with those provided by Microsoft, hence broadening the range of tools available to users. This flexibility allows organizations to tailor their plugin availability based on approval status and specific needs.

Managing Plugin Availability at the Organization Level

To administrate plugin access across your organization, follow these straightforward instructions:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Navigate to Agents > Settings > Agent and plugin access.
3. Select the platform category to designate plugin accessibility for users — choose from Microsoft, your organization, or certified external publishers.
4. Enable the category to allow users to find and install plugins under that publisher.

Be mindful that if a selected category is not enabled, users will be able to discover the plugin, but will see a warning indicating it is blocked by organizational policy.

Examining User-Specific Plugin Availability

For a more granular control of who can access specific plugins within your organization, follow these steps:

1. Go to Agents > Tools > Plugins.
2. Select the desired plugin you wish to manage.
3. Under Users, choose from the following options:
• All users: Accessible by everyone in the organization.
• No users: Not accessible to any users.
• Specific users and groups: Limited access to selected individuals or user groups.
4. Review your choice and save the changes.

Plugin Access Requests and Review Process

If a user encounters a restriction while attempting to access a plugin, they retain the option to request permission. The request can be reviewed as follows:

1. Access Agents > Tools > Requests.
2. Find the appropriate plugin access request.
3. Examine the details regarding the requester and the desired plugin.
4. Click on Approve to grant access or Reject to deny it.

Uploading and Installing Plugins or Skills

To introduce new plugins or skills to your environment, they must first be packaged into a manifest file by a developer. Refer to the document on Cowork plugin development for guidance. To upload and install, follow these steps:

1. Access the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Go to Agents > Tools > Registry.
3. Select Upload and upload your manifest file.
4. SSreview the components post-upload and choose Next.
5. Specify user access: choose either All users or Specific users or groups.
6. Finalize by reviewing settings and selecting Install.

Steps to Uninstall or Delete Plugins and Skills

To uninstall a plugin or skill, simply choose it from the list in the Microsoft 365 admin center and confirm by selecting Uninstall. For permanent deletion, select the plugin or skill and click Delete, followed by confirmation.

Additionally, you can block any plugin or skill from being accessed organization-wide. This action prevents users from utilizing the blocked tool and maintains control over the environment.

Reviewing and Approving MCP Server Requests

Once a developer registers a new MCP server, you can manage its availability in your organization. Make sure you have the administrator role required for this action, such as AI Administrator or Global Administrator. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Agents > Tools, then proceed to the Requests (preview) tab.
2. Evaluate the request for server name, publisher, requester details, and date requested.
3. Select Approve to add the server to the organization’s registry or Reject to deny access.

The MCP server will become available after consent to Microsoft Entra permissions has been granted.

Conclusion

Through effective management of plugins, skills, and MCP servers in the Microsoft 365 admin center, organizations can greatly enhance their productivity and ensure users have the right tools at their disposal. By following the outlined processes for installation, uninstallation, and access management, you can maintain a functional and secure operational environment.