Tools & Asking Questions

Getting to Know the Tools

Copilot has a set of built-in tools — things it can do on your behalf. Let’s start by exploring what's available.

In the Copilot chat panel, click the Configure Tools button. This opens the tools panel. Take a moment to scroll through it. You'll see that Copilot can run terminal commands, read and write files, use a browser, install extensions, manage to-dos, ask you questions, and more.

When you're writing prompts, you can reference any of these tools directly using the # symbol — for example, #askQuestions, #todo or #fetch. The more you know what's available, the more precisely you can direct Copilot to do things your way.

Asking Questions

Normally you prompt Copilot, it responds, and the interaction ends. But what if Copilot needs information from you before it can do its job well? That's what the #askQuestions tool is for.

When you tell Copilot to use #askQuestions, it pauses and presents you with a structured question — multiple choice, checkboxes, or free text — before continuing. It's a clean two-way exchange that doesn't require you to start a new message. You answer, and Copilot picks up right where it left off.

This is useful any time the agent needs to collect input from a user as part of a workflow. Instead of just guessing or asking generically in a chat reply, Copilot can ask specific, formatted questions and present specific options, which keeps the user focused and the output accurate.

Try It

✏️ Run this prompt:

Use the #askQuestions tool to ask me what my favorite color is.

Copilot will present a question with a fill-in field. Answer it, and Copilot will acknowledge your response.

Now try controlling the format:

✏️ Run this prompt:

Use the #askQuestions tool to ask me what my favorite color is. 
Give me multiple choice options: 
  - red
  - blue
  - green
  - yellow.

This time Copilot gives you choices to click rather than a blank text field. You can use multiple choice, checkboxes, or free text depending on what kind of input you need.

You can also use #askQuestions for an extended back-and-forth. Try this:

✏️ Run this prompt:

Let's play 20 questions. 
Use the #askQuestions tool to ask me yes/no questions 
until you can guess what I'm thinking of.

Copilot will keep prompting you, one question at a time, until it has enough to make a guess. This shows how the tool can drive an entire interactive flow — no manual re-prompting needed.

✏️ Exercise

Write a prompt asking the agent to use the #askQuestions tool to interview you about your role at Bitovi with 5 questions

After the interview, the agent should create an employee_profile.md file at the root directory of the project summarizing the info.

BONUS: Give the agent a persona in the prompt

“You are a senior software engineer…”
“You are a hiring manager…”
“You are Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter…”
“You are Elvis Presley…”

You are a hiring manager.

Interview me about my role at Bitovi with 5 questions. 
Use the #askQuestions tool for each question.

Once the interview is complete, compile my answers into an employee-profile.md file 
at the root of the project.

Answer each question as it comes up. When you're done, check your project root — you should have a new employee-profile.md with your answers summarized.

Next: Checklists & Todos