Custom (org-created) federated MCP connector appears in Copilot Chat Sources but not in Copilot in PowerPoint

Question

Custom (org-created) federated MCP connector appears in Copilot Chat Sources but not in Copilot in PowerPoint

Jackson Lee 0

We built a custom federated connector (MCP) in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Copilot > Connectors > Created by your org, using OAuth 2.0 authentication via an OAuth client registration in the Teams Developer Portal (PKCE enabled, client_secret_post). The connector is in the green Ready state, and it works in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: it appears under ⋯ > Settings > Sources, I was able to Connect and authenticate successfully against our identity provider, and the source is active for my user. However, the same connector does not appear in the Sources picker for Copilot in PowerPoint, signed in as the same user. We are asking because your documentation appears inconsistent on this point: the Federated connectors overview lists "Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook" under Supported Copilot experiences, but the "How to connect and use federated Copilot connectors" section on the same page states that users discover data sources "in the Sources menu in the Researcher agent, in deep research mode in Microsoft 365 Copilot chat, and in Copilot Chat where available", which does not mention the Office apps.

Can you confirm whether custom, org-created federated connectors are surfaced in the Sources picker for Copilot in PowerPoint today? If they are, what configuration are we missing? If support is limited to gallery-published connectors or is still rolling out, what is the expected availability timeline for org-created connectors in the Office app surfaces?

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Answer 1

Hi Ashlesha,

Thank you — that’s helpful context on the documentation inconsistency.

One observation that makes me want to narrow the question further: other SaaS providers’ federated connectors are appearing as sources in Copilot in PowerPoint in our tenant (screenshot attached). So PowerPoint does surface at least some federated connectors today, which suggests this isn’t a blanket “PowerPoint support hasn’t shipped” situation.

My working theory is that the difference is publication status rather than the app: the connectors we can see are Microsoft-published or partner-approved connectors from the Connectors Gallery, whereas ours is a custom connector created under “Created by your org” in the admin center. Could you confirm or rule that out?

Specifically:

Is the Sources picker in Copilot in PowerPoint currently limited to Microsoft-published and partner-approved gallery connectors, with custom org-created federated connectors excluded?
If so, would submitting our connector through the partner publication process make it appear in the PowerPoint Sources picker, or is that a separate rollout?
Is there any configuration difference between the two connector types — manifest fields, authentication type, or anything else — that affects which surfaces enumerate them?

If the answer to (1) is yes, that’s a perfectly workable answer for us — we’d just want it confirmed so we can plan accordingly rather than keep troubleshooting a configuration that may be correct.

Thanks again, Jackson

Screenshot 2026-10-08 at 3.22.25 PM.png

Answer 2

Ashlesha Pawar (Tata Consultancy Services Limited) 480 Microsoft External Staff

Hi Jackson,

Based on your test results, the connector and OAuth configuration appear to be working correctly. The connector is Ready, authentication succeeds, and the source works in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, so we would not recommend changing the OAuth/PKCE configuration. Set up custom federated connectors [learn.microsoft.com]

The current documentation is inconsistent. Although the federated connectors overview broadly lists PowerPoint as a supported experience, the connector publishing documentation states that connectors currently surface in Copilot Chat, Copilot in Excel, Cowork, and Researcher, with Word** and PowerPoint coming **soon. [learn.microsoft.com], [learn.microsoft.com]

Therefore, the connector being absent from PowerPoint’s Sources picker is currently best treated as a product-availability** limitation rather than a confirmed **bug. There is no published ETA for PowerPoint support that we can reliably provide. We will raise the documentation inconsistency for clarification.

Jackson Lee 0 Reputation points

2026-10-08T20:18:16.4966667+00:00
Hi Ashlesha,

Thank you — that’s helpful context on the documentation inconsistency.

One observation that makes me want to narrow the question further: other SaaS providers’ federated connectors are appearing as sources in Copilot in PowerPoint in our tenant (screenshot attached). So PowerPoint does surface at least some federated connectors today, which suggests this isn’t a blanket “PowerPoint support hasn’t shipped” situation.

My working theory is that the difference is publication status rather than the app: the connectors we can see are Microsoft-published or partner-approved connectors from the Connectors Gallery, whereas ours is a custom connector created under “Created by your org” in the admin center. Could you confirm or rule that out?

Specifically:

Is the Sources picker in Copilot in PowerPoint currently limited to Microsoft-published and partner-approved gallery connectors, with custom org-created federated connectors excluded?

If so, would submitting our connector through the partner publication process make it appear in the PowerPoint Sources picker, or is that a separate rollout?

Is there any configuration difference between the two connector types — manifest fields, authentication type, or anything else — that affects which surfaces enumerate them?

If the answer to (1) is yes, that’s a perfectly workable answer for us — we’d just want it confirmed so we can plan accordingly rather than keep troubleshooting a configuration that may be correct.

Thanks again, Jackson Screenshot 2026-10-08 at 3.22.25 PM.png
Ashlesha Pawar (Tata Consultancy Services Limited) 480 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-10-09T10:23:17.73+00:00

Hi Jackson, Thank you for the additional details and screenshot. Your observation confirms that PowerPoint is surfacing at least some federated connectors, so we need to clarify whether availability currently differs between Microsoft/partner-published gallery connectors and connectors created under Created by your org.

The public documentation does not currently confirm this distinction or state that Partner Center publication automatically enables PowerPoint availability. We are therefore checking the exact behavior with the product team before providing a definitive answer.

Since your connector is Ready and works successfully in Copilot Chat, we do not recommend changing its OAuth, PKCE, or manifest configuration at this stage. We will update this thread after receiving confirmation from the product team.