SCALAN vs. Microsoft Copilot Studio
The Copilot Studio alternative for
custom AI agents
Do you want to provide your departments with AI agents while centrally managing access, quality, and costs? With SCALAN, you get a unified platform where your company can create, securely operate, and further develop custom AI agents.
Used & loved by leading organizations
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SCALAN or Copilot Studio: the decision at a glance
SCALAN and Microsoft Copilot Studio allow you to create custom AI agents and connect them with knowledge, systems, and actions. The key difference lies in how you build these agents and the technical and organizational framework in which you operate them.
Microsoft Copilot Studio
Ideal for a company-wide Microsoft platform strategy
Microsoft Copilot Studio becomes particularly interesting if you specifically require the extensive configuration and expansion options of the Power Platform and have the expertise to administer them. This additional platform depth is a significant advantage, especially for complex enterprise architectures.
Deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem
Extensive configuration and expansion options
For companies with Power Platform expertise
SCALAN
Ideal for simple, controlled, and independent operation of AI agents
SCALAN is our recommendation for mid-sized companies and SMEs that want to easily create, securely operate, and manage custom AI agents across the entire organization. Departments can design processes with rules, exceptions, and approvals themselves, while IT retains central control over models, systems, permissions, costs, and quality.
Easily create and maintain AI agents yourself
Centrally manage all agents, permissions, and costs
German provider, data processing in Frankfurt, flexible model selection
The core comparison: SCALAN vs. Microsoft Copilot Studio
When choosing a platform, it’s not just about whether a feature exists. What matters is how easily it can be accessed, who is responsible for it, and what technical infrastructure you need to support it.
Why SCALAN is a great fit for mid-sized companies
When your IT team is responsible for ensuring daily operations while simultaneously enabling new AI applications, every additional administrative task adds up. An agent platform must therefore remain manageable even when departments like HR, Sales, Procurement, and Customer Service want to implement their own AI use cases.
SCALAN combines four areas for this purpose: Knowledge & Behavior, Models & Systems, Governance & Permissions, and Operations & Transparency. Your IT department provides a shared workspace, while individual departments take responsibility for their own content and workflows within defined boundaries.
If HR updates a policy, HR manages the subject-matter foundation. If an agent needs to access a new system for the first time, IT makes the decision. If an unusual result occurs, the execution can be audited and stopped if necessary. This division of labor relieves IT of routine content updates while keeping technical decisions centralized.
SCALAN combines four areas for this purpose: Knowledge & Behavior, Models & Systems, Governance & Permissions, and Operations & Transparency. Your IT department provides a shared workspace, while individual departments take responsibility for their own content and workflows within defined boundaries.
If HR updates a policy, HR manages the subject-matter foundation. If an agent needs to access a new system for the first time, IT makes the decision. If an unusual result occurs, the execution can be audited and stopped if necessary. This division of labor relieves IT of routine content updates while keeping technical decisions centralized.
When Copilot Studio is the right fit for your company
Copilot Studio is particularly well-suited for companies that already use the Microsoft Power Platform and possess the necessary IT expertise. This allows AI agents to be seamlessly integrated into existing systems and processes.
The solution is primarily a good fit for larger organizations with complex requirements regarding security, permissions, and data management. Mid-sized companies can also benefit if they have Microsoft expertise or an experienced implementation partner.
The deciding factor is whether your company requires this level of platform depth and can allocate resources for operation, maintenance, and governance. For smaller teams without technical capacity, a simpler solution may be faster and more cost-effective.
The solution is primarily a good fit for larger organizations with complex requirements regarding security, permissions, and data management. Mid-sized companies can also benefit if they have Microsoft expertise or an experienced implementation partner.
The deciding factor is whether your company requires this level of platform depth and can allocate resources for operation, maintenance, and governance. For smaller teams without technical capacity, a simpler solution may be faster and more cost-effective.
Explainable AI in SCALAN: The Copilot Studio alternative for transparent AI agents
When AI agents take over business processes, you need transparent workflows: What information was considered, which tools were used, and where did something go wrong?
SCALAN makes the execution of your agents traceable, step by step. You can view processing steps, tool calls, and intermediate results, allowing you to compare them against your established routines.
For example, when handling a customer inquiry, you can verify which documents the agent retrieved, what information it incorporated, and which actions it performed. If discrepancies arise, this Copilot Studio alternative helps you pinpoint whether information was missing, instructions were unclear, or a system action failed.
Departments can review results and make targeted improvements to agents. The routine defines the intended workflow, while the execution log shows what actually happened. This allows you to supplement knowledge, refine rules, and test changes, all while IT keeps an eye on system actions and resource consumption.
In this way, explainable AI becomes a practical tool for quality assurance, troubleshooting, and the controlled development of your AI agents.
SCALAN makes the execution of your agents traceable, step by step. You can view processing steps, tool calls, and intermediate results, allowing you to compare them against your established routines.
For example, when handling a customer inquiry, you can verify which documents the agent retrieved, what information it incorporated, and which actions it performed. If discrepancies arise, this Copilot Studio alternative helps you pinpoint whether information was missing, instructions were unclear, or a system action failed.
Departments can review results and make targeted improvements to agents. The routine defines the intended workflow, while the execution log shows what actually happened. This allows you to supplement knowledge, refine rules, and test changes, all while IT keeps an eye on system actions and resource consumption.
In this way, explainable AI becomes a practical tool for quality assurance, troubleshooting, and the controlled development of your AI agents.
SCALAN as a Copilot Studio alternative: Differences in day-to-day operations
How do you create custom AI agents, who handles functional changes, and how does your IT maintain control? This direct comparison shows how both platforms solve these tasks and where SCALAN relieves the burden on your business departments.
Creating agents: With SCALAN, your process description becomes an executable workflow
Copilot Studio supports creation in natural language and connects instructions, tools, and visually modeled workflows. For detailed process logic, topics and flows are available, with steps and conditions that can be mapped in a node graph.
SCALAN lets you design the entire workflow in natural language. An AI assistant guides you through an interview and helps to specify rules, exceptions, and missing steps. The resulting process text is your executable "routine." Tools and knowledge blocks are available as visual elements and are referenced directly in the text. You can also describe schedules and the interaction between multiple agents in natural language. This ensures that even extensive workflows remain understandable for the people responsible for them.
SCALAN lets you design the entire workflow in natural language. An AI assistant guides you through an interview and helps to specify rules, exceptions, and missing steps. The resulting process text is your executable "routine." Tools and knowledge blocks are available as visual elements and are referenced directly in the text. You can also describe schedules and the interaction between multiple agents in natural language. This ensures that even extensive workflows remain understandable for the people responsible for them.
In SCALAN, workflows are represented by a process description in natural language. This allows them to be built by a business user while remaining easy to understand and maintain during operation. Additionally, there is an AI agent that helps with the initial creation of the so-called "routine."
Changing processes: In Copilot Studio, the process is mapped out using nodes and flows.
Copilot Studio allows for changes to instructions and supports AI-assisted editing. For visually modeled processes, the associated nodes, conditions, and flows must also be adjusted. This requires an understanding of the respective technical implementation.
SCALAN keeps creation and maintenance in the same understandable format: the textual description of the routine. If a complaint policy changes, for example, the service team adds the new condition directly into the process text and tests the workflow. The business department can read what the agent is supposed to do and make changes right there. This also facilitates review and handovers to colleagues. Your IT remains responsible for integrations and permissions; business teams can handle functional adjustments themselves.
SCALAN keeps creation and maintenance in the same understandable format: the textual description of the routine. If a complaint policy changes, for example, the service team adds the new condition directly into the process text and tests the workflow. The business department can read what the agent is supposed to do and make changes right there. This also facilitates review and handovers to colleagues. Your IT remains responsible for integrations and permissions; business teams can handle functional adjustments themselves.
Process editing in Microsoft Copilot Studio: The workflow shown for processing customer feedback is modeled using nodes, conditions, and branches.
Managing agents: SCALAN connects independent business departments with central IT control
Copilot Studio offers extensive governance via Copilot Studio, the Power Platform Admin Center, and supplementary Microsoft services. This depth of configuration is particularly attractive if your company requires differentiated platform policies and already possesses the necessary Microsoft expertise.
SCALAN bundles model selection, action permissions, responsibilities, as well as execution and cost transparency into a single platform. Your IT definitively sets which models, systems, and actions are available. Within this framework, business departments create and maintain their agents using natural language without being able to extend the central guidelines. This provides your teams with a complete workspace for custom AI agents while you retain control as further internal and external use cases are added.
SCALAN bundles model selection, action permissions, responsibilities, as well as execution and cost transparency into a single platform. Your IT definitively sets which models, systems, and actions are available. Within this framework, business departments create and maintain their agents using natural language without being able to extend the central guidelines. This provides your teams with a complete workspace for custom AI agents while you retain control as further internal and external use cases are added.
Action permissions in SCALAN using Microsoft 365 Mail as an example: Your IT centrally determines whether AI agents are allowed to read, draft, send, or delete emails company-wide, for instance. Each action can be individually enabled or disabled.
The Copilot Studio alternative your business departments will love
With SCALAN, your business departments can design custom AI agents so intuitively that no costly training or external experts are required. At the same time, IT retains control over everything necessary for the productive operation of AI agents: systems, models, permissions, and usage. All of this on a single, unified platform—Made in Germany.
Let’s discuss SCALAN using a specific process from your company.
Frequently asked questions about SCALAN as a Copilot Studio alternative
TL;DR: What sets SCALAN apart from Microsoft Copilot Studio?
Both platforms allow you to create custom AI agents with company knowledge, tools, and system integrations. The difference lies primarily in creation, maintenance, and administration: Copilot Studio combines natural language with an extensive toolkit of nodes, flows, and Microsoft platform services. With SCALAN, the process description itself forms the executable workflow that an AI agent follows. This allows business users to create, read, and edit their own processes, while IT centrally defines models, access, and action permissions.
Do I need Microsoft 365 or Azure to use SCALAN?
No. SCALAN is an independent platform and does not require its own Microsoft 365 or Azure environment. You can still integrate existing Microsoft services, such as Microsoft 365 Mail. Microsoft Entra ID is also supported for login. This means you can continue to use your existing Microsoft infrastructure while choosing your agent platform independently.
Is SCALAN suitable for internal and external applications?
Yes. You can implement internal tasks such as providing information on HR policies or processing company knowledge, as well as customer-facing workflows like handling inquiries and complaints. You define which information an agent can use and which actions it is permitted to perform, tailored to the specific use case. Internal and external processes can be operated within the same platform.
How does SCALAN prevent agents from performing unauthorized actions?
Your IT department centrally defines which models, systems, and individual tool actions are permitted. For an email integration, for example, you can allow reading and drafting while keeping sending and deleting restricted. Departments cannot expand these boundaries themselves. Additionally, human approvals can be required for specific process steps. Copilot Studio also offers central controls; SCALAN makes these accessible directly within the collaborative workspace.
How can I monitor quality, executions, and costs?
In SCALAN, you can test, version, and publish routines using reusable test cases. During operation, you can track execution steps, tools used, and consumption. Authorized personnel can pause or deactivate agents or stop individual ongoing executions. This provides departments with the information needed for functional development, while IT maintains oversight of company-wide operations.
How do I get started with SCALAN?
Our collaborative process consists of three steps: 1) We discuss your specific use cases and determine which workflows are suitable for getting started. 2) We then coordinate the implementation details together, including necessary knowledge sources, system connections, permissions, and appropriate testing. 3) Based on this, you will receive a tailored proposal for implementation. This allows you to start with a concrete use case and then gradually expand SCALAN to include additional agents and departments. It is best to schedule a call with us directly to discuss your use case.
SCALAN is software designed to easily create and securely operate custom AI agents in mid-sized companies and SMEs.
