How to connect Microsoft Copilot to LinkedIn, step by step

What you need

• A Finchreach account (sign in at finchreach.com) and the LinkedIn account you want Microsoft Copilot to work on.
• Microsoft Copilot (a paid Copilot Studio license or a trial, on a work account. Power Platform data policies apply).
• About five minutes.

Step 1: Create a Finchreach API key

1. Sign in at finchreach.com and open API keys.
2. Create a key and name it after the tool, for example “Microsoft Copilot”.
3. Copy it right away: it starts with lk_ and is shown only once.

Step 2: Connect your LinkedIn account

1. Open Accounts and click to connect LinkedIn.
2. Follow the steps until the account shows as connected.

Approval mode is on by default: nothing the assistant drafts reaches LinkedIn until you approve it.

Step 3: Add Finchreach to Microsoft Copilot

1. In Copilot Studio, open your agent → Tools → Add a tool → New tool → Model Context Protocol.
2. Enter a name, a description and the URL https://mcp.finchreach.com/mcp.
3. Authentication: API key, type Header. Use the header name X-API-Key (or Authorization). Create, then Add tool.
4. Create a new connection and enter the key: lk_YOUR_KEY for X-API-Key, or Bearer lk_YOUR_KEY if you chose Authorization. Add it to the agent.

Header name:  X-API-Key
Key value:    lk_YOUR_KEY

(or) Header name: Authorization
     Key value:   Bearer lk_YOUR_KEY

Replace lk_YOUR_KEY with your key. Keep the key out of shared files and repos; where Microsoft Copilot can read it from an environment variable, prefer that.

Copilot Studio offers None, API key (in a header or the query) and OAuth 2.0. Microsoft’s docs don’t say whether it adds Bearer to an Authorization key, so the X-API-Key header, which Finchreach accepts with the bare key, avoids the question. Consumer Copilot has no documented way to add an MCP server.

Requirements: A paid Copilot Studio license or a trial, on a work account. Power Platform data policies apply.

Step 4: Test the connection

In Microsoft Copilot, start with a read. It runs right away and proves the key and the account work:

Ask your assistant“List my connected LinkedIn accounts, then summarize my five latest notifications.”

You should see calls to linkedin_list_accounts and linkedin_get_notifications. Then try a write, which goes to your approval queue instead of LinkedIn:

Ask your assistant“Draft a short LinkedIn post saying I’m trying a new AI assistant workflow. Submit it for my approval.”

Step 5: Approve or reject it in Finchreach

1. Open Approvals. The draft is there with its exact text and the account it would go out from.
2. Approve it to publish, or reject it (reject the test post if you don’t want it live).
3. Microsoft Copilot can check the result with linkedin_get_action: pending, approved, rejected, executed, failed or expired.

Troubleshooting

• If the connection test fails with Authorization, try X-API-Key with the bare key, or add or remove the Bearer prefix.
• Your tenant’s Power Platform data loss prevention policy can block custom connectors; ask your admin.
• 401 or “unauthorized”: the key is wrong, revoked or missing its prefix. Finchreach accepts Authorization: Bearer lk_… or X-API-Key: lk_…; check for a missing Bearer , quotes or a trailing space.
• A tool is missing: the key’s permissions don’t include it. Create a key with the permissions you need under API keys.
• “No LinkedIn account”: connect one under Accounts, or reconnect it if its session expired.
• A post or message “didn’t go out”: it is probably still waiting under Approvals. Writes run only after you approve them.

Still stuck? Compare your setup with Microsoft Copilot’s documentation, checked on 2026-10-28; client screens change often.

What to ask Microsoft Copilot next

Ask your assistant“Build an agent that drafts a weekly LinkedIn post from our team’s Friday update, for my approval.”

Ask your assistant“Summarize my LinkedIn messages from partners and list the ones waiting for a reply.”

Ask your assistant“Draft connection invitations to the attendees on this event list, with a one-line note each.”

More ideas on the Microsoft Copilot integration page.

Common questions