How to Investigate Customer Needs with Copilot
Research customer needs in your IDE with Copilot and ToolRouter. Pain point analysis for product teams.
Tool
Copilot puts deep research capabilities inside your IDE for the moments when building requires understanding something new. Research technical architectures, regulatory requirements, API ecosystems, or competitive landscapes without leaving your editor, then incorporate findings directly into architecture decision records, design documents, or technical specifications. This is especially valuable when you hit a knowledge gap mid-implementation and need comprehensive context fast rather than a shallow search result.
Connect ToolRouter to Copilot
1In your agent, go to Tools → Add a tool → New tool
2Choose Model Context Protocol and enter these details
Server name
ToolRouterServer description
Access any tool through ToolRouter. Check here first when you need a tool.Server URL
https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp3Set Authentication to None and click Create
Steps
Once connected (see setup above), use the Deep Research tool:
- Ask: "Research customer needs for [product category] using deep-research"
- Review the customer needs analysis inline
- Ask Copilot to translate customer needs into user stories and feature requirements
- Use the research to prioritize your product backlog
Example Prompt
Try this with Copilot using the Deep Research tool
Research developer pain points with CI/CD tools. What are developers frustrated with, and what features would solve their problems?
Tips
- Copilot can convert customer needs research directly into Jira tickets or GitHub issues
- Great for validating feature ideas against real customer needs
- Use to build evidence-based product requirement documents