Miti Joshi, Author at Microsoft Power Platform Blog http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/power-platform/blog Innovate with Business Apps Tue, 01 Apr 2025 23:27:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Paste images and add files to quickly fill forms with AI http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/paste-images-and-add-files-to-quickly-fill-forms-with-ai/ Tue, 01 Apr 2025 17:41:09 +0000 The data entry agent in Power Apps and Dynamics 365 model-driven apps makes filling out forms quicker and easier by reducing tedious manual data entry. A study with information workers showed that AI assistance enabled 29% faster form completion, with 95% preferring it over manual entry.1 Now, based on your feedback, we’re introducing four powerful

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The data entry agent in Power Apps and Dynamics 365 model-driven apps makes filling out forms quicker and easier by reducing tedious manual data entry. A study with information workers showed that AI assistance enabled 29% faster form completion, with 95% preferring it over manual entry.1 Now, based on your feedback, we’re introducing four powerful new capabilities—giving you more flexibility, visibility, and expanded input options. These enhancements are available in your apps today:

  • Smart paste now supports images – paste screenshots or handwritten content, and AI will extract relevant details for your form.
  • Expanded file support – add .txt, .csv, .docx, .pdf, or image files (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp) to get inline AI suggestions.
  • New form fill toolbar – review and manage AI-generated suggestions more easily.
  • More control for makers – makers can now specify fields that should always require human input, ensuring AI assistance focuses on where it’s most valuable.

Let’s explore how these updates can help you work smarter.

Paste images and extract insights

Have a handwritten note, a scanned document, or a screenshot with key data? Now, smart paste can extract text and tables from images and suggest relevant field values—no retyping needed.

Where this helps:

  • Extract invoice details from a receipt image to log expenses effortlessly.
  • Update inventory records by pasting images of handwritten stock counts or delivery receipts.
  • Convert maintenance logs or inspection checklists from images into structured form data.
  • Digitize whiteboard notes from a sales planning session to update an opportunity record.
  • Capture contact details by pasting a scanned business card into a CRM form.
GIF of AI data entry's smart paste with images capability.

Smart paste can be enabled using the Smart paste setting in Power Platform admin center by going to Environments > [select an environment] > Settings > Product > Features.

Add files to fill forms

Adding a document makes data entry even easier. Simply select or drag and drop a supported file type—.txt, .csv, .docx, .pdf, or image files (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp)—and AI will intelligently extract key details to populate your form, reducing manual effort.

GIF of a side-by-side comparison with and without the files capability of IA data entry.

Files is only available when the new form fill toolbar experience is enabled, see how to enable both in the section below.

New form fill toolbar: manage suggestions with ease

We’ve made it easier than ever to see where AI-generated suggestions come from and manage them effortlessly. The new form fill toolbar provides:

  • A clear view of all AI suggestions in the form.
  • Sources of suggestions, helping you understand where the data is coming from.
  • A real-time count of open suggestions, allowing you to track pending reviews at a glance.
Screenshot of the new AI data entry toolbar in a model-driven app.

The new form fill toolbar and files capabilities can be enabled using the Form fill assist toolbar setting in Power Apps app designer when editing a model-driven app.

Screenshot of the 'form fill assist toolbar' setting in Power Apps app designer for the AI data entry agent.

More control for makers: define where AI assists

While AI form fill assistance speeds up data entry, some fields should always require human input. Based on your feedback, we’ve introduced a way for makers to opt specific fields out of AI suggestions by configuring the Allow form fill assistance setting in column properties.

Screenshot of 'Allow form fill assistance' column setting for the AI data entry agent.

Try it out and share your feedback!

These enhancements are available in production today—so try pasting images, uploading files, and using the new toolbar to streamline your workflow. And as always, we’d love to hear how these updates help you—share your feedback and help shape what’s next for AI data entry!

Learn more at Use Copilot’s form fill assistance feature in model-driven apps – Power Apps | Microsoft Learn


1 Internal Microsoft testing conducted in November 2024 on sample of 22 subjects.

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New smart paste makes filling forms as easy as copy & paste http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/new-smart-paste-makes-filling-forms-as-easy-as-copy-paste/ Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:25:44 +0000 Have you ever found yourself frustrated by the tedious task of filling out forms, wishing you could just pull the information directly from an email, document, or note you already have? We are thrilled to introduce the new smart paste capability in Copilot form fill assistance for model-driven apps. Smart paste is designed to make

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Have you ever found yourself frustrated by the tedious task of filling out forms, wishing you could just pull the information directly from an email, document, or note you already have? We are thrilled to introduce the new smart paste capability in Copilot form fill assistance for model-driven apps. Smart paste is designed to make form-filling as simple as copy & paste. Now you can effortlessly fill forms based on the information you already have, saving you time and reducing errors. Get ready to experience a smarter, faster, and more intuitive way to handle forms. The announcements below begin rolling out to environments worldwide starting today.

Introducing smart paste

Smart paste is the latest capability of Copilot form fill assistance for model-driven apps, designed to make the time-consuming and frustrating task of form filling easier. Imagine this: you have some text in an email, document, or note that you need to enter into a form. Instead of manually typing it all in, you can now simply copy the text to your clipboard. Without selecting any specific field, just click the smart paste button or use the standard paste shortcut (CTRL+V or CMD+V). Copilot will reason over the form and the pasted text to suggested what text could be used to fill specific fields, and provides suggestions inline in the form. You can review and accept the suggestions that work for you—as always, nothing gets saved until you confirm. Ignoring suggestions will automatically discard it, and we are also introducing a new capability to clear all suggestions in the form.

GIF showing the new smart paste and citations capabilities of Copilot form fill assistance in a main form of a model-driven app

And if you prefer the traditional way, you can still paste directly into a specific field by clicking on it first and then pasting.

GIF showing regular paste into a form field

You can use smart paste in your model-driven apps by updating the following two settings in Power Platform admin center, under Settings > Product > Features > AI form fill assistance section:

  1. In the Enable this feature for field, make sure that All users immediately is selected.
  2. Set Enable smart paste (Preview) to On.
Image showing the two settings for Copilot form fill assistance feature, located in Power Platform admin center.

Discover the suggestion source using new citations

We are introducing a new capability that adds even more transparency to Copilot’s suggestions. With the new citations, you can now learn more about the source of the suggestions provided by Copilot. These citations clearly identify the source, for example “Records you have updated recently” or “Clipboard”, giving you more clarity and confidence in the suggestions you receive.

Screenshot of a citation for a suggestion by Copilot form fill assistance

Form fill assistance now available in quick create forms

Form fill assistance, including the new smart paste capability, is now available in quick create forms as well. This means you can enjoy the same time-saving benefits across even more of your forms.

GIF showing the new smart paste and citations capabilities of Copilot form fill assistance in a quick create form of a model-driven app

Expansion to 21 languages

Form fill assistance in model-driven apps is rolling out in the following 21 languages in addition to English (US):

  1. Arabic
  2. Chinese (Simplified)
  3. Czech
  4. Danish
  5. Dutch
  6. Finnish
  7. French
  8. German
  9. Greek
  10. Hebrew
  11. Italian
  12. Japanese
  13. Korean
  14. Norwegian (Bokmål)
  15. Polish
  16. Portuguese (Brazil)
  17. Russian
  18. Spanish
  19. Swedish
  20. Thai
  21. Turkish

We want to hear from you

Learn more about this feature in the documentation. We look forward to you trying out these capabilities in your model-driven apps and sharing your feedback through the form fill assistance survey in your model-driven app.

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