After a successful Early Access Program, we are also excited to announce that Microsoft Copilot Studio autonomous agents are now in preview. Copilot Studio enables more customers and users to build powerful autonomous agents for a multitude of use cases. We’re also introducing major updates to Power Platform to enhance developer capabilities. Finally, we’re sharing streamlined management of security and governance for Microsoft Power Platform, including your agents.

Over the past year, we’ve witnessed how reimagining business processes with Copilot and agents has revolutionized what we build, including intelligent apps and AI agents. Additionally, enhancing efficiency through automation and AI has fundamentally changed how we build, unlocking even more rapid low-code development.

Supercharge business processes with agents: Change what we build

For years, Microsoft Power Platform’s AI-infused low-code capabilities have empowered organizations to create and deploy applications with ease. Now, with Copilot as the new UI for AI, any organization can build powerful agents that augment their workforce and execute business processes right inside Copilot Studio—without any coding. Autonomous agents can work independently, detecting events like an email arriving, and use generative AI to trigger a series of actions. By automating complex tasks, these agents can orchestrate workflows and work unprompted alongside or on behalf of users or entire teams.

Autonomous agents now in preview

Since its debut at Microsoft Ignite 2023, Copilot Studio has transformed how businesses apply AI to common conversational workflows. By enabling users to create custom agents with advanced AI integration, we’re empowering organizations to streamline customer engagement, employee experience, and partner relationships.

And the introduction of autonomous agents (preview) is a game-changer. Agents built in Copilot Studio can now operate independently, dynamically planning and learning from processes, adapting to changing conditions, and making decisions without the need for constant human intervention. These autonomous agents can be triggered by data changes, events, and other background tasks—and not just through chat.

We’re also announcing agent library (preview) so users can get a head start by choosing agents based on commonly used scenarios and autonomous triggers (preview), allowing agents to automatically respond to signals across your business and initiate tasks. These advancements make it easy to automate complex tasks and processes.

Agent builder in Microsoft Power Apps now in preview

We’re also announcing the preview of agent builder in Power Apps, enabling organizations to rapidly transition into the AI-first era. By using existing knowledge, logic, and actions already built into the apps they create, makers can develop agents to handle tasks autonomously, eliminating repetitive processes, redefining individual productivity, and improving overall business efficiency.

Stories and benefits from the Copilot Studio autonomous agent Early Access Program

Autonomous agents are expanding the boundaries of what’s possible, enabling the creation of innovative applications and solutions that drive significant business outcomes:

• Accenture, a leading global professional services company that specializes in IT services and management consulting, has created agents to simplify complex operations and boost customer satisfaction.

“Accenture joined Microsoft Copilot Studio’s Early Access Program on autonomous agents and tapped into our deep industry and functional expertise to swiftly create high-impact, agent-driven use cases that drive workforce efficiency and enhance customer experiences. We developed nine powerful agents for Business Operations and Industry, positioned to increase operational efficiency by 40%, raise customer satisfaction scores by 10% to 20%, and lower costs by 15%. The simplicity of Copilot Studio’s agentic platform, ease of use, and configurability played a critical role in our success.”

—Rich Holsman, Senior Managing Director of Global Data and AI, Accenture

• Pets at Home, a leading pet care business in the United Kingdom, has used Copilot Studio to create autonomous agents for specific business workflows. One agent that was created for the profit protection team enabled more efficient case compilation for human review, potentially saving seven figures annually.

“We’re using AI to do the time-consuming work so our colleagues can use all resource and expertise to make decisions quickly based on large amounts of data. It’s truly helped empower colleagues through both the level of information at their fingertips, and in time spent on more nuanced and insightful work. The agent solution allows the profit protection team to more effectively assess cases for potential profit loss and dedicate more of their time to skilled analysis, rather than simply information gathering.”

—William Hewish, Chief Information Officer, Pets at Home

Enhance efficiency with AI in low-code: Change how we build

Microsoft Power Platform has always been focused on enabling rapid development of solutions. With Copilot, that is truer than ever. It is increasingly possible to use natural language, images, and documents to develop applications, automations, and more. This will unlock faster development and make Microsoft Power Platform increasingly accessible.

Plan designer in Power Apps now in preview

The new plan designer in Power Apps (preview) is a game-changer, integrating AI-powered assistance directly into the app creation process. Makers can now simply describe their business challenges and provide context like process diagrams, data models, or even screenshots of legacy applications. From there, Copilot will draft user roles and requirements, which can then be refined or modified with AI assistance. Copilot offers real-time suggestions and automation within a single conversational interface, leading makers from problem definition to solution architecture.

Unlock endless possibilities with deeper Microsoft Azure integration

By integrating Copilot Studio with Microsoft Azure AI Foundry Portal, users can bring their own models, prompts, and knowledge, ensuring a smooth and efficient connection with Azure services—without the need for extensive coding.

Copilot Studio pay-as-you-go with your Azure subscription

As accessing Azure AI capabilities in Copilot Studio becomes more common, flexible pricing has become essential. On December 1, 2024, Microsoft will introduce an option to buy Copilot Studio messages with pay-as-you-go consumptive billing through existing Azure subscriptions. This pricing option empowers developers to harness the full potential of Azure AI, while providing the flexibility needed to scale and adapt to changing demands.

Empower administrators with streamlined governance and security

In 2022, we transformed governance with managed environments, empowering tens of millions of citizen developers around the world.

Now, we’re taking it further with managed security and managed operations. These new features bring advanced threat protection, proactive alerts, and seamless disaster recovery to Power Apps, Microsoft Power Automate, Copilot Studio, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Integrated directly into the reimagined Power Platform admin center, these capabilities ensure your business applications are secure, scalable, and always performing at their best.

Embrace the future of AI-first development

The integration of Copilot and autonomous agents is further revolutionizing development in Microsoft Power Platform. These advancements are not just about automating processes; they are reshaping the landscape of digital innovation. Microsoft Power Platform enables organizations to become AI-first companies—innovating faster, making smarter decisions, and delivering greater value to their customers.

Explore Microsoft Power Platform blogs and sessions for Microsoft Ignite 2024

Copilot Studio introduces autonomous agents, agent library:

• Blog: Learn more about this update
• Breakout: What’s new with Copilot Studio and agents
• Breakout: Extending M365 Copilot with Copilot agents: Best practices
• Breakout: Reinventing business processes with autonomous agents 

Copilot Studio and Azure AI announce new tools for developers:

• Blog: Learn more about this update
• Keynote: Microsoft Ignite Keynote
• Breakout: Better together: Copilot Studio and Azure AI
• Breakout: Developers guide to building your own agents

Copilot Studio enhances platform with new updates:

• Blog: Learn more about this update
• Breakout: What’s new with Copilot Studio and agents
• Breakout: Get the most of your enterprise knowledge with Copilot Studio
• Breakout: Get started with best-in-class Copilot connectors in Copilot Studio
• Breakout: Ground Microsoft 365 Copilot in your business knowledge

New capabilities in Power Apps help leverage AI for business productivity:

• Blog: Learn more about this update
• General session: Unlock the value of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio
• Breakout: The Future of Power Platform: Intelligent Apps
• Breakout: Building intelligent applications with AI and Power Apps
• Breakout: Unlock Productivity with AI in Power Apps
• Breakout: Deep Dive: Create, monitor and optimize enterprise apps with Power Apps
• Theater: Building complete solutions with Copilot and Power Apps

New AI and governance features in Microsoft Power Automate:

• Blog: Learn more about this news
• Breakout: Unlock innovation with practical strategies in Power Automate
• Breakout: Revolutionize the way you work with Power Automate and AI 
• Breakout: Automate email, doc, and image processing with GPT in Power Automate

Power Platform Admin Center simplifies security and governance experience:

• Blog: Learn more about this news
• Breakout: Enterprise Scale: The Future of Power Platform Governance
• Theater: Leveraging rich visibility to secure AI driven business applications
• Theater: Getting the most out of the new Power Platform Admin Center

The post Redefine development: AI-first innovation with agents and Microsoft Copilot in Power Platform appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Catch all the highlights and demos from today’s Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event. In addition to newly-announced features, you’ll learn how companies like Lynk & Co, Lifetime Products, Stoneridge Software, AIS, and Schneider Electric are leveraging these new features to drive transformation.

Copilot and agents are the future of AI for business

2.1 million users engage with Copilot across Microsoft business applications every month, including employees at companies like PayPal, HP, Lumen, and McKinsey & Company. These Copilot experiences can drive new levels of productivity and efficiency while offering high standards of privacy, security, and compliance.

Moving forward, we envision AI-first organizations will comprise people, Copilot, and agents. Copilot is your AI assistant, designed to work for you. With Microsoft Copilot Studio, you can create, manage, and connect agents to Copilot. Organizations will have a network of agents, ranging from simple prompt-and-response systems to fully autonomous entities, that will operate on behalf of individuals, teams, or functions to execute and orchestrate business processes. Copilot serves as the interface for interacting with these agents, which can handle tasks such as accelerating lead generation, processing sales orders, and automating supply chains. At the Business Applications Launch Event, we showcased new features across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform that demonstrate what’s possible with Copilot and agents.

Thrive with customer experience applications

2024 release wave 2 brings exciting new features to Dynamics 365 customer experience apps designed to deliver connected and personalized experiences for both customers and employees. These innovations focus on optimizing customer interactions and streamlining sales processes across your organization.

New capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales include a multilingual bot (supported languages), Copilot-generated prompts, in-line email functionality, and more. These features are set to transform how businesses engage with customers and manage internal processes.

During the launch event, we showcased how Lynk & Co, an innovative car company, is leveraging the multilingual Copilot Studio bot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service. By using AI-powered voice recognition and Copilot-generated prompts, they’ve been able to optimize customer wait times and improve case resolution speed. These tools have enabled Lynk & Co to significantly reduce case review times while keeping their sales team in the loop, thanks to seamless data sharing between service and sales teams.

With Copilot’s intelligent automation, sales managers at Lynk & Co can now focus on building customer relationships rather than manually sorting through documents. By streamlining workflows and providing actionable insights, Copilot empowers sales professionals to work more efficiently and drive business growth. These new capabilities—combined with tools like real-time prompts, the Sales Qualification Agent, and account summaries generated by Copilot—offer businesses a modern, intuitive way to stay connected with customers and make smarter decisions faster.

Explore the release plans for Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Contact Center, and Dynamics 365 Sales.

Defining autonomous enterprise resource planning (ERP) with innovative agents

Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP solutions introduce significant enhancements aimed at improving both core functionalities and autonomous capabilities. These updates include the introduction of five autonomous agents for Dynamics 365 designed to streamline processes and boost organizational efficiency. By automating routine tasks, businesses can focus more on strategic decision-making and adapt to the dynamic market landscape.

For Lifetime Products, a leading global producer of outdoor consumer goods, these improvements have substantially enhanced the productivity of their finance team. The Account Reconciliation Agent for Dynamics 365 Finance autonomously identifies discrepancies between subledgers and ledgers, offering actionable recommendations and reducing manual effort. Additionally, automated bank reconciliation now matches transactions and summarizes histories, saving time and improving accuracy. These features have streamlined their month-end close process across multiple legal entities, enhancing both efficiency and compliance.

In parallel, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central updates have improved operations for more than 40,000 customers. The Sales Order Agent enables businesses like Stoneridge Software’s clients to manage sales orders without needing additional staffing, speeding up order processing while maintaining service quality. Interoperability between Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service has streamlined service order management, reducing manual data entry and errors. This automation allows technicians to work more efficiently, improving the overall customer experience and ensuring timely service delivery.

Explore the release plans for Dynamics 365 Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Human Resources, and Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Unlock value everywhere with Microsoft Power Platform and Copilot Studio

Microsoft Power Platform offers new capabilities that enhance automation and app development using AI-powered tools. Copilot simplifies workflows, generates apps, and assists with complex processes, enabling businesses to manage tasks more effectively. With new AI-driven features across Microsoft Power Platform you can create solutions across your organization in record time.

At the launch event, we highlighted how Applied Information Sciences (AIS) is improving workforce efficiency in vendor invoice management using AI-enabled features in Microsoft Power Automate. With Copilot, automating processes such as routing and approvals based on predefined rules, AIS can handle a large volume of invoices daily, reducing manual input and increasing productivity. Users can easily update workflows with a few clicks, and the new summary functionality ensures clear tracking and sharing of updates.

AIS’s onboarding process for new consultants supports ongoing training with Copilot in Microsoft Power Apps. “Search with Copilot” allows users to retrieve records using natural language queries, while the AI-enabled paste feature efficiently fills out onboarding forms, reducing manual data entry. Copilot Studio improves IT Helpdesk automation with task assignment and grounding third-party data sources through knowledge management.  This provides analytics for monitoring agent performance and improves accuracy while also enabling a continuous improvement process.

Explore the release plans for Power Apps, Microsoft Power Pages,  Power Automate, and Copilot Studio.  

Bring automation to your business with Copilot

The latest improvements in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales, Copilot for Service, and Copilot for Finance focus on enhancing user experience by automating routine tasks and providing actionable insights through autonomous agents. These advanced functionalities allow sales teams, customer service representatives, and finance professionals to offload repetitive activities, enabling them to concentrate on strategic initiatives. As a result, organizations can optimize efficiency and improve overall productivity.

For instance, companies like Lumen and Genpact have experienced significant time savings with Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Finance capabilities. Lumen reported a 94% reduction in research time for sales data, while Genpact achieved over a 50% decrease in payroll processing time through automated reconciliation. These enhancements demonstrate how Copilot agents are not only improving workflows but also positively impacting the workforce’s efficiency.

Schneider Electric is another example of a company benefiting from these advancements. Its sales team can now effectively prioritize leads with the help of the Lead Intelligence Agent, which analyzes customer interactions and external data to deliver enriched insights. This streamlined approach allows sales representatives to engage with prospects more strategically, ultimately supporting their goal of enhancing efficiency and driving revenue growth.

Explore the release plans for Microsoft Copilot for Finance, Microsoft Copilot for Service, and Microsoft Copilot for Sales.

Business Applications Launch Event

Dive deeper into the new and enhanced AI capabilities included in the 2024 release wave 2.

Learn more

Watch the virtual Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event

Join us for the on-demand Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event to discover the latest enhancements in Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft Copilot apps. The event features in-depth demos of new autonomous agents and other capabilities designed to optimize your workflows and streamline operations.

Don’t forget to review the detailed release plans for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. Stay updated on the latest features and upcoming enhancements, and create your personalized release plan using the release planner to ensure you’re equipped with the knowledge needed to maximize these new capabilities.

The post 2024 release wave 2 launches with hundreds of Copilot capabilities appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

We’ve got an action-packed schedule lined up, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to dive deep into Microsoft Power Platform technical readiness and best practices. You’ll also gain hands-on experience with the technology and learn how to apply it in real-world scenarios. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting your journey with Microsoft Power Platform, this conference is designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. But it’s not just about the sessions and workshops; it’s about the connections we make and the community we continue to build. 

Microsoft Power Platform

Cut costs and development time with low-code tools.

Learn more

The latest innovations in Microsoft Power Platform

In case you missed it this morning, Charles Lamanna delivered an inspiring keynote, highlighting the latest innovations and future directions for Microsoft Power Platform. His keynote was followed by Jeff Teper and Kim Manis, who brought us the latest and greatest news on Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Fabric. Here’s a quick overview of the key takeaways: 

• Microsoft Power Automate AI recording for desktop flows—public preview: AI Recorder simplifies the creation of desktop flows by reducing errors associated with recording clicks and keystrokes. It offers a “show and tell” experience, making it easy for users of all skill levels to record desktop flows.

• Power Automate generative actions with inline cloud flows—EAP: This feature enables users to create and manage cloud flows directly within their workspace in Power Automate, enhancing productivity and streamlining workflows. 

• Desktop flows from natural language—public preview: The ability for users to generate desktop flows in Power Automate using natural language is now in public preview, simplifying the automation process and making it more accessible. 

• Two-action panes in the Power Automate designer—generally available: Gain a more flexible and efficient design experience in Power Automate designer by allowing users to work with multiple action panes simultaneously. 

• Coauthoring in Microsoft Power Apps—generally available: Coauthoring enables multiple makers to work on different parts of a canvas app simultaneously, speeding up development and making collaboration seamless and efficient. 

• Generate a plan with Copilot in Power Apps—limited preview: This will now help users generate detailed plans for their Power Apps projects, facilitating better planning and execution. 

• GitHub Copilot in Power Pages—public preview: Professional developers using GitHub Copilot chat in Microsoft Visual Studio can now leverage a Microsoft Power Pages agent for page-specific coding assistance, blending pro-code with low-code and moving website development into the AI future. 
• Copilot agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio—public preview: Copilot agents boost productivity by automating tasks and retrieving information quickly. Integrated with Microsoft 365 Copilot, they enhance workflows by connecting to your organization’s knowledge and data sources. Read more about our announcement on Copilot Agents in this blog, published on September 16, 2024.
• Agent builder—public preview: Agent builder is a new, lightweight Copilot Studio experience that makes it simple for users of any skill level to build Copilot agents directly within BizChat and SharePoint and publish them as Copilot extensions. Read more about our announcement. 
• Enhanced Copilot Studio capabilities: The core platform now features GPT-4o as the default model, offering more precise answers than GPT-3.5 Turbo. Copilot Studio can handle larger knowledge sources (up to 512MB) and interpret images, diagrams, and tables in PDFs, enhancing its accuracy, efficiency, and versatility for modern businesses.

Explore opportunities to connect at the Power Platform Community Conference

As mentioned, there are so many opportunities to connect with fellow Microsoft Power Platform enthusiasts so hold on to your hats! Here’s what you can look forward to: 

• Keynote presentations: Ryan Cunningham will be hosting a thrilling panel discussion on security, research, and intelligent applications with Thomas Dohmke, Vasu Jakkal, and Jamie Teevan. They’ll be talking about the future of technology in the era of AI on Friday, September 20, 2024. 

• Breakout sessions: With more than 100 breakout sessions, you’ll have the chance to dive deep into Microsoft Power Platform technical readiness and best practices. 

• Hands-on workshops: Don’t hesitate to participate in one of the 20 full-day workshops to get hands-on experience with new Microsoft Power Platform technology and learn how to apply it in real-world scenarios. 

• Ancillary activities: Enjoy 15 additional activities, including meetups, community activation events, and even talent shows. 

• Show floor: Explore more than 60 partner booths and visit the Microsoft Booth to engage one-on-one with Microsoft experts, see product demos, collect unique event stickers and pins, and attend additional theater content in our dedicated theater space.  

Continuous product innovation with Microsoft Copilot and AI 

Finally, we want to extend a huge thank you to you, the Power Platform community, for your continued support and enthusiasm. Your feedback and engagement drive our innovation and success. The Power Platform community is a vibrant and diverse group of individuals who are passionate about driving change and making a difference. The impact of the developments contributed by this group extends beyond just our immediate projects, influencing broader industry trends and setting the stage for future advancements.  

This week is a celebration of that spirit, and we’re excited to see the amazing things that will come out of this conference as the insights shared during this event are invaluable. So, let’s dive in, learn, share, and make this the best PPCC yet!  

Looking ahead, don’t forget to register for Microsoft Ignite, taking place in November 18–22, 2024, for even more exciting innovations on the horizon for Microsoft Power Platform. You can also always stay connected throughout this week and post-conference by joining the Power Platform LinkedIn Community. This is the home of all ongoing product updates and insights, but also a place to share your experiences and connect with each other.  

The post AI-powered business innovation with the Power Platform Community appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Microsoft Copilot Studio

Explore new opportunities for applying AI to your unique business needs.

Try for free today

An agent is an AI assistant designed to automate and execute business processes, working with you or for you. They can build capacity for every individual, team, and organization—from sales to marketing to customer service, and more—enabling you to scale impact like never before.

Agents come in all shapes and sizes. They help you retrieve information from grounding data and reason over it to summarize or answer questions. More capable agents take actions when asked, replacing repetitive tasks, and the most advanced agents will be autonomous, operating independently to create plans, orchestrate other agents, and learn to know when to escalate to an employee.

With Copilot Studio, you can create and publish agents to all kinds of channels, including Microsoft Teams, your website, or your customer engagement hubs, and we’ve seen great customer momentum with more than 50,000 organizations having used Copilot Studio to date. 

We’re announcing two new capabilities for Copilot Studio:

• First, agents built in Copilot Studio can now be published directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot, surfacing right in the user’s flow of work.
• Second, we’re unveiling a new Copilot Studio experience that empowers users of any skill level to create agents right from within Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat and SharePoint.

These new features will be rolling out in general availability to all Microsoft 365 Copilot customers over the coming weeks. 

Publish Copilot agents to Microsoft 365 Copilot

Copilot agents enable you to enhance Copilot’s capabilities by connecting to your organization’s knowledge and data sources. When Copilot can draw from valuable data in SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or your line of business systems, it becomes significantly smarter about your business and its processes. You can also expand Copilot’s capabilities by equipping it with new skills, such as sending emails, updating records, or creating support tickets. And Copilot agents are capable of integrating with your existing line of business systems, enabling them to take action wherever it’s needed.

Users can find agents in a new Copilot agent store in Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat, Teams, and the Microsoft 365 app, and they can use these agents by mentioning them (@mention) or by interacting directly with them. IT admins can curate the catalog of agents available in the store from the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Empower users of any skill level to create agents

When it comes to agent creation, we’re excited to introduce a new, lightweight Copilot Studio experience that makes it simple for users of any skill level to build an agent directly within Business Chat and SharePoint. This new experience will roll out in general availability to all customers through October.

With it, you can tell Copilot Studio what you want your agent to do using natural language, and easily choose which knowledge sources you’d like to integrate from across your organization’s data, whether it’s specific documents or entire databases. When you’re ready, the agent can be used by you, shared with a select group, or deployed to an entire organization. Building an agent in SharePoint is even easier and you can create agents in SharePoint with a few clicks, no coding skills required.

You can continue to customize these or any agents in the full Copilot Studio editor, adding more advanced capabilities including autonomy. As we announced at Build 2024, we believe autonomous agents will fundamentally change business processes. We’re actively working with enterprise customers who are building autonomous agents in Copilot Studio as part of our private preview, and we look forward to sharing more later this calendar year about how users can build and use autonomous agents.

Manage agents with centralized controls

We believe organizations that embrace AI will create and use many agents. Copilot Studio provides a trusted environment that delivers confidence through comprehensive policies, access controls, and agent management, all easily managed within the admin center. This includes the ability to control agent creation, sharing, and use, which allows organizations to meet their security, compliance, and governance goals.

Furthermore, the data used to ground agents remains securely within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary, adhering to your organization’s labeling and policy guidelines. When extending your agents through Copilot Studio, your data remains in the Microsoft Azure tenant boundary with security layers to prevent invalid authentication and authorization and data loss prevention (DLP) policies for additional control. And all of this is built on Microsoft’s Responsible AI and Enterprise Data Protection standards.

Ultimately, in a world where AI is rapidly transforming how we work, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio offer new opportunities for applying AI to your unique business needs. By empowering users to create, tailor, and deploy agents of all types, Microsoft is making advanced AI accessible and valuable to everyone.

• Learn more about Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Learn more about Microsoft Copilot Studio governance. 
• Read the Microsoft 365 blog post about Copilot Wave 2.
• Join us at the Power Platform Community Conference to see how Microsoft is transforming the developer experience. 
• Get in touch with a Microsoft representative today.

The post Unveiling agents built with Microsoft Copilot Studio to supercharge your business appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Catalog in Power Platform

Share and install reusable assets, such as apps, flows, connectors, and prompts, customized for your organization.

Learn more

The catalog in Power Apps and Power Automate is now generally available to the public. The catalog enables makers to share and install reusable assets, such as apps, flows, connectors, prompts, and more, that are customized for your organization, by your organization. This provides much more useful starting points than simple and generic templates. In addition, because the catalog is built on top of our solutions framework, you can also easily install catalog items from any environment in a tenant, and have catalog assets accessible from authoring experiences, like Canvas Studio and flow designer.

You can publish assets as a template or as a managed item. Templates are pure copies that any makers can utilize as they wish. Managed items are more tightly controlled and can be republished with updates over time so that your organization uses the most recent, authoritative version across environments.

Please note that you will need a managed environment to publish assets in the catalog as part of general availability. However, all assets can be installed from any environment, even ones that are not managed.

Using the catalog in Power Apps and Power Automate

Customers are using the catalog for a variety of scenarios, including:

• Saving templates for reuse across environments.
• Bundling components into a collection for specific departments to utilize.
• Spinning up multiple catalogs and seed with sample data and apps for demo purposes.
• Using the assets of a managed item as is and making no changes.
• Building custom functionality on top of the assets in the managed item without changing the original components.
• Using the assets to assist with building their own solutions. For example, Power Apps component framework components, custom connectors, and so on.
• Partners are also using the catalog to streamline the process of building solutions and curating components for multiple customers at the same time across environments.

The catalog is highly flexible to handle a broad range of use cases, while backed by enterprise level governance and security, which is critical when managing a centralized and shared repository across many makers in a tenant. The catalog comes with comprehensive cross-environment roles and permissions, additional publishing groups to control who can make updates, administration and approval capabilities, installation tracking, and application lifestyle management (ALM). Organizations where makers can share and reuse artifacts in a controlled and secure environment will get the most out of Microsoft Power Platform.

What our customers are saying about the catalog:

“Through Accenture’s participation in the private preview of Microsoft power catalog, we’ve provided feedback to Microsoft to help them shape a ready-to-use, centrally governed repository that can supercharge application and workflow development. In support of Accenture’s strategy to reuse and scale solution components, we will explore power catalog [during public preview] to help streamline and speed application development cycles, and to drive brand consistency across Accenture applications.”

— Uday Adhikari, [Microsoft] Power Platform lead for North America at Accenture

“5/5. The catalog closes the gap in distributing updates between (product) development, Sales, and Operations departments. For demos, we often require certain versions or special releases. With catalogs we enable everyone to set up the tailored demo by themselves while the product group can maintain pre-release builds at the same time.”

— Sebastain Sieber, Most Valuable Professional, proMX.

The catalog feature will be generally available with the following features:

• Enterprise level roles and permissions to restrict who can publish and install catalog items across environments
• Approval of catalog items by admins before they’re officially published for your organization to use
• A suite of Microsoft-provided components out-of-the-box, such as Enterprise templates
• Low-code and easy-to-use wizards to publish and install items
• A My Activity page to track status and see any error codes for published and installed items
• An administrative workspace to manage catalogs, users, and settings
• And several other features, such as environment variable support, connection checks, a gallery page with comprehensive filters to browse catalog items, and more

Learn more about the catalog in Microsoft Power Platform

To learn more about the catalog, you can read an overview, the usage guide, and administration and setup instructions.

Some features planned on the horizon include:

• Integration with Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Providing the option to choose the solution you’d like to install catalog items into.
• Allowing makers to choose which solutions should be updated with new versions.
• More post-installation options for different components (such as opening up a specific editor).
• Submitting apps and flows directly into catalog with solution creation/selection as part of the wizard.
• Improved error detection and handling.

You can find the catalog feature in your left navigation in both Power Apps and Power Automate. Contact your admin to help set up the catalog and you can get started right away.

The post Enable reusability and maintain best practices with the catalog in Microsoft Power Platform appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

In this new era, the true visionaries are those taking advantage of low-code and AI tools to build the solutions that directly affect people’s jobs and lives. The Microsoft Power Platform community keeps showing us the next frontiers of innovation and creativity. These stories from our community below showcase some of the most innovative and inspiring work we’ve seen.

• Minding mining trucks’ massive tires: Donia innovates with low-code at Kal Tire.
• A chatbot for business travel: Daniel builds an AI chatbot for his travel agency.
• From the mailroom to Microsoft MVP: Dian transforms her career with low-code.
• Supporting parents and children with autism: Raghav builds an app with low-code and AI for his son with autism.
• Modeling fashion and new technologies: Yumu goes from the runway to building with low-code.

At the third annual Power Platform Community Conference, we are excited to showcase some of the groundbreaking work emerging from our global community.

Minding mining trucks’ massive tires

Donia Strand is a Senior Business Systems Analyst at Kal Tire in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. As the company’s Microsoft Power Platform manager, her work spans the experience of building her own solutions as a non-technical maker, to working with professional developers to build solutions.

To assess the viability of entry roads at mine sites around the world, the company’s Mining Tire Group performs “site severity” surveys. These surveys helped understand the mine site conditions and extend the lifespan of the costly mining haul truck tires. Donia explains that previously, “Supervisors used to spend up to an hour and a half entering data into Excel, taking photos, and then building out reports.”

Kal Tire operations managers in Canada brought this business issue to Donia and together they saw the opportunity to use Microsoft Power Apps to build an app that manages the surveys. Now, Kal Tire’s Site Severity App, developed in conjunction with MNP Digital, runs on mobile devices and automates the mining site data collection process. The app safely caches data while offline—a common necessity in remote mining sites. Microsoft Power Automate then generates polished PDF reports complete with visual graphs, ready to be shared with stakeholders.

“By integrating the app’s data into Power BI, the Mining Tire Group gained a comprehensive view of mine conditions across all regions,” Donia says. “This leads to better decision-making and reduces wear and tear on mining truck tires.” It also saved substantial time and resources, allowing supervisors to concentrate on their most critical tasks.

Looking forward, Donia is particularly excited about using Microsoft Copilot Studio to create new types of custom copilots for Kal Tire. Her advice to others who are just beginning with Microsoft Power Platform is: “Start simple, experiment, and you’ll be amazed at what can be created. The [Microsoft] Power Platform and AI are game changers: Saving time and opening new possibilities.”

A chatbot for business travel

Daniel Schaurich de Oliveira is the founder and owner of A1, a business travel agency based in Florianopolis, Brazil. For nearly 30 years, Daniel has focused on providing international and domestic travel services for corporate clients.

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unexpected opportunity for Daniel to explore new ways to improve his company. With travel restrictions severely impacting the industry, Daniel used the downtime to explore how Microsoft Power Platform and AI could transform his daily operations. He started by automating alerts and generating reports, but soon embarked on more ambitious projects to reimagine daily business.

“I have no IT background and never studied coding,” he says. “But I used Copilot Studio to develop a chatbot to assist my team with various company and industry inquiries.” Daniel was concerned that employees would be slow to adopt a new AI-powered chatbot, so he named it “Fifi” (whose name is akin to “a gossiper” in Brazilian Portuguese) and gave it a personality to make her a humorous, yet knowledgeable, addition to A1.  

Fifi has streamlined internal operations, reducing the time Daniel and his team spend on routine inquiries and allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks. “Nowadays, Fifi is not just a chatbot or digital tool. She is a teammate,” Daniel says. “She’s our essential colleague. And whenever Fifi’s offline, we joke that ‘Fifi’s out sick today’.”

Daniel concludes, “The [Microsoft] Power Platform is amazing. It allows me to build my ideas and improve my business in ways that I never imagined were possible.”

From the mailroom to Microsoft MVP

As a young woman moving from the Netherlands to the US, Dian Taylor worked in a clothing store and the mailroom of a large American office supplies retailer. Later, she transferred to human resources at a bank. Eventually, she learned about Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform.

Now, working in presales at RSM US LLP in Boca Raton, Florida, Dian is tasked with creating a large volume of engaging and effective demonstrations. Even without a formal technical background, Dian uses Microsoft Power Platform to build copilots and apps that can be seamlessly integrated into her demo presentations.

“I use Copilot Studio a lot; not just to create custom chatbots to utilize on websites and Power Pages but also to connect to Dynamics 365 Customer Service,” she says. “It’s great for demos and helps take the pressure off our live agents.”

Dian also credits Microsoft Power Platform with making her job more fulfilling. “The advice that I would give somebody starting out in tech is to keep going and don’t feel overwhelmed,” she explains. “It’s okay not to know everything all the time. Take a step back, learn to use the right tools, and you’ll get there.”

Dian should know as she is now a four-time Microsoft Business Applications most valuable professional (MVP).

Supporting parents and children with autism

Raghav Mishra is a Product Architect at the Sprint365 consultancy in Copenhagen, Denmark. He discovered Microsoft Power Platform’s potential while developing new business solutions for a hackathon and realized that the same tools could be applied to address personal challenges at home. He was inspired by his wife who dedicated several hours each week creating visual instruction sheets for their son with autism. Raghav explains, “She made one-page instruction sheets with hand-drawn images and written directions to guide our son through daily activities like brushing his teeth or removing his shoes.”

Raghav developed the Make Life Easy app using Microsoft Power Platform to automate the creation of these daily instructions. Raghav leveraged Power Apps, AI services, and the DALL-E API to generate both text and images, which are then saved in Microsoft Dataverse and compiled into a one-page, colorful PDF. This document serves as an engaging visual guide for their son.

“I’d never worked with canvas apps,” he said. “The platform’s predefined structure allowed me, as a citizen developer, to build the app from scratch within just five days.”

The app streamlined their family’s routines, cutting down the time spent on creating instructions and making the process clearer and more enjoyable for their son. What once took hours now only requires a few minutes, allowing the family to spend more quality time together. “This app has improved our daily lives,” Raghav says. “I really hope it can also help other families with similar needs.”

Modeling fashion and new technologies

Yumu Hatakeyama, a Microsoft Power Platform Evangelist at Akkodis in Tokyo, Japan, began his career as a fashion model. However, over time, it became increasingly difficult to make a living in the modeling industry. Yumu went back to school to study hardware engineering.

When COVID-19 struck, he was working in automotive parts manufacturing, creating circuit boards. As his company started to push for digital transformation, Yumu took the initiative to learn about Microsoft Power Platform and play a pivotal role in the transition. 

He had never created an app before. Drawing on his experience in the fast-paced fashion industry, he understood the importance of managing schedules. He learned how to use Power Apps and quickly put it to use by creating an attendance management app for remote workers during the pandemic. It visualized attendance data in an accessible dashboard format.

The app had an immediate impact, streamlining attendance across their team of 50 employees. Building on this success, he began incorporating Microsoft AI Builder into his work. Instead of manually inputting data from PDF invoices and receipts, the team trained custom AI models to automate this process, significantly reducing errors and saving time.

Now, he works full-time as a Microsoft Power Platform Evangelist. Yumu says, “Originally, I was in the business of promoting and selling fashion. I transitioned from evangelizing fashion to evangelizing technology. It seems like quite a shift, but the goal remains the same: to deliver better products to everyone.”

When speaking to new Microsoft Power Platform users, Yumu jokes, “If a former fashion model can achieve digital transformation with the Power Platform, you can definitely do it too.” His dream is to spread the use of Microsoft Power Platform across Japan, from large corporations to small and medium-sized businesses, helping everyone to imagine and build their own solutions.

The Future of Microsoft Power Platform is innovation and empowerment

It’s clear that the future of innovation is in the hands of those who do the work and turn their ideas into reality. The incredible advances created by the global Microsoft Power Platform community exemplify the power of low-code and AI tools to transform businesses and careers.

We can’t wait to see many of you at the Power Platform Community Conference in Las Vegas and to witness what we’ll achieve together in the coming years. With the recent advances in Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Power Platform development will only get easier and more powerful.

Join the Power Platform Community

Connect with peers and experts

Learn more

The post How the Microsoft Power Platform community is using low-code and AI to transform work and lives appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

To support investment decisions, Microsoft commissioned a 2024 Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study that quantified Power Platform’s impact. The study highlights a 224% ROI, USD82 million in net-present value (NPV), and a payback period of under six months. These benefits stem from reduced development timelines and IT costs, time savings for users, and faster revenue growth from quicker solution deployment. 

The even better news: these figures don’t account yet for the transformational capabilities of generative AI. Currently, Microsoft is seeing organizations create workflow automations two times faster and developers successfully build low-code applications at a 60% higher success rate. 

The Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft Power Platform

Explore the cost savings, efficiency gains, and revenue growth that organizations experienced using Microsoft Power Platform.

Read the report

Over time, we expect time savings for users and developers, IT costs savings, and topline revenue growth to dramatically increase as generative AI matures.  

For now, we encourage you to learn how customers are maximizing their current low-code investments below—and learn how you can do the same. 

Accelerate development timelines by 35% with low-code 

Microsoft Power Platform has enabled organizations to significantly reduce development and IT costs by significantly streamlining the creation of solutions and automations.  

By combining traditional development environments with Microsoft Power Platform’s low-code tools, companies have accelerated their development processes by 35%, allowing them to bring new solutions to market faster and with fewer resources.  

This efficiency gain, combined with the ability to replace costly legacy tech stacks, has resulted in substantial savings. For example, the Forrester study found that the composite organization was able to reduce their tech stack expenses by up to 80% within three years and cut support staff by up to nine full-time employees.

Time isn’t the only thing enterprises are saving by investing in low code tools for developers. Companies like G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, who was not interviewed for the Forrester study, used Microsoft Power Platform to achieve over USD1.5 million in savings by streamlining development and reducing costs. Their IT team quickly built apps like a Store Audit app that saved USD100,000 in external development costs and a Parking Lot app developed in one day, saving drivers time and reducing delivery costs.

The Forrester study found that the composite organization achieved a risk-adjusted total of USD43.6 million in direct development and IT cost savings over three years, demonstrating Microsoft Power Platform’s powerful impact on operational efficiency and cost reduction. 

Complete tasks 25% faster with Microsoft Power Platform 

Microsoft Power Platform has proven to be a transformative tool for organizations, enabling significant time savings and increased productivity across various departments. By building solutions with low-code products such as Microsoft Power Apps, Microsoft Power Automate, and Microsoft Power Pages, organizations have streamlined processes that took weeks, now completing them in hours or minutes.

For instance, one energy customer Forrester spoke to reported savings of USD1 million, with a third of that coming directly from employee time savings. In another case, a financial services firm reduced an up-to-six-week manual HR process to just one hour, freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives.  

Additionally, while they were not interviewed for this particular TEI study, EY separately reported that they used Microsoft Power Platform to create PowerMatch, an app that increased automatic payment clearing rates in their SAP system from 30% to 80% and improved matched payments to 95%. PowerMatch is set to save EY 230,000 hours annually, illustrating the time saving capabilities of low-code solutions. 

On average, organizations have seen a 25% reduction for users in the time required to complete key processes improved using Microsoft Power Platform, translating into a risk-adjusted total of USD44.4 million in time savings over three years. This efficiency not only drives operational improvements, but also empowers teams to focus on innovation and value creation. 

Revenue increased by 7% by empowering employees 

Microsoft Power Platform has proven to be a catalyst for topline revenue growth by notably improving the time to market for new solutions, enabling organizations to better meet customer needs and capitalize on market opportunities.  

By rapidly building and iterating on prototypes, businesses have swiftly adapted to client feedback, enhancing user experience and maintaining competitive market share. For example, companies using Microsoft Power Platform have seen up to 7% of their revenue growth directly attributable to these accelerated processes, resulting in a risk-adjusted total of USD15.4 million in additional revenue over three years.  

This capacity to quickly deliver tailored solutions not only strengthens customer loyalty but also drives net new business, contributing to substantial revenue increases across impacted areas.  

For example, one head of new product at a manufacturing organization said, “By being able to deliver the right product to the customer, we’re getting additional orders from repeat customers. We avoid churn because customers are not going to competitors. We’re getting net new customers. For certain parts of our organization, our revenue increased by 18% to 20%, split between net new customers and repeat customers.”

Customers such as Lerøy Seafood Group, who was not interviewed for this TEI study, separately shared they used Microsoft Power Platform to streamline operations and drive millions in savings annually—contributing to topline revenue. Key innovations that drove savings and revenue increases included apps that optimized production schedules and improved fish weight estimation accuracy, to the tune of USD8 million annually. 

Get a custom business value assessment today

And the implementation of Microsoft Power Platform goes beyond quantifiable benefits, offering organizations a robust foundation for future growth, improved governance, and enhanced employee satisfaction.  

Organizations are reporting reduced risks of shadow IT by empowering employees to solve problems with low-code tools and governance via embedded tools such as Managed Environments. This not only strengthens compliance and security, but also leads to a more engaged and satisfied workforce. 

As businesses continue to explore new opportunities, the flexibility and scalability of Microsoft Power Platform position it as a key enabler of digital transformation, driving long-term success and sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive market. 

We invite you to read the Forrester Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Power Platform report and sign up for a custom business value assessment with your Microsoft Power Platform specialist. 

The post Reduce development times and increase ROI with Microsoft Power Platform  appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey, this event is designed to inspire, educate, and connect developers, IT professionals, business users, and like-minded tech enthusiasts who share enthusiasm for digital transformation. Microsoft is the proud lead sponsor of the third annual Power Platform Community Conference: a three-day, in-person, action-packed community event taking place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, from September 18 through September 20, 2024. At PPCC, get ready to:

• Take advantage of the latest cutting-edge advancements in technology with generative AI and Microsoft Copilot.
• Gain skills and learn best practices to help your team stay ahead of the newest developments.
• Connect with like-minded individuals who share your interest.
• Have direct access to experts who can answer your questions for your business scenarios.

The event kicks off with pre-conference workshops on September 16 and September 17, followed by the main event from September 18 through September 20. Additionally, there will be a day of post-conference workshops on September 21.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to be part of the Microsoft Power Platform revolution. Register now and join us for an event that will inspire, educate, and empower you to achieve more.

Thriving together: The Microsoft Power Platform community experience

Prepare to immerse yourself in the dynamic world of low-code/no-code. This group of problem-solvers, developers, and analysts is united by a common goal: to unlock the full potential of Microsoft Power Platform. By exchanging ideas, best practices, and building on each other’s work, this vibrant community breaks down barriers and elevates the platform to new heights. The Microsoft Power Platform community paves the way for a future of seamless integration, automation, and data-driven decision-making, enriching the lives of businesses and individuals alike.

This year, PPCC will continue to feature the latest and greatest in generative AI and Copilot with several sessions showcasing how these cutting-edge technologies are transforming Microsoft Power Platform and the business landscape. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from Microsoft’s senior thought leaders, product experts, and engineers who are driving these innovations.

Building on the success of previous events such as the European Power Platform Conference, DynamicsCon, TechCon365, and Global Power Platform Bootcamp, this year’s conference may be our best yet.

Networking is a key component of the PPCC experience. The conference provides numerous opportunities for attendees to connect with their peers, share ideas, and learn from each other. Whether it’s during sessions, workshops, or social events, there are plenty of chances to build relationships and expand your professional network.

In addition to the educational and networking opportunities, the conference also offers a chance to hear real-world customer stories and shared insights from industry leaders. These stories provide valuable perspectives on how Microsoft Power Platform is being used to drive digital transformation and achieve business success.

Be sure to follow the Microsoft Power Platform Community LinkedIn for more announcements, exciting executive speaker lineup updates, and continued Microsoft Power Platform Product Weeks coverage.

What’s new and next for Microsoft Business Apps

This year, we’re thrilled to present an exceptional lineup of keynote speakers who are leading the industry. Dive into 150 interactive sessions covering a diverse range of topics, many of which are led by Microsoft’s senior thought leaders and product experts.

On day one of the conference, you’ll gain valuable insights from Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President, Business and Industry Copilot, as he discusses how generative AI and Copilot are transforming software engineering. Jeff Teper, President of Microsoft Collaborative Apps and Platforms, will explore the future of collaboration and productivity. Kim Manis, Vice President of Product for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, will highlight the latest advancements in data analytics and visualization.

Participate in 20 hands-on technical workshops designed to provide practical knowledge that’s immediately applicable to your work. These workshops cater to all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.

Learn about the newest features and capabilities of Microsoft Power Automate from Sangya Singh, Vice President, Power Platform Intelligent Automations. Discover how Microsoft Dataverse drives data-driven decision-making with insights from Nirav Shah, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dataverse. Ryan Cunningham, Vice President, Power Platform Intelligent Applications, will showcase the transformative potential of Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Pages. Kim Manis will provide comprehensive coverage of Microsoft Power BI. Ilya Grebnov, Vice President and Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Business and Industry Copilot, will discuss the architectural innovations behind Microsoft Power Platform, and Omar Aftab, Vice President, Conversational AI, will introduce the latest in Microsoft Copilot Studio. These sessions are crafted to equip you with the knowledge and skills to stay ahead of the curve, whether you’re looking to deepen your expertise or explore new areas.

PPCC 2024 will also feature an array of breakout sessions and other engaging activities hosted by Microsoft product teams, the Microsoft Power Customer Advisory Team (CAT), Power BI CAT, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), super users, and experts from around the globe.

Join the fun at the Power Platform Community Conference

The Power Platform Community Conference is not just an event; it’s an experience that brings together a diverse group of individuals who are passionate about digital transformation. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the industry, network with like-minded individuals, and gain practical knowledge that can be applied to their work.

This conference is a must-attend event for anyone who is passionate about digital transformation and wants to stay ahead of the curve. With a packed agenda, a stellar lineup of speakers, and a vibrant community of attendees, this year’s conference promises to be an unforgettable experience. So, don’t miss out—register now and join us in Las Vegas for the 2024 Power Platform Community Conference.

Register for the event and make your MGM Grand Hotel reservation today.

Power Platform conference

Join like-minded tech peers who share enthusiasm for digital transformation.

Register for the event

The post Showcasing AI innovation at the third annual Power Platform Community Conference appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

And it couldn’t come at a better time, because technology has a talent problem. There’s just not enough high-tech talent in the pipeline to help organizations develop and maintain the complex software solutions they need to stay competitive.¹

Microsoft Power Platform

Embrace the benefits of AI and low-code with Microsoft Power Platform.

Learn how

And the work is indeed complex. Developers need to solve challenges around user interface design, storage requirements, security, compliance, and scalability in their work, and finding the right talent to meet challenges is difficult.

The problem is compounded with the amount of work that needs to get done. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) have to manage growing app backlogs and pushed-back schedules for the development of the apps they know they need, and a general lack of resources for talent and software makes the outlook for new custom apps unclear. 

With more development work to be done than there are developers to do it, many CIOs and CTOs are looking to AI and low-code solutions to transform their application development approach and strategy.

AI and low-code are helping in three ways:

1. Increasing developer productivity
2. Automating repetitive tasks
3. Boosting the skills and abilities of non-developers who can now make meaningful contributions to development

Let’s look at those benefits in detail. 

Increasing developer productivity while remaining compliant and secure

The first thing that low-code can do for a team of developers is enable it to work more quickly with no tradeoff in attention to compliance and security.

As described in a recent white paper on generative AI disruption in software from McKinsey, putting AI and low-code into the hands of developers can improve productivity by as much as 45%, something which can lower code development costs considerably.

At Microsoft, we’ve observed the effectiveness ourselves. In a review of the first 126,000 organizations using Microsoft Copilot in Microsoft Power Apps, developers say using Copilot makes them faster (80%) and more satisfied with their work (65%). What’s more, the developers using Copilot have a 60% higher success rate than the developers who don’t.

But it’s not all about speed. Low-code solutions don’t just accelerate development—they ensure support of standards for security and compliance, so all the newfound speed doesn’t compromise safety. And low-code makes developers into better developers, too. It amplifies existing talent and experience to help developers identify roadblocks, find solutions, and dream up new innovations.

Visit the Microsoft Power Platform website to learn more.

Automating repetitive coding tasks   

AI-powered development tools excel at automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks that drain the fun out of development work. A routine chore like debugging code can make a developer do the same find-and-fix tasks repeatedly. And development work is filled with necessary but repetitive tasks.

With AI and low-code, writing boilerplate code, debugging, conducting routine software maintenance, performing code reviews, and managing deployments can be done by an AI assistant, allowing the developer to work on the interesting, creative challenges that drive business impact.

We’ve seen this ourselves at Microsoft. In a recent survey—quantifying GitHub Copilot’s impact on developer productivity and happiness—96% of respondents say AI increases their speed with repetitive tasks. They also say using AI makes them happier. Between 60% and75% of surveyed users said using the tool makes them feel less frustrated when coding and free to focus on more satisfying work.

Boosting the skills and abilities of non-developers

With AI and low-code, organizations can bring non-developers into the development process so they can help create apps and innovate alongside their developer colleagues. Democratizing development enhances an organization’s agility and flexibility.

Business users won’t need extensive coding expertise because AI and low-code let them contribute through natural language inputs, like “create a sales report dashboard” or “automate customer follow-up emails”. Additionally, business users can learn to build their applications faster than ever with the ability to query in-product assistants that can help them build in real time.

By equipping citizen developers with intuitive, low-code tools, they can autonomously create applications that address immediate business needs, such as a mobile app for onsite invoice submissions. This not only reduces the burden of manual tasks but also ensures more accurate data collection and enhances the efficiency of frontline workers. Meanwhile, professional developers can dedicate their expertise to more complex, strategic projects that propel the organization forward. This symbiotic relationship between low-code and traditional development practices fosters an environment where technical agility and innovation thrive, ultimately propelling the organization’s technical velocity to new heights.

When the AI and low-code development tools that an organization uses allow for simplified cross-platform integration as Microsoft Power Platform does, they can break down barriers and ensure business users receive the right oversight and collaborative inputs from colleagues’ developer and IT teams.

Next steps for CIOs and CTOs

If you want to fully embrace the benefits of AI and low-code by incorporating a solution into your tech stack at scale, consider a strategic plan that addresses the following:

• Identify high-impact use cases to begin testing. Determine what type of solutions would benefit your organization most: Do you need web or mobile apps for employees or customers? A website with customizable content management, styling, and data access requirements? Or perhaps custom AI agents that handle specific tasks? Once you’ve identified the best pilot project, implement the solution to deliver quick wins and demonstrate the value of AI and low-code. Document successes and share them to build momentum within your organization.

• Manage risks by ensuring data security and regulatory compliance. It’s important to choose an enterprise solution like Microsoft Power Platform that includes governance, management, and monitoring capabilities. With your solution in place, you can then establish a governance framework to maintain control, such as setting up regular review meetings to ensure compliance and having your IT department or risk management team conduct periodic risk assessments.

• Build a low-code center of excellence. With governance in place and some development wins under your belt, think about upskilling your workforce. Offer tailored programs to upskill both developers and non-developers, promoting continuous learning and cross-functional collaboration, such as hosting workshops and interactive training sessions, where your low-code users and developers can work together. The Microsoft Power Platform Adoption website has workbooks, best practices, and training materials to support organizations with this endeavor.

By following these steps, you can effectively integrate AI and low-code solutions like Microsoft Power Platform, bridging the development gap and driving innovation in your organization.

Visit the Microsoft Power Platform website to learn more.

Source:

¹ Forbes, Research: quantifying GitHub Copilot’s impact on developer productivity and happiness, March 6, 2023

The post Fast track development with AI and low-code appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Microsoft partners are helping organizations achieve greater efficiency by using our growing ecosystem of Microsoft Copilot connectors in Copilot Studio to build these types of solutions. We’re excited to announce that Litera, a global leader in legal technology solutions, enabled its first innovative Copilot connector designed to transform legal workflows. The connector extends Litera’s core workflows beyond their proprietary user interfaces, offering unparalleled accessibility to a firm’s intellectual property. 

Accenture extends its portfolio of Intelligent Supply Chain Platform solutions built on Microsoft technologies by unveiling a groundbreaking copilot extension in Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its Supply Risk Control Tower solution. 

Copilot Studio makes it easy to extend the capabilities of copilots with actions, connectors, and sources of data. Copilot connectors include data sources within the productivity cloud in Microsoft 365, business data in Microsoft Dataverse, data from Microsoft Dynamics 365, and analytical data in Microsoft Fabric, as well as non-Microsoft enterprise data sources. Through Copilot connectors, you can now ground your copilot responses with multiple enterprise data sources for more relevant and reliable responses from copilots and copilot extensions. 

Litera’s Copilot connector provides unparalleled accessibility to a firm’s intellectual knowledge 

The Litera Search Copilot connector enables legal professionals to execute complex natural language searches for both legal matter experience and precedent content from any Copilot-enabled application, allowing users to get matter and precedent detail without learning how to navigate a complex search screen. Best-fit insights are delivered instantly, eliminating the need for endless clicks to drill down into legal matter context or iterations to refine search context and outcomes. Imagine that you are a junior associate in charge of creating a first draft for a real estate credit litigation in a New York state agreement: you can gain instant insight into how your top firm experts have structured and written indemnification clauses for credit agreements saving valuable time and leveraging the firm’s collective knowledge. Whether drafting new contracts, looking to assign the most experienced attorney to a specific case, compiling a pitch for new business, or understanding market conditions during negotiations, the Litera Search Copilot connector brings the ease of natural language matter and content search to a vastly expanded domain of user interfaces. 

 “Collaborating with Microsoft has allowed us to advance our use of new AI techniques to create revolutionary tools for the legal industry. By integrating with Microsoft Copilot, we’re delivering intelligent, AI-driven experiences that significantly enhance productivity and efficiency for legal professionals. This partnership not only highlights our commitment to innovation but also sets the stage for a transformative future in legal technology.”

Greg Ingino, Chief Technology Officer at Litera 

First, the user asks in natural language for litigation that meets certain criteria. 

Once they see the list of matching litigation, the user then makes the request for details on a specific legal matter from the first set of results. 

For end-users, these solutions offer significant value by streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity, as legal professionals can now reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical aspects of their work. The integration of AI and natural language capabilities means users can interact with the software more intuitively, ultimately transforming the way they manage and utilize legal documents.  

Accenture brings supply chain management to Copilot 

Extending its portfolio of Intelligent Supply Chain Platform solutions built on Microsoft technologies, Accenture has unveiled a groundbreaking extension in Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its Supply Risk Control Tower. This innovation streamlines the daily workflows of supply chain teams, particularly material planners. Supply chain professionals can now receive daily updates from Copilot detailing incoming orders and providing real-time insights into potential risks. More than just a tracking tool, Copilot proactively recommends optimal course of action, streamlining decision-making processes and empowering teams to respond swiftly and strategically to dynamic supply chain scenarios.  

To create this advanced functionality, Accenture used the capabilities of Copilot Studio, incorporating knowledge, topics, and actions. This was combined with the power of Dataverse and its vast connector ecosystem, integrating Accenture’s deep supply chain data domain expertise with Copilot generative AI capabilities. The outcome is the transformative Supply Chain Insights App. With Microsoft Power Platform native integration into Copilot Studio, Accenture automated critical order management tasks in enterprise resource planning systems such as Dynamics 365 and SAP, saving valuable time and reducing manual data entry errors. 

Activate Dataverse data as knowledge using Copilot connectors 

Using Copilot connectors, you can bridge the gap between Dataverse data and Copilot. The ‘Add knowledge sources’ option allows developers to integrate deeply with Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform. Once configured, a semantic search allows the connector to understand and interpret the text data, enabling more relevant and context-aware responses. Data synchronization and caching ensure your data is available for quick access and reduce potential latency issues. 

Using Dataverse is just one of the capabilities of Copilot connectors. For example, with a few clicks, you can access the ecosystem of more than 1,400 connectors, which includes extensive third-party service integration with your copilot. Using these connectors, you can add actions to your copilot to allow it to complete new tasks related to your solution. The following diagram illustrates the full breadth of capabilities of Copilot connectors. 

Adding actions using a Microsoft Power Platform connector is just one of the options available for adding new actions to a copilot.  

Prompt actions allow you to generate content or extract insights with AI Builder prompts. The prompts include prebuilt prompts that can be customized by parameters or from Dataverse data. For example, passing a customer name, a prompt action could summarize related data for the customer name using Copilot. 

Conversational actions receive a user query and process it by completing one or more operations, and then sends one or more responses back to the copilot that it is being used from. The conversational action could use the generative answer node to respond to the query. The answer could be based on knowledge configured that was unique to the scenario. For example, you could have a billing code lookup that produced answers about specific billing codes to the requesting user. 

Flow actions allow you to build a Microsoft Power Automate flow that runs to process the request from a user. These actions can be used to add the ability for the copilot to complete a task. For example, adding a billing code could be implemented as a flow action. The cloud flow would use other connectors to check if the billing code existed, follow company standards, and then finally add the billing code, responding to the user that the code was added.  

Copilot connectors allow you to build complete solutions 

Copilot connectors provide you with multiple ways to extend copilots with your unique solution. By combining several of these capabilities to form your full solution, you’ll be able to provide your users with access to the right knowledge and actions to make them more productive. These features are just the beginning of what’s to come, and we can’t wait to see how organizations will use them to innovate using Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform. 

Copilot connectors in Copilot Studio

 Extend the capabilities of copilots with actions, copilot connectors, and sources of data.

Learn more

The post Litera and Accenture transform business processes with Microsoft Copilot connectors appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.