In 2023, Microsoft Copilot has emerged as a game-changer in the Power Platform, allowing both functional developers and citizen developers to harness its incredible capabilities to build automated Cloud Flows in just seconds. With the power of natural language processing, Copilot enables users to create, customize, and optimize flows seamlessly, transforming how workflows are designed and executed. This revolutionary productivity tool is redefining the landscape of automation, making it easier than ever for users to streamline their business processes and enhance efficiency. In this post, we’ll delve into how you can effectively leverage Microsoft Copilot to create automated Cloud Flows that meet your unique business needs!

We need to talk about how you can create a cloud flow with Copilot with one sentence. Copilot is changing how functional developers and citizen developers in the Power platform like myself are getting work done. Now you can create an entire automated cloud flow in just seconds just by telling Copilot what to build.

In 2023, Copilot has to be the biggest news coming to the Power Platform. This is true for both for end users of the software as well as the front end for developers. For more information on Copilot and what it can do, be sure to check out this post here.

One of these things is Copilot being able to create apps or flows for you using natural language with either some of the premade prompts or a custom one. While this stuff continues to blow my mind, there are still a lot of nuances where the Copilot misunderstands what you’re talking about. You might tell it to do something and it cant because it doesn’t completely understand. With that being said, there is a lot of cool functionality that it can currently do, and it’s only in preview. 

How to Create a Flow with Copilot

The first thing you’re going to want to do is navigate to the Power Automate Maker Portal.

After arriving, you will notice a Create with Copilot web page displayed on the upper portion of the screen. This page includes a text window and various prompts suggested by Copilot for your use.

You will see that there is a text box that allows you to converse directly with Copilot. You can type any prompt into this box to create custom flows for your business. Just above the text box, you can find that there are pre-made prompts, provided by Copilot. Some using OneDrive, some using SharePoint to send an email.  Clicking one of these is going to automatically fill the prompt into the text box. As a creator, you can then update the premade prompt however you seem fit before submitting it to Copilot.

You can use Copilot to create Automated, Instant, or Scheduled Cloud Flows for your business.

Once you have an effective prompt typed out, you can submit the prompt to Copilot by clicking the arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of the text box.

Once you hit Generate, it is going to work and then bring you to a suggested flow screen. It is going to suggest the different actions it thinks you need based off of the prompt you gave it. This template is going to be the skeleton for your flow going forward.

Copilot Flow Templates

Now say, for example, you didn’t necessarily like this. You do have this super handy This isn’t what I’m looking for button in the bottom left. This is going to show you any additional suggestions Copilot generated. It might move around the actions, use different actions, or an entirely new order. For example, ours simply moved the conditional statement to a different spot. I have seen where it might provide a suggestion to use a different action as opposed to a Dataverse action.

If you do not care for any of the suggested templates, you can either navigate back and re-write out a more directed prompt to help influence Copilot to provide a more accurate suggestion, or use the template and update later in the flow editor.

If you think a suggested template is suitable for your scenario, you can select Next then Create flow. This is going to take a few seconds and create a flow that follows the selected template. Copilot will fill in as many of the parameters for your actions as possible.

Copilot will likely not have all of the parameters filled out when your flow is generated. However, it is okay because we can still use Copilot to take this flow to the next level. The best part is, we will not even have to manually configure any components.

How to Make Updates to your Flow with Copilot

In order to access Copilot’s capabilities in Power Automate, you are going to have to edit a flow with the New Flow Designer. The Power Platform has recently begun rolling a new designer out. Currently, this is the only way to access Copilot while updating a flow.

All of the features in the new designer are not highlighted in this post today but if you are interested in more information, be sure to check out another post here for more information.

The Copilot Help Pane should display by default when working on a flow in the new designer. If you do not see it, you can select the Copilot button in the ribbon in the top right.

You can have Copilot create, update, or remove actions in your flow, create conditional logic, or update any parameter in an existing action. Ask Copilot to change a Dataverse action to an Excel action. Or ask to change the table in your “Get a row by ID” to use Account’s instead of Opportunities.

You can discover, after some time, that Copilot, in it’s current state, is easily confused on what exactly you are telling it to do. Fortunately, I have some tips for you!

Tips for Creating Flows with Copilot

• Have the component you want Copilot to be updating selected on screen
• Type out the exact name of the component (Instead of “Dataverse’s Filter” say “Get a row by ID action’s Filter Rows parameter”
• Be sure that you are giving Copilot a clear objective
• Ensure that there are no typo’s in your prompt

How to Make Updates to your Automated Flow with Copilot

Copilot can struggle to understand what you are talking about when the item you’re talking about isn’t mentioned specifically. If you seem to be experiencing a lot of this, be sure to follow the principles in the list above. We have to remember that Copilot, in it’s current state, is brand new and is still listed as “in Preview”. This is going to bring some nuances to using the tool.

Once you type out and submit a prompt to Copilot, it is going to begin implementing the change you told it to. Subsequently, Copilot is going to respond with information on it’s success (or failure) to implement the change, which component it specifically updated, and a handy Undo button. Note: you can always undo any change Copilot makes to your flow with the click of a button.

I do think the Copilot experience does a good job of walking the creator through the changes made to a flow. As long as you do not leave the flow editor, you can always reference the entire conversation as you continue to utilize the tool.

In Conclusion

Creating and updating Cloud Flows with Copilot can feel tricky at the moment but it truly is a tool that can and should be leveraged by citizen developers everywhere. It may feel like you are trying to dance with two left feet but as this technology continues to develop and we, as users, continue to learn how to use the tool, the success rates are only going to climb.

In conclusion, Copilot is a revolutionary tool that can help you create all your Cloud Flows in the Power Platform with ease and efficiency. Copilot can generate code, components, and logic for your flow based on natural language prompts. You can also customize and refine your flow with Copilot’s suggestions and tips. Copilot is still in preview mode, but it has shown great promise and potential for Power Platform developers.

Fortunately, because of my experience using Copilot, reading different blogs, and watching a ton of videos or live events. I have been able to develop an honest review of Copilot in it’s current state. If you’re interested, be sure to check out this post here. Happy Developing!