Copilot in Power Platform: A game Changer for Business Users

Introduction

Imagine building and app without writing a single line of code. Or automating a business process by simply describing it in plain English.

That’s exactly what Copilot in Microsoft Power Platform enables.

With AI becoming more embedded in everyday tools, Microsoft has brought natural language capabilities directly into Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and more - through a feature called Copilot. It’s not just a productivity booster; it’s a paradigm shift that empowers business users to build, automate, and analyze like never before.

What is Copilot in Power Platform

Copilot is Microsoft’s generative AI assistant integrated into Power Platform. It uses large language models (LLMs) - like GPT - to help users build apps, automate workflows, and analyze data using natural language.

Think of it as your AI partner inside the platform. You describe what you want - and Copilot takes care of generating the initial structure, logic, or visualization.

Where Can You Use Copilot?

Copilot is available across several components of the Power Platform:

Power Apps

• Generate a Canvas App or Model-Driven App just by describing the purpose.

• Modify forms, screens, or logic via chat.

• Ask questions about your data using natural language.

Power Automate

• Describe a process (e.g “Send an Email when a new item is created in SharePoint”) and get a ready-made flow.

• Let Copilot improve or debug your existing automation.

Power BI

• Use Copilot to generate DAX formulas, visualizations, or even entire dashboards.

• Ask business questions like “What were the top 5 products last quarter?” And get answers instantly.

Dataverse & Power Pages

• Create data tables, forms, and relationships between describing your needs.

• Generate content or structure for external portals.

What’s Next for Copilot in Power Platform?

Microsoft continues to expand Copilot’s capabilities across the platform.

Some exciting features already in preview or rolling out include:

• Custom Copilot in model-driven apps (like embedding GPT directly into business workflows).

• Copilot Studio - a low-code tool to build your own copilots tailored to specific business domains.

• Natural language queries in Dataverse Search.

• Integration with Azure OpenAI for advanced customization and control.

What is Copilot Studio?

Copilot Studio is Microsoft’s next-generation low-code environment for building custom AI copilots tailored to your business needs - think of it as a powerful upgrade to Power Virtual Agents, infused with generative AI and deeper integration across the Microsoft ecosystem.

Released as part of the broader Copilot strategy, Copilot Studio allows makers to design, customize, and deploy AI assistants that can:

• Hold multi-turn conversations with users.

• Connect to internal systems and APIs.

• Leverage both structured data (Dataverse, SharePoint, SQL) and unstructured input (user prompts, PDFs, web data).

• Run securely within the Microsoft 365 and Power Platform stack.

Natural Language Bot Creation

Build bots just by describing what you want them to do - no more complex flows or dialog trees. Example:

“Build a bot that helps employees submit time-off requests and checks their remaining vacation days.”

Copilot Studio will generate the conversation logic, data connections, and basic interface.

Connect to Internal Data & Systems

• Native connectors for Dataverse, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Azure Functions, etc.

• Custom connectors for REST APIs and third-party services.

• Bring in business logic using Power Fx, cloud flows, and plugins.

Generative AI Capabilities

Use GPT-based responses within conversations:

• Summarize information from a knowledge base.

• Generate email drafts or knowledge articles.

• Answer open-ended questions from company docs or websites (with grounding).

Advanced: Add GPT via Azure OpenAI

In copilot Studio, you can embed your own Azure OpenAI GPT endpoint:

• Fine-tuned for your domain.

• Connected with retrieval-augmented generation(RAG).

• Combined with internal APIs or knowledge bases.

That means you can build copilots that actually know your business.