Accelerate Copilot extensibility and Power Apps creation with Microsoft Dataverse

In the ever-evolving landscape of AI, Microsoft Power Platform has the unique opportunity to unlock the vast potential of business application data and logic. Every fragment of enterprise data carries latent insights and untapped productivity. At Microsoft Ignite 2023, witness firsthand how Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Dataverse are activating the strength of your enterprise data using AI—the announcement of “plugins for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365,” a low-code “prompt builder” experience, the ability to install OpenAI plugins, and even creating plugins from Power Automate—all inside of Microsoft Copilot Studio. We are also announcing the general availability of “Dataverse Link to Microsoft Fabric” and two new Microsoft Power Apps creator experiences using Excel and natural language. 

Extending your Copilot and conversational experience with enterprise data using plugins

Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot with your line of business apps and data

Join Ignite Session 

Customers have been asking how they can use Copilot to tap into enterprise data, remove data silos, and improve productivity and collaboration. With plugins, customers can ensure their copilots can securely integrate with this most critical line of business data. At Ignite, we are announcing the ability to extend your Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 with Microsoft Power Platform plugins and Microsoft Copilot Studio. We’re introducing three ways in which customers can leverage the power of data inside Copilot for Microsoft 365 or their own Microsoft Power Platform copilots.  

Using the existing Microsoft Power Platform connector ecosystem of more than 1,100 live connectors, customers and partners can enable their users to access and update data from external systems. Customers can leverage existing certified Microsoft Power Platform connectors as Microsoft Copilot Studio Topics, which in turn can enrich Copilot for Microsoft 365. 

We are extending the capabilities of our more than 50 intelligent supply chain solutions with Microsoft Power Platform, [Microsoft] Fabric, and Copilot. For instance, Accenture’s supplier risk control tower solution builds the digital twin using Dataverse and Fabric to predict delays and offers recommendations to supply chain operators through the copilot for real-time collaboration with suppliers and automated execution to mitigate disruptions. Through the Power of 3 with Microsoft, Accenture, and Avanade, we are able to infuse rich data and intelligence through Copilot into the broader Microsoft 365 and business application ecosystem, thus enhancing decision making and overall productivity for our clients. 
– Kumar Majety, Cloud Supply Chain Solution Lead, Accenture 

With prompt builder, customers can build, test, and deploy AI prompts that will instruct copilots to perform specific actions when asked. In addition, prompts can be grounded in business data to customize your prompts with real-time business data. For example, makers can teach Copilot to produce a specific case summary, case classification, or draft an email reply according to their company policy and based on their company’s case history stored in Dataverse.

With Power Automate flow plugins, users can expose the tasks they have in Microsoft Planner by asking “What are my planner tasks?” Similarly, users can find the list of approvals assigned to them by asking “List my approvals.”  

Start extending Copilot for Microsoft 365 with plugins.

Companies, developers, and ISVs can extend their products into Copilot using plugins 

Our partners have expressed their excitement about taking part in the age of AI. Enabling their products and services as plugins across low-code applications allows them to become part of the extensibility opportunity. ISVs can leverage existing Microsoft Power Platform connectors for creating AI plugins or import existing OpenAI plugins to use in public preview.

“We are thrilled to participate with Microsoft in this age of AI and provide value to our joint customers. The introduction of Power Platform connector as a plugin for Microsoft Copilot opens up an entirely new set of ways for our clients to deliver exceptional customer service.” 
– Kumar Krishnasami, Founder and CEO, Desk365 

Bring your OpenAI plugins into Microsoft Power Platform or create plugins from your existing Microsoft Power Platform connectors. 

Accelerate content generation scenarios with AI Builder GPT prompts 

Generative AI and Microsoft Power Platform create a powerful combination to bring to life next-generation workflows.  

To enable more organizations to leverage the power of generative AI, we are excited to announce the general availability of GPT prompts within AI Builder. Prompts are how users can interact with large language models like GPT, instructing the next generation of AI models to perform specific tasks. However, starting from zero can be tough, but by using AI Builder, users can now integrate generative AI prompts within their Power Automate workflows, Power Apps, Dataverse tables, and copilots. To help users get started, a prebuilt library of ready-to-use prompts is available and includes common scenarios like summarization, classification, content extraction, translation, and sentiment analysis. The prompts also comply with Microsoft’s approach to responsible AI. Users can also craft their own prompts, grounded with company data to produce specific outputs that are unique to their business.  

Build apps better and faster with Dataverse and Copilot AI assistance

Accelerate impact with AI-powered low code tools

Join Ignite Session 

Copilot in Power Apps is an AI companion that lets low-code makers easily create apps from ideas through natural language or from existing data in Excel and is one of the fastest-growing ways to build enterprise-ready business solutions backed by Dataverse.

The following capabilities are now generally available: 

1. From ‘idea to app’ within a few minutes using natural language

Makers can describe the app that they want to build and have a Dataverse table and app generated through an interactive Copilot AI-assisted experience. Previously, many makers would spend multiple days gathering requirements, building a prototype, getting feedback, testing, and iterating with business users. Now, with Copilot-assisted app creation, makers can prototype an app faster than ever before, and iterate with business users to build the desired business apps.  

2. Import from Excel to build your apps

Makers can use Copilot AI assistance and the power of Dataverse to import data from Excel to create configurable tables in minutes. Makers were previously facing issues when wanting to scale their app from Excel to a wider audience and use cases—from size limitations, concurrent usage challenges, and governance. The process to upgrade from your Excel file to Dataverse was historically lengthy and prone to errors. With two clicks under two minutes, makers can now import their Excel files into Dataverse, and get suggested table schema to build their next Copilot-enabled apps.  

3. Build formula columns in Dataverse

Now generally available, Formula columns are the next generation of columns in Dataverse. Based on Power Fx, they use the similar Excel-like language you use for Power Apps. Makers can also use natural language to generate formulas, now in public preview. Formula columns empower citizen developers to express business logic on top of existing columns and reference columns from other tables, directly in Dataverse.  

Microsoft Dataverse

Do more with your data. Expand the possibilities.

Get started today

Activate Azure data to unlock AI-driven insights with Dataverse Link to Microsoft Fabric 

We are excited to announce the general availability of Link to Fabric, a no-copy, no-ETL (extract, transform, load) direct link between Dataverse and Microsoft Fabric. With the general availability of Microsoft Fabric, low-code makers can derive AI-driven insights across business apps and data sources and drive action.  

If your organization uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Microsoft Power Platform with Microsoft Power BI, Link to Fabric provides an even simpler data integration option. Your low-code makers can work with their data securely in Fabric without the need to export data or build and maintain data pipelines. 

Low-code makers can Link to Microsoft Fabric from the Analyze menu in the Power Apps maker portal command bar. The system validates configuration and lets you choose a Fabric workspace without leaving the maker portal. When you confirm, the system securely links all your tables into a system-generated Synapse Lakehouse in the Fabric workspace you selected. Your data stays in Dataverse while you can work with all Fabric workloads like SQL, Python, and Power BI without making copies or building pipelines. As data gets updated in Dataverse, changes are reflected in Fabric near real time. 

Activate low-code app development atop your Fabric OneLake with Dataverse virtual tables  

We are also excited to announce the preview of Dataverse virtual tables over Microsoft Fabric, which enables your low-code app builders to connect to data in Microsoft OneLake and build Power Apps, and drive business actions without data copy, no-ETL, or third-party integration tools. Additionally combined with Power Pages, low-code makers can build external-facing websites and drive action from insights with partners, suppliers, and customers.  

Pattern Energy, a developer and operator of utility-scale wind and solar power facilities across the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, is on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition from fossil energy to a sustainable future. Timely and detailed insights on projects in Dynamics 365 are combined with data from the field to keep track of issues and avoid delays in bringing green energy to the grid. Pattern Energy has empowered a team of low-code makers who can get actionable insights across their data sources and act faster within all their business units across the globe. 

“We worked with Microsoft from early stages of the Fabric preview and realized the features were going to be a game changer for us. Exporting data from Dynamics 365 has never been easier. With Power Platform and OneLake, our teams have access to near real-time data, actions, and workflows. Once all these features are made generally available we’re excited to deploy across our organization; giving everyone at Pattern the tools they need to accelerate their ability to make data-driven decisions.”  
– Duncan Gifford, Director, Enterprise and Data Architecture, Pattern Energy 

Learn more

Learn more about Microsoft Dataverse.

Extend Copilot with Microsoft Copilot Studio.

Read more about Dataverse Link to Fabric.

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Source: Microsoft Power Platform