What is Power Automate?
Power Automate, part of Microsoft’s Power Platform, allows you to optimize business processes across your organization and automate repetitive tasks. This service helps you create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, collect data, and more. It does this with the help of task mining and process mining.
An example of a Power Automate flow would be to create an automated email notification for new files in OneDrive. This flow will trigger whenever a new file is added to a specific OneDrive folder and send an email notification to a designated recipient.
What is Copilot in Power Automate Cloud Flows?
Copilot in Power Automate cloud flows is like having a helpful assistant to build your automations. Instead of manually configuring each step, you can simply describe what you want to achieve using natural language, like "send me an email when a new file is added to OneDrive." Copilot then translates your instructions into a working cloud flow, making automation accessible even if you're not familiar with the technical details.
Think of it as a conversation with Power Automate. You tell Copilot your goal, and it asks clarifying questions to ensure it understands your needs. This interactive process makes building complex workflows faster and easier, empowering anyone to automate their tasks and optimize their work.
Copilot is turned on by default in Power Automate. The cloud flows copilot can perform the following actions:
- Understand your intent, and create a flow based on the scenario prompt you provide.
- Auto-set up connections on your behalf to get you to a working automation as soon as possible.
- Apply the necessary parameters in the flow based on your prompt.
- Respond to your requests to make changes to your flow, such as update actions and replace actions.
- Answer questions about your flow and product. For example, you can ask Copilot questions about your flow like, “What does my flow do?”
- To get a summary of what the flow does, you can also ask Copilot product questions like, “How do I access child flows?” and “How do I access licenses?”
- Suggest a description for the flow when editing the flow's details.
Using Copilot to Create Workflows
In Power Automate for the Cloud, Copilot can be found on the Home tab. You can use one of the preset prompts or you can enter your own scenario in the description box and click the blue Generate button.
"When someone adds information into a SharePoint list, send me an email, post to our Tam, and add the item to an Excel Workbook." Then click the Generate button.
Copilot
suggested the following flow:
Both the Trigger (which is what needs to happen for the flow to automatically start) and the Actions (all the actions the flow will take once triggered) are what I wanted. If they were not, I could click on the “This isn’t what I’m looking for” link on the bottom left and it would bring up a Help screen and allow you to start a flow from a template or start a flow from blank.
Clicking on Next, moves you to step 2 and allows you to review the connections that will be used for the flow.
Click on Create flow to have it create the flow for you.
Using Copilot to Edit Workflows: Enhancing Efficiency and Precision
You can use Copilot on an existing flow to add more actions, but it's more than just a simple add-on. Copilot acts as an intelligent workflow assistant, analyzing your existing logic to provide contextually relevant suggestions.
- Intelligent Action Suggestions: Copilot examines your flow's purpose and recommends actions that align seamlessly. For example, if you're processing email attachments, it might suggest saving to SharePoint or extracting text.
- Streamlined Parameter Configuration: It simplifies parameter setup by suggesting dynamic content from previous steps, minimizing manual data mapping.
- Dynamic Workflow Logic Refinement: Copilot helps refine your workflow's logic. You can use natural language commands to add conditions, create loops, and more.
- Optimization and Action Replacement: Copilot can help optimize your flows by suggesting more efficient actions, and even replacing existing actions with a more efficient action.
- Version Control Best Practice: It is always best to create a version of your flow before making large changes with copilot.
Troubleshoot in Copilot: Proactive Problem Solving and Error Resolution
The troubleshoot feature in Copilot in Power Automate helps you identify and resolve errors during cloud flow testing and run history reviews. It goes beyond basic error reporting by providing detailed explanations and actionable solutions.
- Detailed Error Analysis: Copilot translates complex error codes into plain language, explaining the root cause of the problem.
- Actionable Resolution Suggestions: It offers specific steps to fix errors, such as correcting input values or adjusting settings.
- Run History Pattern Recognition: Copilot analyzes run history to identify recurring errors and potential issues, enabling proactive problem prevention.
- Testing and Validation Assistance: Copilot can assist in creating test data, and suggesting test scenarios.
- Natural Language Troubleshooting: Users can ask questions in natural language, and recieve answers.
- Future Integration Potential: Future integrations with monitoring tools may provide even more comprehensive insights into flow performance and reliability.
Tips for Writing Good Prompts
Writing good prompts is more than just being specific with
your request or saying how you want your results to be displayed. Copilot lets
you try out different variations of prompts to help you evaluate what works
best. If the initial results aren’t what you’re looking for, try tweaking your
prompt and running it again.
- For better and more accurate results, provide prompts
in When X happens, do Y format.
- Be as specific as possible. Instead of a generic
prompt like, “I want to process an email,” try this prompt
instead: “When an email arrives, I want to post the subject of the
email to 'Contoso' Teams General channel.”
- If possible, mention the connector in your prompt.
For example, include Outlook, Teams, Forms, or other.
- Try tweaking your prompt to further fine tune.
Here are some examples of prompts you could write using when
“when x, do y” with details and the connector.
Example 1: Outlook and Teams
- Prompt:
"When I receive an email with an attachment from my boss, post a
message to the 'Leadership Updates' Teams channel with the email subject
and a link to the attachment."
- Connectors:
Outlook, Teams
Example 2: Forms and SharePoint
- Prompt:
"When a new response is submitted in Microsoft Forms for the 'Project
Feedback' form, create a new item in the 'Project Feedback' SharePoint
list with the response details."
- Connectors:
Microsoft Forms, SharePoint
Example 3: Approvals and Excel
- Prompt:
"When a new approval request is created for 'Expense Reports,' send
an email notification to the approver and record the request details in an
Excel spreadsheet."
- Connectors:
Approvals, Excel
Example 4: Twitter/X and OneDrive
- Prompt:
"When someone mentions my company on Twitter, save the tweet text and
a link to the tweet in a 'Social Media Monitoring' folder in
OneDrive."
- Connectors:
Twitter/X, OneDrive
Example 5: Button and Notifications
- Prompt:
"When I tap a button on my mobile device, send a push notification to
my phone reminding me to take a break."
- Connectors:
Button trigger, Notifications
Tweaking Prompts:
You can further refine these prompts for more specific
actions. For instance, in Example 1, you could add:
- "...and
add a label to the email in Outlook marking it as 'Important.'"
- "...and
only post the message if the email arrives after work hours."
Copilot's ability to understand intent, suggest relevant actions, configure parameters, and even troubleshoot errors transforms the way we build and manage automations. This intelligent assistant streamlines the workflow creation process, allowing you to focus on the bigger picture—optimizing your work and achieving your goals.
Ready to Master Copilot and Transform Your Workflows?
Our comprehensive Copilot in Microsoft 365 training teaches teams and individuals to craft effective prompts, build complex workflows with ease, and troubleshoot any challenges that come your way.
Contact us to find out how we can create a customized Copilot training program for your team or organization.
Written by Holly French, MOS Master
For the past 30+ years, Holly has had a passion for software training, including instructor-led training, e-learning, instructional development, software development, software deployment, or just plain teaching a stranger how to use their computer. Her true passion is to debunk traditional training methods and train in an organized, fun, personable, knowledgeable, logical, IMPACTFUL, and easy-to-understand way, incorporating the most efficient method for everyone. Each learner is different, each day is different, each software is different, but the goal is the same...More Tricks. Less Clicks.
Holly trains all levels of the Microsoft & Adobe products including Microsoft 365, SharePoint Online, Teams, Power BI, Power Automate, Planner, and more. Holly is also a MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) Master.
