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If you are using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, you may have encountered difficulties accessing data and creating automations without coding. This challenge has been addressed thanks to Microsoft Copilot Studio!
Microsoft Copilot Studio’s low-code approach enables customers to construct intelligent, conversational agents that can interact with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365 F&O), all without writing a single line of X++ code. Whether you’re automating data retrieval, initiating Power Automate flows, or improving customer interactions, Microsoft Copilot Studio enables you to do more with less work.
In this article, we explore Microsoft Copilot Studio and how integrating it with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (F&O) can open up new possibilities.
What is Microsoft Copilot Studio? Let’s understand this platform
Microsoft Copilot Studio is Microsoft’s low-code development platform designed to create intelligent AI assistants (Copilots) tailored to business needs.
Some of its capabilities include:
- Graphical interface for building workflows and automation.
- Seamless integration with Power Automate and external APIs.
- Easy addition of custom topics that interact directly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.
- Immediate publishing of topics for real-time user access.
Further readings: A new era in low-code and no-code evolution with Copilot Studio
Features and capabilities of Microsoft Copilot Studio
Below are some key features and capabilities of Microsoft Copilot Studio:
Adding Knowledge Sources in Microsoft Copilot Studio
In Microsoft Copilot Studio, knowledge sources collaborate with generative answers to enable agents to provide more relevant and helpful responses. When knowledge sources are added, agents can retrieve data from sources such as Power Platform, Dynamics 365, websites, and other external systems.
These sources can be added while creating an agent, after it has been created, or directly in a topic using a generative answers node.
Supported knowledge sources
You can connect the following types of knowledge sources:
- Public websites: Enables the agent to search the query using Bing and return results only from the specified URLs.
- SharePoint: Connects to a SharePoint URL and uses GraphSearch to return results.
- Dataverse: Uses data from your configured Dataverse environment with retrieval-augmented generation.
- Documents: Searches documents that are uploaded to Dataverse and returns content from them.
- Enterprise Data via Copilot Connectors: Connects to organization data indexed by Microsoft Search.
Generative answers using knowledge sources
By default, Microsoft Copilot Studio includes a “Conversational boosting” topic with a generative answers node. All knowledge sources added at the agent level are automatically utilized by this node.
Generative answers help reduce the need to create topics for every question, thereby speeding up manual deployment.
Authentication
When using sources such as SharePoint, Dataverse, or enterprise data, the agent will utilize Microsoft Entra ID authentication. This ensures that users only see content to which they have permission.
The role of actions in Microsoft Copilot Studio
In Microsoft Copilot Studio, actions are used to connect your Copilot to external systems and services. These actions power real-time data queries, process automation, and AI-driven responses.
Types of actions available in Copilot Studio
The way your Copilot communicates with other systems, such as D365 F&O, is determined by the actions you take. Here are a few actions that are supported:
- Prebuilt connector actions – Use Microsoft’s built-in connectors to seamlessly integrate with services such as Dataverse, SharePoint, and others.
- Custom connector actions – Connect to your APIs by establishing custom connectors tailored to your business requirements.
- Power Automate flows – Automate and orchestrate business logic using Power Automate. Useful for triggering multi-step workflows or approvals.
- AI Builder prompts – Generate dynamic responses using AI models. Ideal for summarizing content, extracting information, or providing intelligent suggestions.
- Bot framework skills – Extend Copilot’s capabilities using custom skills developed in the Bot Framework. Best suited for offloading complex conversations or modular logic.
- REST API calls – Make direct API calls to third-party or internal systems, including D365 F&O, giving you full control over request and response handling.
Dynamics 365 F&O and Copilot Studio: What does this integration enable?
Integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (F&O) with Microsoft Copilot Studio opens up powerful AI-driven experiences by combining enterprise data with natural language interaction. Here’s how it works and why it matters:
- Custom AI tools: You can build AI tools that tap into F&O business logic using X++ code, then expose them as Copilot tools via Dataverse APIs.
- Natural language interaction: Users can ask questions like “What’s the current balance for customer Contoso?” and Copilot will invoke backend logic to calculate and return the answer.
- Embedded and sidecar experiences: Copilot can appear as a side panel (sidecar) or be embedded directly into F&O apps, offering contextual help, summaries, and task automation.
Conclusion
Microsoft Copilot Studio bridges the gap between Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations and users by providing an intuitive, low-code platform for building conversational AI experiences. This approach streamlines data retrieval, reduces manual effort, and helps teams make faster decisions. Ready to transform how your organization works with Dynamics 365 F&O? Contact us at marketing@confiz.com.
