In today’s business environment, streamlined workflows and reduced manual tasks are essential. Microsoft AI Builder brings the power of advanced automation to routine processes like email handling, document processing, and image management, helping businesses run smarter and more efficiently. With new capabilities, including multi-modal content processing, structured JSON outputs, flexible model selection, Dataverse grounding, and an extensive prompt library, AI Builder elevates agents, apps and automation to the next level of business impact.
Next generation document and image processing with GPT
One of the most game-changing updates in AI Builder is the new multi-modal content processing capability, which allows businesses to handle various data types —including text, document, and images—within a single natural language instruction. This integration greatly simplifies the process of crafting AI actions for intelligent document processing. Unlike traditional machine learning models that require extensive training and expertise, AI Builder’s multi-modal processing can be set up using natural language, and without training data.
Structured JSON outputs now generally available
With AI Builder’s new structured JSON output feature, businesses gain a more deterministic and reliable way to handle generated content. Unlike traditional outputs that might vary in format and structure, JSON outputs are now generated with a consistent predefined schema that you define at design time, ensuring that every result aligns precisely with expected data formats. This determinism in content generation means your automated workflows will produce predictable, structured data every time, and those results will be readily integrated as variables in your Power Automate workflow for downstream processing. This feature is especially beneficial when integrating AI Builder outputs into other systems, as it reduces the need for additional data cleaning or transformation. Whether feeding data into a CRM, database, or custom application, you can ensure that data is generated in a structured and predictable way.
Dataverse grounding is now generally available
The new Dataverse grounding capability empowers Generative AI models with up-to-date, contextually relevant information from your organization’s own data. By employing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI Builder integrates directly with Dataverse to pull in real-time, business-specific knowledge, giving models a deeper understanding of your unique context.
This RAG-enhanced approach allows AI models to dynamically retrieve and incorporate relevant data from Dataverse during processing, enabling Q&A scenarios with accurate responses that are also highly contextualized to your organization. For instance, models can instantly access customer histories, product information, and up-to-the-minute operational data, enriching outputs with knowledge directly grounded in your business reality.
As part of this feature becoming generally available, the capability has been enhanced to support multiple tables, including tables with large amounts of data records.
Model selection: GPT-4o and GPT-4o Mini
AI Builder offers flexibility in model selection, allowing users to choose between the powerful GPT-4o and the cost-effective GPT-4o Mini. This adaptability enables customization based on specific project requirements and resource considerations.
Prompt library
The prompt library feature provides a collection of pre-designed prompts, serving as templates to expedite the creation of AI models. This resource accelerates development and ensures best practices are followed in prompt engineering. Users can modify templates to suit specific needs, adjusting language, tone, and detail to match organizational standards and requirements. The templates cover key areas like document extraction, data transformation, and content generation, making it easy for users to find the right starting point for their intelligent automation goals.
Use cases to get started
With AI Builder, you don’t need to be a coding expert to leverage the power of AI in your daily operations. By creating prompts that can extract information from documents, classify emails, and even analyze images, you can empower your team to work smarter, not harder. AI Builder works hand-in-hand with other Power Platform tools like Power Automate, Copilot Studio and Power Apps, enabling users to create intelligent workflows and applications that are customized to meet the needs of any business.
For example, let’s say your team frequently processes customer inquiries. Using AI Builder and Power Automate, you can design a workflow that analyzes the content of incoming emails, categorizes them by urgency or topic, and even suggests responses. This not only saves time but also keeps communication consistent and efficient. By setting up this automated flow, businesses can stay on top of customer interactions and ensure timely responses.
Are you ready to bring AI to your organization?
The AI Builder Documentation provides a comprehensive guide on setting up AI Builder, configuring models, and integrating it with tools like Power Automate and Power Apps. For step-by-step tutorials, the Microsoft Learn AI Builder Learning Path is an excellent place to start. It covers everything from foundational concepts to advanced use cases, helping users of all levels become proficient in leveraging AI Builder to automate and optimize workflows.
The latest AI experiences in Power Automate are redefining the boundaries of what is possible in enterprise automation—transforming how we optimize and manage business processes to achieve more. Developers can now create advanced automation faster, business analysts can quickly extract, analyze, and optimize critical processes, and IT administrators can seamlessly manage and govern automation at scale. Copilot in Power Automate makes it faster to build solutions that save valuable time and reduce costs, thereby achieving business outcomes. Step into the future with the Power Automate advanced, enterprise-grade intelligent automation solutions.
Build advanced, reliable automations faster with AI
Developers are key to business process innovation. In Power Automate, it is now possible to build automations that utilize AI within cloud flows using generative actions, easily use natural language to create expressions for flows with Copilot for expressions, and incorporate document processing into workflows with next-generation document processing. These features enhance developers’ ability to deliver solutions efficiently and effectively.
Introducing next-generation document processing with GPT
Efficient document management is vital for smooth operations and timely decisions, but traditional AI models require lengthy training and frequent updates. With GPT-4-powered document processing, now available in public preview, you can use natural language to extract and process unstructured data from documents like invoices, medical results, or emails. This next-gen tool handles multi-modal content, automating email, document, and image processing for improved productivity. For makers who want to blend in pro-code or gain greater control, we’ve added the ability to structure outputs using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) directly inline. Makers can combine multi-modal content with enterprise knowledge from Microsoft Dataverse in their prompts. This feature enables makers to quickly deploy document and image processing directly into existing workflows using natural language instructions.
Transform your automation processes with generative actions
Generative actions allow you to add AI-powered steps to your cloud flows, letting AI reason over enterprise guardrails provided in unstructured content format such as documents and PDFs, and decide the best course of action for complex tasks. For example, with generative actions you can automate conditional approvals based on the content of incoming emails and company policies. This feature, currently in the Early Access Program, is coming soon to public preview, when you will be able to create, edit, test, and run generative actions all from within the cloud flow designer.
Create and edit expressions faster with Copilot
Copilot for expressions, now in public preview, is designed to assist developers and makers in creating or editing complex expressions using natural language. By simply describing what you want to build and referencing the dynamic data in the flow, Copilot translates your prompts into specific expressions in your Power Automate flow, speeding up development and reducing manual coding time.
Monitor and manage at scale with new automation center
Automation center, now generally available, is a central hub for efficient monitoring and troubleshooting experiences for automation processes across Power Automate at scale. The automation center provides comprehensive visualizations that enable you to monitor the health of your automations, quickly detect issues or trends, and troubleshoot problems more efficiently.
Whether you’re a developer, operator, Center of Excellence team member, or business analyst, the automation center provides a centralized view of all automation activities. Now generally available, it features a user-friendly interface with dashboards that show recommendations, the health status of work queues, and desktop flow activity. Additionally, new views for execution logs, performance metrics, and integrated agents are now available in public preview.
To learn more and to get started, read our Automation center documentation.
Improve robotic process automation (RPA) reliability using repair with Copilot
Repair with Copilot, now in public preview, simplifies resolving user interface (UI) control issues in both attended and unattended RPA with Power Automate for desktop. By proactively providing solutions to common automation issues, such as notifying the right person in the automation center, repair with Copilot reduces downtime for RPA scenarios.
Example of using repair with Copilot for unattended RPA:
Example of using repair with Copilot for attended RPA:
Start your journey into a new era of automation and AI
Are you ready to bring your organization into the future with the latest AI capabilities in Power Automate? Get started with a free trial or compare plans, join our sessions below at Microsoft Ignite 2024, and read about other exciting announcements for Microsoft Power Platform.
Power Automate
Find the right low-code automation plan for your business.
Empowering Seamless Collaboration for Modern Workforces
We are thrilled to announce the general availability of the Microsoft 365 Document Collaboration Partner Program (MDCPP). This new program allows eligible independent software vendors (ISVs) who provide cloud communication and collaboration platforms the opportunity to offer customers a collaboration experience inside and outside meetings. ISVs who join the program can enable customers on their platform to view, collaborate, and coauthor documents within Microsoft apps. We’re excited to expand this experience available in Microsoft Teams to new platforms.
Enable Live Microsoft 365 Document Collaboration
The Microsoft 365 Document Collaboration Partner Program allows eligible ISVs to include collaborative Microsoft 365 app experiences in their preferred communication and collaboration platform. And we’re bring the same quality customers expect from Microsoft for accessibility, security, and privacy. The Microsoft 365 Document Collaboration Partner Program includes:
Web app option for real-time co-authoring
Now eligible ISVs can provide simultaneous collaboration and editing of documents integrated into their platform. This includes the ability to integrate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents from SharePoint and OneDrive for Business. Available today.
An image of a Word document that multiple users can collaborate on
Live app option in meetings
Soon, customers will be able to experience interactive and engaging experiences with PowerPoint Live and Excel Live in their preferred meeting solution. With PowerPoint Live and Excel Live, meeting participants can interact and collaborate with documents in real time, including editing and exploring documents directly in the meeting window. Presenters can also see rich presenter view, speaker notes, and other available presentation tools. Coming soon.
An image of PowerPoint Live showing a slide with speaker notes in a Teams meeting.
Partnering for Success with Zoom
We have collaborated with Zoom to leverage their expertise in communication and collaboration in the development of MDCPP.
“We continue the work with Microsoft as announced earlier this year to bring this to market for Zoom Workplace customers,” said Brendan Ittelson, chief ecosystem officer, Zoom.
Getting Started
We invite all eligible ISVs to take advantage of the Microsoft 365 Document Collaboration Partner Program and transform their document collaboration process. To get started, visit our website for more information and resources.
Am a keen follower of Microsoft's SharePoint Blog and proud to provide this direct from the Microsoft Tech Community:
The “Create and share Copilot agents in SharePoint in a few clicks” is our latest ‘Meet the Makers’ webinar is just around the corner. This is a great opportunity to learn more from our primary product maker lead, CJ Tan. Karuana Gatimu interviews CJ to uncover more about what agents are within SharePoint, how they work, how you can use them within your SharePoint sites, how you can govern them (hint: “they’re a file in SharePoint”), and beyond (hint: Teams).
NOW ON DEMAND | Originally aired: Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, 8am PDT.
In fact, you can watch it right here (embedded below), directly in YouTube (set an alert), or from its dedicated event page within the Tech Community (you can login, RSVP, and add it to your calendar). Plus, check out the new *Microsoft 365 Copilot agents in SharePoint* adoption hub: https://aka.ms/SharePoint/agents.
Am a keen follower of Microsoft's SharePoint Blog and proud to provide this direct from the Microsoft Tech Community:
The “Create and share Copilot agents in SharePoint in a few clicks” is our latest ‘Meet the Makers’ webinar is just around the corner. This is a great opportunity to learn more from our primary product maker lead, CJ Tan. Karuana Gatimu interviews CJ to uncover more about what agents are within SharePoint, how they work, how you can use them within your SharePoint sites, how you can govern them (hint: “they’re a file in SharePoint”), and beyond (hint: Teams).
Tune in | Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM PDT.
In fact, you can watch it right here (embedded below), directly in YouTube (set an alert), or from its dedicated event page within the Tech Community (you can login, RSVP, and add it to your calendar).
