Innovation and Efficiency with Microsoft’s Copilot

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, innovation and simplification of once tedious tasks are becoming standard expectations. Microsoft’s Copilot is an excellent example of this trend, offering tools for app creation, data lookup, and automation. Copilot enhances productivity by allowing users to build apps, analyze data, and automate workflows using natural language.

Canvas Apps

Canvas Apps are known for their high level of customization, acting as a ‘blank canvas’ to develop applications tailored to business needs. With Copilot, creating these apps becomes straightforward. Users can describe the data they want to collect in plain English, and Copilot generates a functional app based on this input. Users can also request further modifications, although Copilot’s ability to make changes may vary.

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However, there are limitations. Copilot might struggle with minor adjustments or more complex changes due to its current capabilities.

Model-Driven Apps

Copilot’s integration with Model-Driven Apps is more limited than with Canvas Apps. As of mid-August 2024, Copilot can only analyze data within Dataverse and answer data-based questions like “How many projects are currently open?” or “What are the issues assigned to Zach?” This feature is useful for quick data insights but lacks the app creation or modification capabilities seen with Canvas Apps.

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It’s expected that as AI technology advances, Copilot’s functionality in this area will expand.

Power Automate Cloud Flows

Within Power Platform, Power Automate Cloud Flows benefit significantly from Copilot’s generative abilities. Creating a flow is like developing a Canvas App: users input their requirements in plain English, and Copilot constructs the flow. After reviewing and verifying connections, the flow can be finalized in just a few steps.

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However, some manual adjustments may still be necessary. For example, specific details, such as an email address for an action, may need to be added manually due to the imperfect nature of generative AI.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a novice developer or an experienced professional, Copilot provides a valuable starting point for building Canvas Apps and Automate Flows, saving time and effort. The data analysis capabilities in Model-Driven Apps also offer a distinct advantage for quick insights. Although Copilot has room for improvement, particularly in handling complex or minor changes, its abilities will likely grow as AI technology continues to evolve.