In the fast-evolving world of technology, the Microsoft Build Event remains an important event for developers and technology enthusiasts alike. Among the updates for professional developers, there are an increasing number of new features coming through for low-code (and no-code) makers. Three outstanding Power Platform announcements from the event this year have captured our attention. Let’s unpack these developments and their implications in a business context.
1. Power Apps Copilot
In the fast-evolving world of technology, the Microsoft Build Event remains an important event for developers and technology enthusiasts alike. Among the updates for professional developers, there are an increasing number of new features coming through for low-code (and no-code) makers. Three outstanding Power Platform announcements from the event this year have captured our attention. Let’s unpack these developments and their implications in a business context.
Imagine this: you have a mission-critical spreadsheet (and we know many businesses do). Power Apps allows you to take this spreadsheet and, with a few clicks, transform it into a Dataverse table, thereby converting your raw data into a structured format, on a secure and scalable platform. Power Apps determines the structure of your data, and sets up the right table columns, including choice columns for repeated values. Power Apps also creates a fully responsive, mobile-friendly canvas app from your table, ready for you to test, edit, and use.
Further enhancing the user experience, Power Apps Copilot employs natural language to develop the app without the need to write your own formulas. It even enables the user to interactively query data within the app using natural language, enhancing its utility and interactive appeal.
2. Copilot for Power Pages
Secondly, we saw the introduction of Copilot for Power Pages, a tool which enables you to create websites that are seamlessly connected with your business data. Power Pages aren’t just about creating aesthetically appealing websites; their true value lies in the ability to integrate these sites with your existing database, creating an interactive and secure portal for customers to engage with your business.
Leveraging the power of Power Pages Copilot, you can create a website template, and write your website copy with natural language prompts. Creating a form on your website is now a less cumbersome process. With a simple command, Copilot creates a form for you, including creating the underlying Dataverse table and connecting it to your website.
.
.
3. Generative Actions in Power Virtual Agents
Lastly, we have the exciting announcement of Generative Actions in Power Virtual Agents. With Power Virtual Agents you can instantly create a chatbot which uses content from your website or your SharePoint document library. But the true innovation lies in the new announcement of plugins that allow the chatbot to interface with your other systems.
These plugins eliminate the need for building exhaustive question and answer pairs, and instead, the chatbot uses Generative AI to carry out conversational tasks. The chatbot can even identify when it lacks critical information and proactively seek it out, offering an improved conversational experience. This powerful combination of Generative AI and large language models results in an auto-configured chatbot, ready to meet your unique business requirements.
Microsoft Build has once again showcased Microsoft’s commitment to continuous innovation. As we look forward to the exciting journey that lies ahead, we invite you to share your thoughts and ideas on these developments.
.
About the Author: Lisa Crosbie
Lisa Crosbie is a Microsoft Business Applications MVP (Most Valuable Professional) and our Technology Evangelist for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. She leads our program of training and events, which have helped over 5,000 people get stared with Power Platform, and runs demos, hackathons, and workshops at Barhead Solutions to help customers understand how to get the most out of Microsoft Business Applications. She is a podcaster, YouTuber, blogger and regular presenter at Microsoft and community events.
