Author: Ian Grieve

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 19th of the new functionality in the Desktop Flows section is trigger attended desktop flows in picture-in-picture mode through the Power Automate console.

When you use picture-in-picture execution mode, the flow run doesn’t interfere with the user’s work on the machine. Makers can run attended desktop flows in a virtual window that replicates the main desktop.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  Jan 29, 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: Jun 2024

Feature Details

Makers can trigger local attended desktop flows within an isolated Windows session in picture-in-picture mode. You can trigger a desktop flow in picture-in-picture mode through the Power Automate console. Select the target flow, open the More actions menu, and then select Run in picture-in-picture. Alternatively, enable the Run in picture-in-picture flow property so that the flow always runs in picture-in-picture mode when triggered locally.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 18th of the new functionality in the Desktop Flows section is use Copilot in automation center to analyze cloud flow runs.

With Copilot, unlock a deeper understanding of cloud flow trends, statuses and performance by simply asking questions in natural language.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  May 21, 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: Dec 2024

Feature Details

The automation center is available in the Power Automate portal and offers a comprehensive automation monitoring experience infused with the power of AI. Copilot in automation center provides a multi-skill experience enabling users to ask questions about cloud flow and desktop flow activity, work queues, and even features of Power Automate.

Copilot can answer cloud flow run history questions like:

• How many runs last month were triggered by another cloud flow?
• Who initiated flow runs during the last month?
• How many flows failed yesterday?

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 17th of the new functionality in the Desktop Flows section is trigger attended desktop flows in picture-in-picture.

Makers can trigger attended desktop flows in a picture-in-picture window through the Power Automate console or through a cloud flow. This enables makers to work on their desktop undisturbed while the desktop flow runs in parallel within a virtual window that replicates their desktop.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: –
Early Access: –
General Availability: Jul 2024

Feature Details

In Power Automate console, we’re introducing a new option to trigger local attended desktop flows within a picture-in-picture window. Additionally, we’re enhancing the Run a flow built with Power Automate for desktop cloud connector action, to support this new run mode. We’re introducing a new field called Attended mode in the advanced parameters of the action that applies to attended runs and enables makers to choose between running their desktop flow on their desktop or in picture-in-picture.

Finally, when a desktop flow runs in picture-in-picture, the information that the flow ran in picture-in-picture is displayed in the flow run details in the Power Automate portal.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 24th of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is create and edit expressions with Copilot.

Makers can create, edit, and fix their Power Automate expressions by invoking Copilot.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: Jun 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: Jul 2024

Feature Details

Prior to this feature, makers needed to write complex expressions in their cloud flows in Power Automate to process data, or do conversions, manipulation, comparison, and others. With this feature, makers can create complex expressions or edit their existing expressions simply through submitting natural language prompts submitted to Copilot in Power Automate.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 23rd of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is use process mining Microsoft 365 personal recommendations.

With personal recommendations, you’re one step closer to getting to solutions that optimize your personal processes. Sometimes the largest hurdle for getting started on your automation journey is imagining the art of the possible – how to get started and what are all of the opportunities for automation. Most users are doing a lot of their work in the Microsoft suite of products. By identifying patterns and repetitive manual tasks, we can lead you into your automation journey.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  Jun 2, 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: –

Feature Details

As a new user to Power Automate, you can find automation opportunities for your personal processes through process mining Microsoft 365 personal solution recommendations.

• Recommendations are surfaced based on your teams, email, and role title.
• Surfaced recommendations can be used to create flows through the natural language to flow capabilities.

This feature will be released into the following Microsoft Azure geographic area:

< li>United States

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 22nd of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is use flows with connections from users in Copilot Studio.

Customize copilots with flows as AI plugins with connections provided by users, instead of needing to be shared and managed by the flow owner. This feature makes it possible to use flows as actions in copilots with other users without needing to use your own connections when others run the flow.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: –
Early Access: –
General Availability:  May 21, 2024

Feature Details

Use flows with connections provided by users in Microsoft Copilot Studio, instead of only the connections embedded in the flow. Users of the copilot are prompted to enter their connections when running the flow is run as an action from a copilot. Makers can choose whether a flow uses connections provided by users and their connections embedded in the flow when it’s run from the run-only setting on the flow’s detail page.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 21st of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is generate descriptions for cloud flows using AI.

Save time and effort managing your cloud flows with descriptions automatically generated using AI. With this addition, a description is generated for you automatically when editing the details of your cloud flow. This description helps you manage complex flows, create new ones, and use flows as actions in copilots.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: –
Early Access: –
General Availability: Aug 2024

Feature Details

When editing the details of a cloud flow, a description is generated automatically by using Copilot in Power Automate to summarize triggers and actions of the flow. You can adjust or change the generated description with your own or choose to keep the description up to date each time the flow changes. This capability helps with managing complex flows that might have been managed by others. It also quickly creates new flows with a useful description and ensures that it’s available for flows with the ‘Run a flow from Copilot’ trigger that is used to run actions from copilots and other AI surfaces in Power Platform.

When editing a cloud flow with the ‘Run a flow from Copilot’ trigger, a prompt displays to confirm or adjust the generated description if a description isn’t already set. For other cloud flows, the generated description is available when editing the description from the flow’s detail page.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 20th of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is recommendations to reassign orphaned cloud flows.

Today, admins have difficulty finding and reassigning orphaned flows, and changing flows is done individually. This feature gives admins more visibility and lower risk through active management of their automation estate.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: Jun 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: –

Feature Details

With this feature, admins can more easily manage their automation estate with recommendations to show a list of orphaned flows that are owned by a user who is no longer with the company. Admins can view information like the name of the last owner and number of days since the flow last ran within the recommendation list in Power Platform admin center. They can then quickly perform simple actions like reassignment to another owner or turning off the flow.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 19th of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is use Copilot with French language.

Makers in French speaking countries like France and Canada can use their own native language to interact with copilot tools.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: –
Early Access: –
General Availability: Jun 2024

Feature Details

Makers in France and Canada can create and edit a flow based on a foreign language prompt, or content can be returned in the subject language. This can help our customer base to interact with copilot tools in the language they are most comfortable in.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2024 Wave 1.

The 18th of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is create AI flows in Power Automate.

Copilot workflows enable much more sophisticated automation of business processes. AI flows can simplify and accelerate the automation process by reducing the need for specifying the exact trigger and action sets to execute. This automation can adapt to changing scenarios and data sources by leveraging the AI runtime’s intelligence and reasoning capabilities. It can handle complex and dynamic tasks that involve multiple steps, conditions, loops, branches, and integrations.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: Jul 2024
Early Access: –
General Availability: –

Feature Details

AI flows are a new type of automation that is authored, tested, and executed through an AI runtime. You specify just the intent of the automation and the AI chooses the correct set of actions in the correct order based on the input, context, and your intent.

You can author AI flows from the Create page or from the My flows page in Power Automate. When you give the system an intent, the AI generates suggested inputs/outputs and static flow values to use in the flow. These are items that the AI suggests. You can choose to accept or reject them and add your own inputs/outputs and flow values. In addition to inputs/outputs and flow values, the system also provides connectors and action that it can use to achieve its intended automation goal. You can again choose to accept, reject, or add your own.