Category: 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 10th of the new functionality in the Desktop Flows section is self-heal UI and browser automation actions at execution with AI.

This feature is for Power Automate for desktop users that automate UI and web interaction scenarios. It improves success rates and handles cases where UI elements can’t be found.

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

Feature Details

Once enabled by users, the feature uses AI to locate elements in the screen at the execution time. The repaired selector is used in future executions. Plus, it’s optional and can be disabled if you prefer.

• Self-healing refers to the case that a UI element cannot be found at the execution time.
• Self-healing can be applied only for UI and web automation scenarios, and subsequently for Desktop and web UI elements.
• With self-healing, Power Automate for desktop can locate a UI element in the screen.
• When UI element and its selector are retrieved, a confirmation is required by the user in order the flow to be healed and saved.
• This feature can be disabled by the user.

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 10th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is leverage desktop automation with the Power Automate Plugin for Windows Copilot.

As a user, you’re always looking for ways to streamline your workflows and make everyday tasks easier. The Power Automate Plugin for Windows Copilot is here to assist. This tool is designed for users who handle repetitive desktop tasks, especially those who work with Excel, PDF, and file operations. You’ll enjoy the newfound ability to leverage AI-powered automation right on your desktop, cutting down on time spent on routine tasks and boosting your productivity.

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

Feature Details

The Power Automate Plugin for Windows Copilot is an AI-powered virtual assistant that introduces the ability to easily automate desktop tasks. This feature integrates popular Power Automate for desktop actions, such as Excel operations, PDF manipulations, and general file operations, right into the Windows Copilot interface. This allows you to automate routine tasks, increasing efficiency and freeing up time for more important tasks.

As we continuously improve this feature, you can look forward to more automation options in the future. The plugin is user-friendly and intuitive, making it easier than ever to get started with desktop automation.

Geographic areas

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

• Singapore
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• South America
• Canada
• India
• Japan
• Korea

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 9th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is use natural language to create a flow in Teams.

This feature helps you create a flow in Teams if the Workflows app doesn’t have a template that fits your scenario. To use this feature, type in a prompt to describe what you want the flow to do, and then the feature generates your flow for you. You no longer need to start from scratch.

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

Feature Details

This feature allows you to use natural language to create a flow from scratch when the Workflows app in Teams doesn’t have a template that supports your specific scenario. It uses AI to generate and suggest a flow based on what you typed. You can edit your prompt to generate a new flow suggestion if you need. Use this feature to take the guesswork out of creating a flow from scratch when you don’t know where to start.

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 7th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is streamline workflow creation with the next best action.

A new AI-powered suggestion feature in Power Automate for desktop provides you with the next best action for your workflow creation, by constantly analyzing your workflow and suggesting the most appropriate action. By leveraging this feature, you can automate repetitive tasks quicker and more efficiently, thus freeing up time to focus on higher valued work.

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

Feature Details

The next best action suggestion feature has been designed to streamline the automation process, making it easier for users to create and automate workflows without requiring extensive flow creation knowledge.

With this new addition, users will be able to create more complex workflows with ease. The feature will suggest the next action that makes sense based on the context of the current workflow and the actions that have already been added.

Geographic areas

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

• 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 6th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is maximize your productivity with generative answers.

The AI assistant will provide you with the ability to ask product related questions using natural language and receive prompt, precise answers, eliminating the need for time-consuming searches and waiting for support responses. This feature will increase your productivity and allow you to have uninterrupted focus while developing your flows.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  Nov 12, 2023
Early Access: –
General Availability: Sep 2024

Feature Details

With the copilot generative answers functionality, you can easily find the information you need to create and manage your flows and any other aspect of Power Automate for desktop. The generative answers are integrated into the Power Automate for desktop UI in both the console and the designer, making it easy to access and use. Simply type your question in natural language, and the copilot will provide you with the most relevant information from our documentation. To use it, select the copilot icon in the console or designer UI and start getting answers to your questions.

Geographic areas

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

• 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 5th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is transform scripting using AI-driven natural language.

You can enhance efficiency and save valuable time and resources by using natural language and AI to generate the code in the scripting actions in Power Automate for desktop. This added capability allows you to describe your desired scripts and have AI automatically generate the necessary code for you. By doing so, you can streamline your flows automation and reduce the time and the effort required to write code for simple tasks, such as running PowerShell, VB, CMD scripts or executing SQL statements.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  Nov 12, 2023
Early Access: –
General Availability: Sep 2024

Feature Details

Natural language to Code is a new AI capability that we are adding in Power Automate for desktop that allows you to quickly generate code that is used in the scripting actions by just describing it. This feature is available in the “Run PowerShell,” “Run VBScript,” “Run DOS command,” “Run Python,” and “Run JavaScript” actions. You can simply describe what you want to achieve, and the tool will generate the script for you. This feature makes it easy for users who are not familiar with scripting languages to automate their tasks.

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 4th of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is Enter into a conversation-first Copilot experience to build flows.

This feature allows you to create flows with a conversation-first Copilot experience from the Power Automate home page.

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

Feature Details

Prior to this feature, you were limited to creating specifically phrased prompts in Copilot to generate a flow. This feature now enables you to enter less specific prompts. You can simply start by stating a business scenario, your business roles and responsibility, or pain points that you encountered in your work process. In any case, you can easily enter into a conversation-first experience to build flows.

The conversational experience extends the ability to ask Copilot using natural language to create a workflow into the ideation process. For example, Copilot might ask further probing questions to help you form a clear automation plan. This allows you to not only create, but refine, edit, and adjust through follow-up prompts. In addition, if you get errors with your workflow, you can use Copilot to fix them for you.

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 3rd of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is Automate with ease using the AI Recorder.

The AI Recorder in Power Automate for desktop revolutionizes task automation by allowing users to simply record and explain their tasks using their voice and showing a task. This intuitive feature not only saves time but also leads to improved productivity and streamlined operations for businesses.

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

Feature Details

The AI Recorder leverages cutting-edge Generative AI to interpret voice, mouse movements, and screen sharing to create a desktop flow. It’s like having a digital assistant that understands your process and automates it for you, making it an invaluable tool for any user looking to build automations.

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 2nd of the new functionality in the Copilot for Power Automate section is Troubleshoot with Copilot for cloud flows execution.

With this feature, makers will be able to fix runtime flow failures quickly with guidance from Copilot.

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

Feature Details

You will be able to look at a failed cloud flow execution run and let Copilot guide you to quickly understand the error and provide recommendations for addressing these errors. These recommendations will be supported for a range of error scenarios including common connection action failures, flow design issues, and more.

Geographic areas

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

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• India

My Opinion

Copilot is flavour of the month, but I’m still to use any AI tool which lives up to its billing. I’ll take a look at this one, and try to give it a fair chance.

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 16th of the new functionality in the Cloud Flows section is Cloud flows are automatically defined in Dataverse solutions.

Cloud flows defined in Dataverse solutions simplify administration and application lifecycle for customers by allowing use of concepts like environment variables, connection references, solutions, and more. These also help deliver delightful maker experiences like drafts and publishing, versioning, and more.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview:  Mar 21, 2023
Early Access: –
General Availability: Jun 2024

Feature Details

Many benefits are available when cloud flows are added to Dataverse solutions, including the ability to use features like environment variable and solutions. This simplifies the deployment process between environments, for example for development, test, and production. Solutions also make it easier to organize and manage a large number of flows by providing a natural grouping. Having flows defined in Dataverse also unlocks new functionality like support for drafts and versioning.

Currently, makers create non-solution cloud flows by default that aren’t stored in Dataverse. With this change, cloud flows are stored in Dataverse by default. We’ll provide an ability to migrate flows outside solutions to solutions, to simplify the administration process, and unlock new maker experiences.

My Opinion

I want to see this one in practice, but it sounds like it could add some good functionality, such as versioning, which is currently lacking.