Power Apps: Elevate Your Copilot Chat with Pro-Level Customization

Key insights

• Customize Copilot Chat: Use Microsoft Copilot Studio to make Copilot chat more intelligent by adding additional topics and knowledge sources. This feature is currently in preview and not for production use.


• Knowledge Sources: Enhance your app's intelligence by linking external websites or uploading internal documents as knowledge sources. This allows Copilot chat to respond to relevant queries beyond app data.


• Add New Topics: In Copilot Studio, create custom topics that can trigger actions like flows and connectors. These topics can provide simple messages or generative answers for seamless integration with external systems.


• Prompt Guide Customizations: Utilize a prompt library to optimize interactions in Copilot chat. Add specific queries to the prompt guide, ensuring responses are accurate and contextually appropriate for users’ needs.


• Testing and Publishing: Use the inline testing capability in Copilot Studio to validate new topics before publishing. Ensure changes are published so they become available to users of the app.


• Limitations: Current limitations include manual addition of agents to app solutions before export, potential confusion with agent display names, and lack of support for image/video messages from agents.

Introduction to Customizing Copilot Chat

In a recent YouTube video, April Dunnam provides an insightful tutorial on how to customize Copilot chat within Model-Driven Power Apps. This customization process aims to make Copilot chat more intelligent and helpful by adding new knowledge sources and customizing prompt guides. The video is particularly beneficial for those looking to enhance their Power Apps AI experience.

The tutorial covers several key aspects, including enabling customization, understanding Copilot chat, and avoiding common pitfalls. Additionally, it delves into adding new topics and knowledge sources, customizing prompt suggestions, and testing the changes. This article will summarize these points, providing a comprehensive overview of the video content.

Enabling and Understanding Copilot Chat

To begin customizing Copilot chat, it is essential to ensure that the feature is enabled for your environment. This can be done through Microsoft Copilot Studio, which allows users to expand the capabilities of Copilot chat beyond handling Microsoft Dataverse tables and out-of-the-box skills. However, it is crucial to note that this is a preview feature, meaning it is not yet intended for production use and may have limited functionality.

Once enabled, Copilot chat can be customized to make it more relevant for your organization by adding additional topics and knowledge sources. Before diving into customization, it is important to understand the basic functionalities of Copilot chat. This includes its ability to handle Q&A, provide out-of-the-box skills, and interact with Microsoft Dataverse tables.

Customizing Copilot Chat: Adding Knowledge and Topics

One of the primary ways to enhance Copilot chat is by adding new knowledge sources. This can be achieved through Microsoft Copilot Studio, where users can link external public-facing websites or upload internal organizational documents. By doing so, Copilot chat can respond to queries that are not part of the app data, providing users with more comprehensive answers.

Additionally, users can add new topics to their app's Copilot agent. These topics can be customized to respond with simple messages, adaptive cards, or generative answers. Moreover, they can initiate actions like flows, connectors, and Dataverse plug-ins, allowing seamless integration with external systems. This flexibility enables users to tailor Copilot chat to meet specific organizational needs.

Customizing Prompt Suggestions for Better Interactions

Another critical aspect of customizing Copilot chat is modifying the prompt guide. A prompt library consists of prewritten, tested, and optimized prompts that help shape interactions and responses. By customizing the prompt guide, users can ensure that Copilot chat provides relevant and contextually appropriate information based on user preferences.

The process involves adding specific queries to the prompt guide, which can be done by appending a Power Apps Help section to the existing out-of-the-box guide. Users can also copy sample code directly from the prompt guide sample to create new topics. These prompts are stored in the Copilot Studio agent used for the app, ensuring consistency across interactions.

Testing and Additional Customization Ideas

Once customizations are made, it is crucial to test the changes to ensure they function as intended. Copilot Studio offers an inline capability to "Test your agent," allowing users to validate topics as they are added. However, it is important to note that some topics using out-of-the-box model-driven app custom variables can only be tested in the published Copilot.

Beyond the basics, there are numerous additional customization ideas that users can explore. For example, users can set conditions to prompt entries based on specific app names or page contexts. They can also assign priority values to triggers, ensuring that higher-priority topics are addressed first. These advanced customizations allow users to fine-tune Copilot chat to align with their unique requirements.

Challenges and Considerations

While customizing Copilot chat offers numerous benefits, it also presents certain challenges. One of the primary challenges is ensuring that the customizations do not negatively impact performance. Users must carefully balance the addition of new knowledge sources and topics with the overall efficiency of Copilot chat.

Moreover, users must be mindful of the limitations associated with preview features. Since these features are not yet meant for production use, they may have restricted functionality and are subject to change. Therefore, users should approach customization with caution and be prepared to adapt to any updates or changes in the feature.

In conclusion, April Dunnam's tutorial on customizing Copilot chat provides valuable insights for users looking to enhance their Power Apps AI experience. By following the steps outlined in the video, users can create a more intelligent and helpful Copilot chat tailored to their organization's needs. However, it is essential to consider the tradeoffs and challenges involved in the customization process to achieve the desired results effectively.

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