New Release｜Copilot + Agents, a new era of intelligent low-code development

At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we collectively reflected on the transformation that Microsoft Power Platform has undergone, and the results have been amazing. To date, nearly 600,000 organizations have used AI-powered features such as Smart Copilot Co-Pilot® in the Microsoft Power Platform, a number that is up 4x year-over-year from last year.

At the end of a successful sneak preview program, we are pleased to announce that Microsoft Copilot Copilot Studio's Autonomous Intelligence feature is now available in a preview version, enabling more customers and users to build powerful autonomous intelligences for a wide range of usage scenarios. At the same time, Power Platform has received a major update designed to further empower developers. In addition, we will share insights on Microsoft Power Platform and the simplified management of intelligences in terms of security and governance.

Over the past year, we've witnessed how Smart Copilot Co-Pilot® and Intelligent Bodies have reshaped business processes to revolutionize what we build, spawning innovations such as Smart Apps and AI Intelligent Bodies. Additionally, the deeper integration of automation and AI has not only fundamentally changed the way we build, but has also unlocked faster, low-code development methods.

Driving Business Process Upgrades with Intelligentsia: Refreshing the Content We Build

For years, Microsoft Power Platform has been empowering organizations to create, deploy applications with the low-code capabilities of AI convergence. Now, with Smart Copilot Co-Pilot® as the new user interface for AI, any organization can easily build powerful intelligences in Copilot Studio. These intelligences act as the organization's right-hand men and women, and greatly empower the workforce by executing business processes directly and internally without writing code. Autonomous intelligences can work independently, for example, monitoring events such as email delivery and utilizing generative AI to trigger a series of actions. By automating complex tasks, these intelligences can orchestrate workflows and collaborate without instructions from the user or team, enabling intelligent upgrades to business processes.

01 | Autonomous Intelligent Embodiment is now available in preview version

Since its debut at Microsoft Ignite 2023, Copilot Studio has transformed the workflow of organizations using AI for conversations. Users can create custom intelligences and integrate advanced AI to empower organizations to streamline customer interactions, optimize employee experiences, and deepen partner relationships.

Today, the introduction of Autonomous Intelligentsia (Preview) is a game changer. Intelligent bodies built in Copilot Studio now have the ability to operate independently, plan dynamically, and learn from processes, adapting to changing conditions and making decisions without the need for constant human intervention. These autonomous intelligences are not limited to use through chat conversations, but can be triggered by other background tasks such as data changes, events, etc., showing a wider range of applications.

At the same time, we have also launched a preview version of the agent library to allow users to select agents based on common scenarios and a preview version of autonomous triggers, so that agents can automatically respond to signals in the business and initiate appropriate tasks, making it easier to automate complex tasks and processes.

02 | Agent builder in Microsoft Power Apps now available in preview version

We are also announcing the preview release of Agent builder in Power Apps to help organizations rapidly move into a new era of AI-first. Leveraging the rich resources of knowledge, logic, and actions already embedded in apps, developers can create intelligences that autonomously handle tasks, eliminating redundant processes, redefining personal productivity, and improving business efficiency across the board.

03 |Copilot Studio Autonomous Intelligent Body Sneak Peek Program Case Results

Autonomous intelligences are expanding the boundaries of what is possible, giving rise to innovative applications and solutions that drive significant business results.

◉ Accenture, the world's leading IT services and management consulting firm, has leveraged intelligences to simplify complex operations and improve customer satisfaction.
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By joining the Microsoft Copilot Studio Sneak Peek Program for Autonomous Intelligent Bodies and combining deep industry and functional expertise, Accenture has rapidly created several high-impact, intelligent body-driven use case scenarios that have significantly improved productivity and client experience. We developed nine powerful intelligences for business operations and industries that are expected to increase operational efficiency by 401 TP3T, improve client satisfaction scores by 101 TP3T to 201 TP3T, and reduce costs by 151 TP3T.The simplicity, ease of use, and configurability of the Copilot Studio intelligences platform has played a critical role in Accenture's success.
Rich Horsman, Senior Managing Director, Global Data & AI, Accenture

◉ Pets at Home, a leader in the UK pet care industry, has created autonomous intelligences for specific business processes using Copilot Studio. Autonomous Intelligentsia, built for the Profit Protection team, is capable of efficiently preparing cases for manual review and is expected to save millions of pounds per year.
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We're using AI to automate time-consuming tasks so that our colleagues can leverage resources and expertise to make quick decisions based on massive amounts of data. This not only provides colleagues with information at their fingertips, but also allows them to devote more energy to more granular and insightful work, which greatly improves their productivity. The introduction of the Intelligent Body solution has enabled the Profit Protection team to more efficiently assess potential loss of profit cases and invest more time in skillful analysis rather than at the information gathering level.
William Hueys, Chief Information Officer, Pets at Home

Low-code into AI to improve build efficiency and change the way you build

The Microsoft Power Platform has always been about enabling rapid solution development. Today, with Smart Copilot Co-Pilot®, that vision is more real than ever. It has become possible to develop applications, automate programs, and more using natural language, images, and documents, which will increase the speed of development and make the Microsoft Power Platform more accessible and ubiquitous.

01 |Plan designer in Power Apps now available in preview version

The new Plan designer in Power Apps (preview version) is a revolution that brings AI-assisted functionality directly into the app creation process. Developers can now simply describe their business challenges and provide contextual information such as flowcharts, data models, or even screenshots of older apps, and the Intelligent Copilot® drafts user personas and requirements that developers can then refine or modify with AI assistance. Intelligent Copilot® provides real-time advice and automation in a single conversational interface, guiding developers from problem definition to solution architecture.

02 | Deep Integration with Microsoft Azure Opens Up Unlimited Possibilities

By integrating Copilot Studio with the Microsoft Azure AI Foundry Portal, users can easily import their own models, cues, and knowledge and interface with Azure services smoothly and efficiently without tedious coding.

03 |Copilot Studio comes with Azure subscription, pay-as-you-go

As access to Azure AI features in Copilot Studio increases, a flexible pricing mechanism becomes critical.On December 1, 2024, Microsoft will introduce a new option that will allow users to purchase Copilot Studio features on an on-demand, consumption-based billing basis through an existing Azure subscription. This pricing approach enables developers to realize the full potential of Azure AI and moreover empowers developers with the powerful ability to scale on demand and flexibly respond to change.

Simplifying Governance and Security to Empower Administrators

Since 2022, we have revolutionized our governance system by introducing a hosted environment to empower millions of developers worldwide.

Now, we're taking it a step further with the introduction of Managed Security and Managed Operations features. These new features provide advanced threat protection, proactive alerting and seamless disaster recovery for Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio and Dynamics 365. These features are integrated directly into the newly redesigned Power Platform Management Center, ensuring that your business applications are safe and secure, yet scalable and consistently high-performing.

Enabling developers to embrace a new AI-first era

The integration of Smart Copilot Co-Pilot® and Autonomous Intelligence is further revolutionizing the way Microsoft Power Platform is developed. These innovations go beyond process automation and are reshaping the landscape of digital innovation. With the Microsoft Power Platform, organizations can easily transform into AI-first enterprises, enabling accelerated innovation, intelligent decision-making, and creating unprecedented value for customers.