Blake Scarlavai’s Blog

D365 & Power Platform – News, Tips & Tricks

  • Upcoming Deprecations in Copilot for Dynamics 365 Sales

    Microsoft has announced two upcoming changes to Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales, both taking effect in September 2025. These deprecations are being rolled out on a region-by-region basis and represent a shift in how sellers will engage with Copilot capabilities.

    1. Emails That Need Follow-Up in Copilot

    Currently, sellers can rely on a “Show emails that need follow-up” prompt in Copilot to quickly surface important emails that may require attention. Beginning September 2025, this prompt will be deprecated.

    After this change, the dedicated prompt will no longer be available, meaning sellers won’t see a curated list of follow-up emails inside Copilot.

    What to use instead:

    • Copilot’s in-flow summarization features will continue to provide intelligent insights directly within emails and threads.
    • Natural language prompts can still be used to identify follow-up needs, giving sellers flexibility without relying on a fixed shortcut.

    The change aligns with Microsoft’s broader push to make Copilot more conversational and adaptive, encouraging sellers to use open-ended queries rather than fixed commands.

    2. Full-Screen Copilot View in Dynamics 365 Sales

    Another change affects how sellers launch and interact with Copilot. The full-screen view—accessible from the site map in Dynamics 365 Sales—will be deprecated in September 2025.

    This means sellers will no longer be able to open Copilot as a dedicated immersive experience.

    What to use instead:

    • Copilot will remain available in the side pane, embedded directly into grids and forms.
    • Sellers will see contextual banner summaries without leaving their current workspace.

    This adjustment reduces context switching, ensuring Copilot is always present where sellers are working, instead of requiring them to step out into a separate canvas. It reflects Microsoft’s strategy of weaving AI into the flow of work rather than making it an isolated destination.

    Why These Changes Matter

    Both deprecations highlight Microsoft’s direction for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales:

    • From fixed prompts to flexible natural language.
    • From separate experiences to embedded assistance.

    For sellers, the practical takeaway is simple: Copilot isn’t going away—it’s becoming more integrated, context-aware, and aligned with daily workflows.

    ✅ Next steps for organizations:

    • Review any sales training or adoption materials that reference the deprecated prompt or full-screen Copilot option.
    • Encourage teams to practice using natural language queries and side-pane Copilot features ahead of the September 2025 change.
    • Stay tuned for additional updates as Microsoft continues to evolve Copilot’s capabilities.
  • Proactive Monitoring with Power Platform Alerts (Preview)

    Proactive Monitoring with Power Platform Alerts (Preview)

    Administrators managing Power Platform environments can now take advantage of a preview feature that lets them create alert rules to oversee the health and performance of their apps and flows. This capability empowers tenant or environment admins to define thresholds for critical metrics and receive timely notifications when things take a turn.

    Smart Alerting: What You Can Do

    • Alert rules are custom conditions you configure—such as a usage spike or performance degradation—that watch over your environments.
    • When these conditions are met, a triggered alert fires, and you can examine which resources are involved and get suggestions for remediation.

    Why Use These Alerts?

    • Catch unexpected behavior—for instance, a sudden surge in app launches within the default environment.
    • Spot health issues early and partner with creators/makers to resolve them.
    • Monitor production performance—like slow-loading apps—so your user experience stays smooth.

    Who Can Access This Feature?

    • Only tenant or environment administrators can set up or manage alerts.
    • Alerts are limited to Managed Environments, and the feature is only available in the new Power Platform admin center.

    Setting Up an Alert—Step by Step

    1. Log into the Power Platform admin center.
    2. Head over to Monitor, then go to the Alerts section.
    3. Click + Alert rule to begin.
    4. Provide:
      • A name for the alert.
      • The product to monitor (Power Apps or Power Automate).
      • The type of product (e.g., Canvas app, Model-driven app, Cloud flow).
      • The scope—such as monitoring all canvas apps in a specific environment.
      • The specific environment (ID) to monitor.
      • The metric for evaluation (e.g., execution time, error rate).
      • A logical operator (Is Under, Is Over, Equals) for the threshold.
      • A value for that threshold.
      • The severity level (Low, Medium, High).
      • The notification preference, including up to five email recipients or opt‑out if you prefer manual monitoring.
    5. Click Save—the system evaluates the alert immediately and sets it to run daily as new data comes in.

    When Alerts Go Off—What Happens Next

    If you’ve chosen email notifications, alerts will be delivered from PowerPlat‑noreply@microsoft.com. The email includes a Go to Alert button, directing you to a full overview of triggered alerts and affected resources. Each resource panel provides metric history and improvement suggestions (if applicable).

    Keep in Mind: Key Considerations

    • Though there’s no limit to how many alert rules you can create, only 25 alert rules can be active at one time—so review and clean them up as needed.
    • Alerts run on a daily cycle, evaluating the latest 24-hour aggregate data—so it’s not real-time.

  • Microsoft announces 2025 Release Wave 2 Plans!

    Microsoft announces 2025 Release Wave 2 Plans!

    2025 Release Wave 2 plans for D365 and Power Platform were announced!

    I’m looking forward to seeing the Copilot capabilities for Customer Insights Data & Journeys. Preview features should start rolling out in early August, be on the look out!

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/blog/business-leader/2025/07/16/2025-release-wave-2-plans-for-microsoft-dynamics-365-microsoft-power-platform-and-role-based-microsoft-copilot-offerings/

  • 2025 Release Wave 1 – Row Summaries in Model-Driven Apps (Preview)

    Microsoft’s 2025 Release Wave 1 introduces a powerful new feature: Custom Row Summaries for model-driven apps (preview). This enhancement expands upon existing AI-driven capabilities, allowing users to summarize records for virtually any table, both native and custom.

    Check it out in my new video below!

  • Visualizing Data with Copilot Preview: A Game-Changer for Efficiency

    In the ever-evolving landscape of data analysis and visualization, Microsoft’s Copilot Preview introduces a groundbreaking feature that simplifies data representation. The latest release, part of the 2025 Wave 1 update, enables users to visualize data in a view with a single click, minimizing manual configuration while enhancing accessibility and efficiency. This article explores the functionalities, benefits, and potential applications of this feature.

    What is the Copilot Visualization Feature?

    The Copilot visualization feature allows users to generate dynamic charts based on the columns displayed in their view. Instead of manually creating static charts, Copilot intelligently selects relevant data fields and visualizes them automatically.

    This feature, currently in preview, is accessible through a dedicated button in the UI, streamlining the process of creating meaningful data visualizations.

    How to Enable the Feature

    To start using the Copilot visualization feature, follow these simple steps:

    1. Access the Admin Portal: Navigate to your environment settings.
    2. Enable AI Features: Under the ‘Features’ section, ensure that both ‘Natural Language Grid and View Search’ and ‘Allow AI to Generate Charts’ are activated.
    3. Start Visualizing Data: Once enabled, the visualization button appears within the grid interface, allowing users to generate charts instantly.

    Key Features and Benefits

    • Automated Data Visualization – Reduces manual effort by dynamically generating relevant charts.
    • Enhanced Natural Language Processing – Users can refine visualizations by using natural language queries, such as filtering accounts by populated city fields.
    • Interactive and Customizable – Provides options to change chart types, copy visualizations, and share them via emails or Teams.
    • Improved Data Insights – Helps users quickly interpret data trends, such as geographical distribution of accounts, without needing advanced data analytics skills.

    Practical Use Cases

    1. Business Analytics: Sales and marketing teams can leverage this tool to identify high-performing regions or product trends.
    2. Project Management: Teams can visualize project progress dynamically, tracking key performance indicators.
    3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Users can segment and analyze customer data efficiently without extensive dashboard configurations.

    What I’d like to see from future iterations:

    • Smarter field selection algorithms.
    • Expanded integration with external datasets.
    • More sophisticated natural language processing capabilities.

  • Power Automate Automation Center: Enhancing Workflow Governance

    Microsoft’s Power Automate continues to evolve, offering businesses and IT administrators advanced tools for managing automation workflows efficiently. One of the latest additions, the Automation Center, provides enhanced governance and monitoring capabilities, leveraging AI-driven insights via Copilot. This article explores its features, benefits, and practical applications.

    What is the Automation Center?

    The Automation Center is a centralized hub within Power Automate that allows users to monitor and manage their automation workflows. It provides detailed insights into running flows, errors, and performance metrics, ensuring smooth automation governance.

    How to Access the Automation Center

    To access the Automation Center:

    1. Go to Power Automate – Navigate to Power Automate.
    2. Locate the Automation Center – Click on ‘More’ and pin the Automation Center for easy access.
    3. Explore Key Metrics – View top-level flow data, identify recurring issues, and optimize performance.

    Key Features and Benefits

    • Real-Time Flow Monitoring – Gain visibility into active flows and execution status.
    • Error Tracking & Resolution – Identify failing workflows and troubleshoot with AI-generated insights.
    • AI-Powered Queries – Use Copilot to ask natural language queries such as “What are the latest flow runs?”
    • Customizable Dashboards – Tailor views to monitor specific automation processes.
    • Documentation Integration – Easily reference Microsoft Learn documentation for troubleshooting.

    Practical Applications

    1. Business Process Automation: Companies can track workflow efficiency and identify bottlenecks.
    2. IT Governance: Administrators can oversee flow executions, ensuring compliance and system health.
    3. Error Prevention: AI-driven monitoring helps preempt failures before they impact operations.

    Future Enhancements and Considerations

    Currently, the Automation Center focuses on individual environments. A future improvement could include tenant-wide visibility, enabling administrators to manage automation at a broader organizational level.