Microsoft Build 2024 Updates for Power Apps and Power Automate
TLDRThe Microsoft Build 2024 event introduced significant updates for Power Apps and Power Automate, focusing on AI-driven enhancements. New features include AI-generated Power Fx formulas, data modeling through natural language, and real-time collaborative app development. Power Automate now offers AI flows for outcome-based automation and multimodal AI recording for desktop flows. These updates aim to simplify complex tasks and improve efficiency, encouraging users to embrace AI in their workflow.
Takeaways
- 🧠 Co-pilot integration in Power Apps and Power Automate will allow users to create and understand Power Fx formulas and rich data models through natural language prompts.
- 📊 A new data modeling interface in Power Apps has been introduced, enabling users to create multiple tables and define relationships between them more intuitively.
- 🤖 The introduction of AI-flows in Power Automate aims to simplify the process of creating flows by allowing users to describe the desired outcome instead of detailing each step.
- 🔍 Co-pilot Studio will be infused within Power Apps, enabling the creation of chatbots directly within the app and enhancing the user experience with conversational abilities.
- 👥 Live co-authoring in Power Apps will allow up to 10 people to work on the same app simultaneously, improving collaboration on larger projects.
- 💻 Power Apps will soon offer the ability to view and edit the underlying code of an app, providing developers with more direct control and insight into the app's structure.
- 🛡️ A new Security Hub and co-pilot admin board are being introduced to enhance governance and security, providing insights into data sharing and vulnerabilities.
- 📝 The AI recorder in Power Automate will allow users to demonstrate a process using both words and actions, which the tool will then learn and replicate in a desktop flow.
- 🔄 Self-healing capabilities will be incorporated into AI-recorded desktop flows, enabling them to adapt to changes in software interfaces without user intervention.
- 📚 The Automation Center is being expanded to provide more information and tools for managing Power Apps environments, especially useful for large-scale operations.
- 🗣️ Users will be able to build and edit Cloud flows through conversation, with Co-pilot providing suggestions and assistance based on a deeper understanding of the user's environment and activities.
Q & A
What was the main focus of the Microsoft Build 2024 announcements for Power Apps and Power Automate?
-The main focus was on the updates for Power Apps and Power Automate, including the integration of co-pilot features for creating and understanding Power Fx formulas, data modeling, and enhancing user experience with real-time collaboration and improved security features.
How does the new co-pilot feature in Power Apps help with writing Power Fx formulas?
-The new co-pilot feature allows users to write Power Fx formulas by using a comment symbol and providing a description of the desired filter or sorting. It auto-suggests code and can also explain existing code, making it easier for users to understand and integrate it into their applications.
What is the significance of the new data modeling interface in Power Apps?
-The new data modeling interface simplifies the process of creating tables and setting up relationships between them. It allows for the creation of multiple tables at once and provides a more refined user experience, making data modeling more accessible for new users.
How does the 'Make more powerful co-pilot-infused apps' feature enhance the capabilities of Power Apps?
-This feature allows the integration of co-pilots, such as chatbots, into Power Apps. It enables the creation of rich applications that can handle both conversational abilities and data collection, providing a seamless user experience.
What is the benefit of the live co-authoring feature in Power Apps?
-Live co-authoring allows up to 10 people to work on a Power App simultaneously, addressing the previous limitation of only one person being able to work on an app at a time. This is particularly beneficial for larger projects that require multiple contributors.
How does the ability to view and edit the code behind a Power App improve the development process?
-By allowing developers to view and edit the source code directly within the Power Apps studio, it provides more insight into the app's structure and functionality. This can be particularly useful for making bulk updates and understanding the relationships within the code.
What is the purpose of the new Security Hub in Power Automate?
-The Security Hub provides a preview of governance and security features, allowing users to monitor data sharing, identify vulnerabilities, and understand updates needed for their applications. It is aimed at enhancing security and compliance for Power Automate users.
What is the concept behind AI flows in Power Automate?
-AI flows are a new concept where users describe the desired outcome they want to achieve, and the system uses AI to understand the tools and connections available to build a flow that meets the described outcome. This shifts the focus from the steps of the process to the end result.
How does the multimodal AI recording feature in Power Automate work?
-The multimodal AI recording feature allows users to demonstrate a process using both words and actions. The AI recorder observes and understands the context of the actions, then builds a desktop flow that can replicate those steps, even adapting to changes in the software or website interfaces through self-healing capabilities.
What is the significance of the self-healing feature in AI-recorded desktop flows?
-The self-healing feature ensures that the AI-recorded desktop flows can adapt to changes in the software or website interfaces without breaking. It understands the context of the user's actions and can update the steps accordingly, reducing the need for manual intervention when changes occur.
How do the updates in Power Automate aim to assist users in building and editing flows?
-The updates include the ability to build and edit flows using conversational AI, providing suggestions based on the user's environment and activities, and offering insights into the AI's decision-making process during flow execution. This assists users in refining and understanding their flows more effectively.
Outlines
🚀 Microsoft Build 2023: Power Apps and Power Automate Enhancements
The script discusses the latest updates from Microsoft Build 2023, focusing on Power Apps and Power Automate. It highlights the integration of AI with the platforms, particularly the use of 'co-pilot' to assist in creating and understanding Power Fx formulas and data models. The speaker mentions the ability to generate code suggestions and explain existing code, as well as the new data modeling interface that allows for creating multiple tables and relationships. The paragraph also touches on the upcoming features for Power Apps, such as the integration of chatbots and voice capabilities, and live co-authoring for real-time collaboration.
🔍 Power Apps: Enhanced Code Understanding and Security Features
This paragraph delves into the new features that allow users to understand and manipulate the code of their Power Apps directly within the studio. It introduces the ability to view and edit the source code in YAML format, which could be beneficial for large-scale development teams. Additionally, the script mentions the introduction of a security hub for better governance and oversight of app security, including data sharing and vulnerability management. The paragraph also hints at the first-class devops support that is expected to enhance the experience for enterprise-level app development and management.
🤖 Power Automate: AI-Driven Workflows and Desktop Automation
The script explores the advancements in Power Automate, emphasizing the new AI flows that enable users to describe the desired outcome, and the system automatically generates the workflow. It discusses the potential of AI to understand the user's connections and tools to create efficient flows. The paragraph also introduces the multimodal AI recording feature, which allows users to demonstrate a process with both words and actions, enabling the tool to build a desktop flow that can adapt to changes in the user interface, a concept known as 'self-healing.' Additionally, it mentions the ability to build desktop flows using natural language descriptions, providing more intuitive ways to create automations.
🛠 Power Platform: Streamlining Management and Enhancing User Experience
The final paragraph outlines the improvements aimed at streamlining the management of Power Platform environments and enhancing the user experience. It discusses the introduction of the automation center for better oversight of Power Apps and the integration of co-pilot to assist with Cloud flows, offering suggestions and help in fixing issues. The script also mentions the personalization of co-pilot suggestions based on user behavior and environment, aiming to provide more relevant and contextual assistance. The paragraph concludes by encouraging users to embrace the new tools and learn how to work with AI to stay ahead in the evolving landscape of automation and app development.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Power Apps
💡Power Automate
💡Co-Pilot
💡Data Modeling
💡Live Co-authoring
💡DevOps
💡Security Hub
💡AI Flows
💡Multimodal AI Recording
💡Automation Center
Highlights
Introduction to Microsoft Build 2024 updates for Power Apps and Power Automate.
New co-pilot feature to create and understand Power Fx formulas and rich data models.
Co-pilot integration with Bing search for enhanced knowledge in Power Apps.
New data modeling design for creating tables and setting up relationships.
Ability to import Excel spreadsheets directly into Power Apps as tables.
Live co-authoring feature allowing up to 10 people to work on a Power App simultaneously.
Viewing and editing the source code of Power Apps directly within the studio.
DevOps enhancements with YAML integration for larger scale development teams.
New Security Hub for better governance and understanding of data sharing and vulnerabilities.
AI-flows in Power Automate for describing outcomes instead of specifying steps.
Multimodal AI recording for automating desktop tasks with a combination of words and actions.
Self-healing feature for AI-recorded desktop flows that adapt to changes in software interfaces.
Building desktop flows with words for a more streamlined automation process.
Automation Center enhancements for better management of large environments.
Co-pilot suggestions becoming more personalized based on user activities within the environment.
Building and editing Cloud flows with conversation for improved flow creation experience.
Co-pilot's ability to help understand, fix, and improve existing flows.
Emphasis on the importance of learning and adapting to new AI tools for future-proofing skills.