Copilot 101: Microsoft Copilot Inside of Business Central

Key Takeaways

• Overview: Business Central's Copilot is included at no extra charge with both the $70 Essentials and $100 Premium licenses. It has been available for about two years, and while opinions on its usefulness vary, it can be used for tasks like bank reconciliation and is part of the Microsoft 365 subscription, connecting seamlessly with Business Central.
• Setting up new inventory: Copilot in Business Central can suggest sales order lines, item variants, and units of measure, making it a useful tool for tasks like setting up new inventory items and assisting with customer inquiries. Users have found it to be a valuable time-saver and a practical feature in real-world scenarios, notes Shawn.
• Marketing text: Copilot in Business Central can generate marketing text for inventory items, which can be customized in tone and length for platforms like Shopify, eBay, Amazon, or your own website. This feature is helpful for overcoming creative hurdles.
• Number series: Copilot in Business Central can generate number series for tasks like initial setup or year-end adjustments, saving time on these processes. Additionally, it can build analyze lists, which are pivot versions of system lists, helping users manage and group data more efficiently.
• Analyze data: You can use Copilot in Business Central with natural language commands to create and analyze lists, saving time on repeatable tasks. Additionally, Copilot for Finance, part of the Microsoft 365 subscription, helps with tasks like data reconciliation and collections directly in Outlook, enhancing efficiency.
• Agent for sales in BC: Shawn explains that the most important feature to highlight is the upcoming public preview of Microsoft's Copilot agent for Sales in Business Central, which will handle repetitive, lower-value tasks through AI. This agent will process emails and create queues for users, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
• More agents coming: With increasing end-user adoption, Microsoft plans to steadily introduce more agents into Business Central, enhancing its competitiveness against other ERP and accounting solutions. The upcoming public preview of the sales agent in Business Central is expected to significantly impact users, showcasing the rapid advancements in AI integration.
• Final thoughts: There is great potential for Copilot agents in Business Central, such as for reconciliation, month-end closing, and payment applications. The commitment from the Microsoft Business Central product team is strong, and feedback on where to see more Copilot integration is encouraged.