Copilot features vs. AI agents

When discussing AI in Dynamics 365, it’s helpful to distinguish between Copilot features and Dynamics 365 AI agents. Copilot features are generally designed to work alongside you. They can summarize information, draft content, suggest values, and help you find data, but you remain in control of the actions being taken in the system. AI agents are more autonomous by nature. Administrators can configure agents to perform tasks or enrich data in the background using information and interactions across Microsoft tools such as Teams and Outlook. For everyday Dynamics 365 users who are getting started with AI, the built-in Copilot features are a practical place to begin.

Use Smart Paste and Form Assist to enter data

One useful Copilot capability is Form Assist with Smart Paste. When Form Assist is available on a Dynamics 365 form, you can paste information from your clipboard and allow AI to suggest which fields the information belongs in. For example, if an email contains information about a customer or company, you can copy the relevant text and paste it into Form Assist. Copilot analyzes the content and suggests values for corresponding CRM fields, such as address information, website details, and other record data. You remain in control of the process. You can review and individually select the suggestions you want to use before adding them to the record. This can be especially useful when:

• Creating new contacts or accounts from information received in an email
• Adding information copied from a company website
• Updating existing records with additional customer information
• Reducing manual data entry and potential typing errors

You can also drag files into Form Assist for Copilot to analyze, although copying and pasting information from emails or websites can be particularly convenient for day-to-day work.

Explore CRM data with natural language

Copilot can also make filtering data in Dynamics 365 easier by allowing you to describe what you’re looking for using natural language. Instead of manually building a filter, you can enter a request such as: “Give me all accounts that have a primary contact and no phone number.” Copilot interprets the request and converts it into CRM filters. The generated filters are displayed so you can see how your request was interpreted. This visibility is important because you can verify that the resulting filter matches what you intended. Natural-language data exploration can be particularly helpful for users who are new to Dynamics 365 or who are not comfortable building more advanced filters themselves. Experienced users may still prefer traditional filtering tools in some situations, but saved search history makes it easy to return to previous natural-language searches.

Use Copilot while maintaining control

A recurring theme across these Copilot features is that the user remains in control. Copilot can suggest data, generate filters, summarize records, and draft content, but these features are designed to assist with your work rather than independently perform it for you. For example, Smart Paste provides suggestions for you to approve, while natural-language data exploration creates filters rather than modifying your records. Review Copilot’s output before accepting or acting on it, just as you would with other AI-generated content.

Get quick summaries of CRM records

Copilot can generate summaries that make it easier to understand CRM records without manually reviewing every field. Built-in summary functionality is available for records such as accounts, leads, and opportunities. Depending on the record, a summary can also include information from related records. Dynamics 365 also supports row summaries within views. With row summaries configured, users can access a summary directly while browsing records rather than opening each individual record. Administrators can configure these summaries, including which fields and knowledge sources Copilot should use. Custom row summaries can be introduced for different types of records within Dynamics 365 and other Power Platform model-driven applications. This can be helpful when you’re returning to a record you haven’t worked with recently or need to quickly understand the important information associated with multiple records.

Ask Copilot about CRM information

The Copilot pane provides another way to interact with information from Dynamics 365. You can ask Copilot questions about CRM records or use suggested prompts for tasks such as preparing for a sales meeting or summarizing information. How useful this experience is will depend on your scenario and the information available in your system. For some tasks, direct record and row summaries may provide a faster way to get the information you need.

Draft emails with Copilot

Copilot can also assist with drafting emails directly inside Dynamics 365. When creating an email from a record’s timeline, you can use Copilot’s drafting capabilities to generate a starting point based on information associated with the CRM record. This experience is similar to AI-assisted drafting available in Outlook, so its usefulness depends on where you spend most of your time. For someone who primarily works in Outlook, drafting there may already meet their needs. For a customer service user who spends much of the day inside Dynamics 365 responding to customers, generating drafts directly in CRM can be especially useful. Whichever approach you use, review and personalize AI-generated drafts before sending them.

Understand Copilot and Dynamics 365 licensing

Your access to Copilot functionality depends on your Dynamics 365 application, licensing, configuration, and the features enabled by your organization. As a general baseline discussed in this Fast Class, many of the demonstrated Dynamics 365 Sales Copilot features are included with Sales Enterprise licensing, while Sales Professional generally does not include the same set of Copilot capabilities. Organizations that need additional functionality, particularly AI agent capabilities and associated capacity, may consider higher licensing levels such as Sales Premium or Customer Service Premium. Because requirements vary by application and scenario, organizations should evaluate the specific Copilot and agent capabilities they need when choosing licensing.

Start with practical Copilot features

You don’t need to begin with complex AI agents to benefit from Copilot in Dynamics 365. Start with practical features that support tasks you already perform:

• Use Smart Paste to reduce manual data entry.
• Describe filters in natural language to explore CRM data.
• Use row and record summaries to understand information faster.
• Ask Copilot questions about records when appropriate.
• Generate email drafts when working directly inside Dynamics 365.
• Review Copilot suggestions and remain in control of the final result.

Different features will provide different levels of value depending on your role. For example, someone who works extensively with customer service emails may get more value from email drafting than a user who rarely sends email from Dynamics 365. The best approach is to try the features available in your environment and identify which ones make your everyday CRM tasks faster and easier.