Create AI plugins for copilots with finance and operations business logic (preview)

This article explains how to create AI plugins that integrate finance and operations business logic within Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. These plugins are registered in the Dataverse plugin registry and can be leveraged in copilot experiences, allowing customization and extension of AI capabilities by reusing existing business logic.

Overview

• AI plugins enable invoking finance and operations business logic in copilot experiences.
• Plugins are registered in Dataverse plugin registry within Power Platform.
• The feature is currently in preview and targets developers and technical professionals working with Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.
• Using AI plugins supports consistency by reusing validated business logic through AI interactions.

Key Concepts

• AI Plugin: A plugin authored with finance and operations business logic exposed to Dataverse AI capabilities.
• Dataverse plugin registry: Central repository for registering and managing AI plugins usable by copilot.
• Copilot experiences: AI-powered assistants embedded in Dynamics 365 applications providing context-aware help and automation.

How to Create AI Plugins

Prerequisites

• Access to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations environment.
• Permissions to register plugins in Dataverse.
• Development environment setup with required SDK and tools.

Steps to Create and Register an AI Plugin

1. Develop the AI Plugin:

   • Write the AI plugin using finance and operations business logic in X++ or supported languages.
   • Ensure the plugin exposes required methods and interfaces compatible with Dataverse.

2. Register the Plugin in Dataverse:

   • Navigate to Dataverse plugin registry in Power Apps admin center.
   • Register the new AI plugin by providing metadata like name, description, and exposed methods.

3. Configure Security and Access:

   • Assign appropriate permissions to control who can invoke the AI plugin.
   • Set data policies and access controls as required.

4. Test the AI Plugin:

   • Use copilot experiences to test interactions with the registered AI plugin.
   • Debug and iterate based on feedback and logs.

5. Deploy and Monitor:

   • Deploy the AI plugin to production environments.
   • Monitor usage and performance, update as necessary.

Benefits

• Reuse of existing validated business logic reduces errors.
• Enables rich AI-driven automation tailored to finance and operations scenarios.
• Supports multi-application integration via Dataverse.
• Improves AI effectiveness in copilot by incorporating business context.

Additional Resources

• Official SDKs and tools documentation.
• Sample AI plugins illustrating typical use cases.
• Guidelines on security and data governance for AI plugins.

For detailed instructions, code examples, and best practices, refer to the full Microsoft Learn article:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/copilot/copilot-ai-plugins

Tutorial - Create AI tools for copilots with finance and operations business logic

This tutorial from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations explains how to create AI tools (plugins) that integrate finance and operations business logic to be used within AI copilot experiences. It guides developers through building these AI tooling components so that agents embedded in the Dynamics environment can leverage trusted enterprise data and business rules seamlessly.

Key Steps Overview:

1. Set up your development environment:

   • Have Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations configured.
   • Install required tools like Visual Studio and necessary SDKs.

2. Create a new AI plugin project:

   • Start a new project for your AI tool (called an AI plugin).
   • Choose appropriate templates and set project properties.

3. Define business logic access:

   • Implement logic in X++ or C# that accesses Finance & Operations data and enforces business rules.
   • Use standard APIs and data entities to ensure secure, compliant data access.

4. Implement AI plugin interfaces:

   • Follow the interface contracts required for copilot AI tools (such as input/output message handling).
   • Ensure the plugin can process requests and generate contextually relevant responses.

5. Deploy and register the AI plugin:

   • Publish the compiled AI plugin to your Dynamics 365 environment.
   • Register the plugin so that copilots can discover and invoke it.

6. Test your AI plugin:

   • Validate that the AI tool behaves as expected in various scenarios.
   • Check that business logic and data integration work properly.

7. Integrate with copilot experiences:

   • Configure agents or copilot interfaces to call your custom AI plugin.
   • Enhance user productivity with automated decision support and intelligent suggestions within Finance & Operations apps.

Additional Details:

• The tutorial covers both conceptual understanding and hands-on implementation.
• Using AI plugins allows organizations to extend the out-of-the-box copilot capabilities with trusted, customized business processes.
• This approach enables AI copilots not just to generate generic suggestions but to use enterprise logic to improve accuracy and compliance.
• Developers should follow best practices on security, data privacy, and performance when creating and deploying AI plugins.

For full details, step-by-step instructions, code examples, and deployment guidance, see the original Microsoft Learn article:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/copilot/tutorial-create-ai-plugins

Architecture of Copilot in Finance and Operations Apps - Dynamics 365

This article provides an overview of the Copilot architecture within Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations applications, detailing its main components such as the user interface and plugin framework.

Summary

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot integrates AI-driven assistance directly into finance and operations apps, enabling users to interact with the system using natural language prompts and receive context-aware responses and actions.

Key Components

Copilot Interface

• Provides a chat-like experience inside the application.
• Users type or speak natural language questions or commands.
• The interface communicates with underlying plugins to process user requests.
• Results are displayed contextually, sometimes with suggested next steps or actions.

Copilot Plugins

• Plugins encapsulate logic for specific business domains or tasks.
• They interact with Dynamics 365 data and services.
• Plugins enable AI to take actions such as querying data, generating documents, or updating records.
• New plugins can be developed and integrated to extend Copilot capabilities.

Architecture Overview

• Copilot components run as cloud services integrated with Dynamics 365.
• Communication between the Copilot interface and plugins occurs through defined APIs.
• The system leverages Azure AI services for natural language understanding.
• Security and compliance follow Dynamics 365 standards to protect data.

Impact

• Enhances user productivity by enabling natural language interaction.
• Facilitates faster data-driven decisions and automation of routine tasks.
• Supports extensibility through customizable plugins tailored to business needs.

Reference Link

For complete details, visit:
Architecture of Copilot in finance and operations apps - Microsoft Learn

Set up and configure the Supplier Communications Agent (production ready preview)

This article explains how to set up the Supplier Communications Agent to automate and streamline vendor communications within Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.

Overview

The Supplier Communications Agent enables automated electronic communication with suppliers for processes such as purchase orders, acknowledgments, advanced shipping notices, and invoices. This agent helps reduce manual effort and improve the efficiency and accuracy of supplier interactions.

Key Setup and Configuration Steps

1. Prerequisites

   • Ensure Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management environment is set up and accessible.
   • Electronic reporting and document exchange frameworks should be configured.
   • You have appropriate permissions to configure procurement and supply chain settings.

2. Enable Supplier Communications Agent feature

   • Navigate to Feature Management in Dynamics 365 SCM.
   • Locate the Supplier Communications Agent feature and enable it.

3. Configure the agent

   • Go to Procurement and Sourcing > Setup > Supplier Communications Agent.
   • Define parameters for the agent such as:
     • Communication channels (e.g., email, EDI, portals).
     • Supported document types.
     • Error handling rules.
     • Frequency and schedule for running the agent.

4. Supplier Setup

   • Navigate to Procurement and Sourcing > Vendors.
   • For each vendor that should participate in automated communications, configure electronic document delivery preferences and connection details.
   • Set up identifiers needed for supplier system integration.

5. Message templates and mappings

   • Define or customize document templates and data mappings to align with supplier requirements.
   • Use the Electronic Reporting framework to manage these templates.

6. Run and monitor the agent

   • Trigger the Supplier Communications Agent manually or schedule automated runs.
   • Monitor the communications status, logs, and error reports under the agent workspace.
   • Troubleshoot issues using diagnostic messages and logs.

Benefits

• Automates order-to-cash and procure-to-pay communication workflows.
• Reduces manual data entry and errors.
• Enhances supplier collaboration and processing speed.
• Supports multiple communication channels and document standards.

Additional Considerations

• Keep templates and mappings up to date with supplier changes.
• Integrate with other Dynamics 365 modules for end-to-end business process automation.
• Train procurement teams for using monitoring and exception handling capabilities.

For detailed configuration parameters, troubleshooting, and examples, refer to the official Microsoft documentation.

Reference:
Set up and configure the Supplier Communications Agent - Microsoft Learn