Send Emails from your Custom Copilot with Power Automate! 🤖

Amelia Roberts demonstrates the integration of Power Automate with Microsoft’s CoPilot Studio in a step-by-step guide. In this tutorial, users learn how to enhance custom CoPilots by automating email communication, adding efficiency to their chatbots. The process shows how to ask users for an email address and automate sending a confirmation email using Power Automate. Below is a detailed breakdown of the workflow.

1. Setting Up Power Automate in CoPilot Studio

To start, Amelia enters CoPilot Studio, where she selects a pre-created CoPilot. From there, she navigates to the “Thank You” topic, a default feature in most CoPilots, and customizes it to include Power Automate. This integration allows the CoPilot to respond to user inputs, request an email address, and trigger an automated email once the user has confirmed their email.

2. Creating Email Variables and Setting Global Access

Next, Amelia explains the importance of defining an email variable within the chat flow. She adds a node to ask users if they would like to join the email subscription and configures the response field to identify and store the email address as a global variable, enabling its use across multiple topics.

3. Integrating Power Automate for Email Automation

Once the email variable is set, Amelia launches Power Automate directly from CoPilot Studio by adding an “Action” node. She creates a new flow within Power Automate to automate the process of sending a confirmation email. The flow includes:

• Input: Email address captured from the CoPilot’s variable.
• Action: Using Power Automate’s “Send an Email” feature via Outlook.
• Output: A message confirming the email has been sent both within the CoPilot chat and as an actual email.

4. Customizing the Email

Amelia configures the email to be sent to the address stored in the email variable. The email contains a simple subject (“Thank you for subscribing”) and a body message confirming the user’s subscription. After setting this, she moves on to configuring the output, which provides an on-screen message in the CoPilot chat to confirm the subscription.

5. Finalizing and Testing the Flow

Once the flow is complete, Amelia connects it back to the CoPilot Studio by linking the flow’s input and output to the corresponding variables in the CoPilot chat. She saves the project and runs a test by inputting a username and email address to trigger the flow. Upon successful completion, the CoPilot notifies the user in the chat that their email has been subscribed, and a confirmation email is sent.

6. Permission Setup for Email Sending

Amelia points out that users need to grant permission for the CoPilot to access their email service (e.g., Outlook). During the first test, she shows how to review and approve permissions, ensuring that the CoPilot can send emails without further interruptions.

7. Live Testing and Completion

After successfully granting the necessary permissions, Amilia demonstrates the full process by entering a test email. The CoPilot confirms the subscription both within the chat and via email. Amelia checks her inbox to verify that the email was received, completing the full automation flow.

This tutorial provides a valuable guide for users looking to enhance their CoPilot’s functionality by integrating email automation through Power Automate. The combination of CoPilot Studio and Power Automate allows users to streamline communication with clients or customers, making it a powerful tool for organizations looking to automate routine tasks.

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