The Workflows Agent: No-Code Automation Built Into Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Colin McCall, HBS Modern Workplace Analyst II
- Read time: 3 mins.
Describe an automation in plain language and Copilot will build it for you across Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Planner.
For years, automating routine work in Microsoft 365 meant opening Power Automate and wiring up triggers and connectors by hand. The Workflows agent changes that. It’s an agent inside Microsoft 365 Copilot that turns a plain-language request into a working, automated process—no designer, no connectors, no code.
Think of it as Power Automate with an AI assistant doing the building. You describe what should happen—”when this, do that”—and Workflows figures out the trigger, picks the right services, and assembles the steps. Here’s what it does, which apps it touches, how to turn it on, and how to build and manage your first automation.
Core M365 apps
Lines of code
Ways to trigger
Frontier program
What Is Workflows Agent?
Workflows is an agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot that helps you automate work across Microsoft 365 using natural language. Instead of manually configuring steps or connectors, you describe what you want and Workflows generates a working process using supported Microsoft 365 services. Its sibling, the App Builder agent, creates interactive apps you open and use. Workflows does something different: it builds automated processes that run in the background so routine tasks get done without anyone having to remember to do them.
What You Can Do with Workflows
Build
- Automated tasks across the M365 apps your team already uses—Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Planner
- Workflows that run on a schedule or react to events, no manual trigger required
- User input collected and saved through adaptive cards in Teams
- Your Microsoft 365 data—calendar, tasks, lists—put to work without writing codea
Refine
- Full visibility into generated steps before anything runs
- A visual designer for testing and refining workflows after they’re built
- Run-by-run monitoring so you can see exactly where a step succeeded or failed
- Simple on/off controls — pause a workflow or remove it entirely
Which Apps and Actions Does Workflows Support?
Microsoft documents Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Planner as the supported apps. In the current preview, the actions available within each look like this—expect the list to grow as the feature matures:
| Application | What Workflows Can Do Today |
|---|---|
| Outlook | Send, read, and reply to emails |
| Teams | Post messages and collect input with adaptive cards |
| SharePoint | Create and read list items |
| Planner | Create tasks and assign people |
| Dataverse | Run AI prompts to summarize and organize data |
| User Profile | Look up managers and related org data |
How to Turn Workflows On
Check the prerequisites. You'll need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and enrollment in the Frontier program, which provides early access to experimental features.
Add the agent. In Microsoft 365 Copilot, open Agents in the left navigation and add "Workflows Agent (Frontier)" from the Agent Store. It then appears under Agents.
Clear the admin path. In the Power Platform admin center, make sure your DLP policy allows the connectors Workflows uses—SharePoint, Approvals, Teams, Planner, M365Copilot, and Outlook—plus the AI actions connector and the AI prompt feature (PredictionSchema enabled in Dataverse).
How to Build a Workflow
Describe it in plain language. Open Workflows Agent (Frontier) and type what you want to happen, including the trigger and the actions.
Name the services. Mention the specifics—your Outlook inbox, the Teams chat or channel, how to summarize the data—so Workflows connects to the right places. If it can't find a match, it'll ask you to confirm.
Review and save. Check the generated trigger and steps, adjust if needed, then save.
Example: Weekday Inbox Digest
"Each weekday morning, review my unread emails from the last 24 hours, flag anything high-priority or time-sensitive, organize them into Needs Response, For Your Information, and Other Important Emails, and send the summary to me on Teams."
That one sentence becomes a scheduled workflow that triggers each weekday, scans your inbox, builds the three-section digest, and posts it to Teams—no flow diagram required.
Test, Monitor and Manage
Test
After saving, you’re prompted to test—or use the Test button to simulate the trigger and review the run history, outputs, and errors.
Monitor
The Activity page breaks down each trigger and action, showing whether it succeeded or failed. Open a run for detailed insights.
Manage
Turn workflows on or off from the list—turning one off pauses its automation—or delete it permanently. Deletes can’t be undone.
Note on Availability
The Workflows agent is part of the Frontier early-access program, so it's still evolving—features may change, the occasional preview error is normal, and access is rolling out by market and language (starting with the U.S. and English). Confirm what's enabled for your tenant before relying on it for production automations, and start with a low-stakes workflow to get comfortable.
Ready to automate the routine?
The HBS Modern Workplace team can help you confirm licensing and Frontier access, set up the Power Platform prerequisites, and design automations that fit how your team works.
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