Post 4: Just Ask – Unlocking Insights with Natural Language Query

Post 4: Just Ask – Unlocking Insights with Natural Language Query 

Introduction

For decades, getting answers from an ERP system meant one of two things: mastering complex grid filters (Advanced Filter/Sort) or waiting days for a developer to build a custom report. If you wanted to know "Who are my top customers in California?", you had to know the exact field names and logic to get the list.

In Part 4 of our AI series, we look at Natural Language Query, a feature that democratizes data access by letting you simply ask for what you need.

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Caption: No code, no filters—just plain English.

What is Natural Language Query?

This feature allows users to interact with data grids and lists using everyday language. Powered by Copilot, D365 Finance & Operations translates your plain English questions into the complex query syntax the system understands.

Instead of clicking "Filter" -> "Add Condition" -> "Field: Status" -> "Value: Open," you simply type: "Show me open orders."

Examples of What You Can Ask

The flexibility is impressive. Here are a few ways users are utilizing this today:

• Sales: "Show me sales orders from last month where the total is greater than $10,000."

• Inventory: "List all items with low stock levels."

• Finance: "Display vendors with payment terms of Net 45."

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Caption: The system dynamically applies filters based on your question.

Why This Matters

1. Speed: Ad-hoc analysis becomes instantaneous. You don't need to export to Excel just to filter data.

2. Accessibility: Managers who aren't "power users" of D365 can still get their own answers without relying on IT.

3. Discovery: It helps users find data even if they don't know the exact technical name of the column (e.g., typing "Client" might correctly search the "Customer Name" field).

A Note for Developers

You might be wondering: "Does this bypass security?" The answer is no. Copilot respects all existing security roles and Row Level Security (RLS). If a user doesn't have permission to see a specific legal entity or data field, Natural Language Query won't show it to them.

However, as developers, we need to ensure our Table and Field labels are clear. Copilot relies on meaningful metadata to understand that "Qty" means "Quantity." 

Revolutionizing Cash Flow – The AI Collections Coordinator

 Revolutionizing Cash Flow – The AI Collections Coordinator

Get Paid Faster: How Copilot Transforms Credit and Collections in D365 FO  

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Introduction

The "Collections" department often has the hardest job in finance. Agents spend hours digging through aged balances, reading months of email threads, and piecing together payment promises just to make a single phone call. It is manual, tedious, and prone to error.

In Part 3 of our series, we explore how Copilot steps into the role of a Collections Coordinator, turning hours of research into seconds of insight.

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Caption: Moving from chaotic manual tracking to AI-assisted precision.

The Problem: Information Overload

Before calling a customer about an overdue invoice, an agent needs to know:

1. What is the total outstanding amount?

2. When did we last speak?

3. Did they promise to pay next week?

Gathering this information usually requires clicking through five different screens. Copilot changes this by consolidating everything into a single, AI-generated summary.

How Copilot Helps

When you open the Collections Coordinator workspace, Copilot analyzes the customer's history and provides:

• Instant Account Summaries: It reads recent activities, notes, and payment history to give you a natural language summary (e.g., "Customer X has a large overdue balance but promised to pay invoice #123 by Friday").

• Drafting Communication: Copilot can draft a reminder email for you. It pulls the specific invoice numbers, dates, and amounts, striking the right tone—polite for a first reminder, or firm for a severely overdue account.

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Caption: Copilot summarizes the account status instantly.

Real-World Impact

This feature is a game-changer for cash flow. By removing the 15 minutes of "prep time" needed before every collection call, agents can contact more customers per day. The AI-drafted emails ensure that communication is professional and accurate, reducing the risk of human error (like citing the wrong invoice number).

, just a friendly reminder regarding invoice #555..."] Caption: Auto-drafted emails that are personalized and accurate.

A Note for Developers & Admins

To get this working, you aren't writing code, but you are managing connectivity. This feature relies on the connection between D365 Finance and the Dataverse. As a technical lead, ensuring your Dual-write or Virtual Entity configurations are healthy is critical for Copilot to access the data it needs to generate these summaries. 

Empowering Users: How Copilot’s Generative Help is Changing D365 Training

 Empowering Users: How Copilot’s Generative Help is Changing D365 Training 

Introduction

We have all been there. You are working in a complex form in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, you encounter a field you don't recognize, and you have to stop. You open a new tab, search through Microsoft Learn (or a dusty PDF manual), and try to find the answer.

In Part 2 of our AI series, we look at Generative Help and Guidance—a feature that aims to make those interruptions a thing of the past by bringing the answers directly to you.

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Caption: Transforming confusion into clarity with in-app AI assistance.

What is Generative Help?

Generative Help uses the power of AI to ingest public documentation (like Microsoft Learn) and potentially your organization's own process guides. When a user asks a question like "How do I release a product to a specific legal entity?" inside the Copilot sidecar, the AI generates a concise, step-by-step answer right then and there.

How It Works Under the Hood

It isn't just searching for keywords. Copilot understands the context of the form you are currently viewing.

1. Context Awareness: If you are on the "All Vendors" form, Copilot knows your questions are likely about procurement or vendor management.

2. Summarization: Instead of giving you a link to a 10-page article, it reads the article for you and summarizes the exact steps needed.

3. Navigation: In some advanced scenarios, Copilot can even guide you to the specific menu item you need.

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Caption: Instant answers without leaving the workflow.

The Benefit for Businesses

For organizations, the ROI here is clear:

• Reduced Onboarding Time: New employees spend less time reading manuals and more time working.

• Fewer Support Tickets: Users can solve simple "how-to" problems themselves.

• Standardization: Everyone gets consistent answers based on the official documentation.

A Note for Developers

While this feature is largely "out of the box," developers and admins play a crucial role in enabling it. You must ensure that the feature is enabled in Feature Management and that your users have the correct security privileges to access the Copilot pane. 

The AI Revolution in ERP – Meeting Copilot in D365 Finance & Operations

 Introduction

The world of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is undergoing a massive shift. For years, we’ve relied on manual data entry, complex grids, and rigid reporting. But with Microsoft's introduction of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, the game has changed. This isn't just a chatbot; it's an AI assistant deeply embedded into your daily workflows.

In this first post of our 5-part series, we will explore what Copilot actually is within the D365 FO ecosystem and why it matters for developers and end-users alike.

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Caption: AI meets ERP: The new standard for business operations.

What is Copilot in D365 FO?

Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to interact with your data. Unlike traditional automation that follows strict "If/Then" rules, Copilot understands natural language.

It allows users to:

• Ask questions about their data in plain English.

• Draft content like collection letters or emails automatically.

• Analyze trends without needing to build a complex Power BI report from scratch.

Key Capabilities at a Glance

Feature	Description	Benefit
Generative Help	Context-aware guidance inside the app.	Reduces training time for new users.
Collections Coordinator	AI-generated summaries of customer accounts.	Speeds up cash flow recovery.
Natural Language Query	"Show me sales from last week."	Removes the need for complex filtering knowledge.

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Caption: The Copilot sidecar providing instant account summaries.

Why Should Developers Care?

For us developers (specifically X++ engineers), this changes how we think about customization. We are moving away from building rigid reports and toward enabling data entities that AI can understand. The future of development involves configuring Copilot to ensure it accesses the right data securely.

Financial Control: Automating Invoice Matching with Copilot

 Financial Control: Automating Invoice Matching with Copilot

Section	Content
Title	The 3-Way Match Revolution: Copilot Automates Invoice Validation in D365 Finance
Body	Accounts Payable teams rejoice! The tedious process of three-way matching (Purchase Order, Product Receipt, and Vendor Invoice) is now getting an AI boost. Copilot in D365 Finance can analyze incoming vendor invoices, proactively flag discrepancies, and even suggest resolutions based on historical patterns and tolerance settings. This not only accelerates invoice processing but drastically reduces the risk of incorrect payments and fraudulent activity. The result is a faster, more accurate, and more compliant AP process that saves significant time during month-end closing.
Technical Focus	This feature utilizes AI within the Vendor Invoice Automation module. IT teams should verify the configurations for matching policies and tolerances in the Accounts Payable parameters. The AI suggestions are surfaced directly within the pending vendor invoices form.
Official Microsoft Reference	Automate Invoice Matching with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance
YouTube URL	Automate Accounts Payable with Dynamics 365

AI in HR: Smarter Employee Q&A with Dynamics 365 Human Resources

 AI in HR: Smarter Employee Q&A with Dynamics 365 Human Resources

Section	Content
Title	The End of HR Help Desk Overload? AI-Powered Employee Self-Service in D365 HR
Body	Dynamics 365 Human Resources is empowering employees and freeing up HR teams with intelligent self-service tools. Using AI, the system provides instant, accurate answers to common employee questions about policies, benefits, and time off. Why this matters: Instead of escalating simple inquiries (like "What is the policy for bereavement leave?"), the employee interacts with a smart chat interface that retrieves information directly from your organization’s documents and D365 HR data. This dramatically improves the employee experience and allows HR professionals to focus on strategic tasks rather than administrative queries.
Technical Focus	This capability relies on the underlying Dataverse and AI models trained on your specific policy documents. Integrators should look into how custom HR documents are indexed and connected to the Q&A service. The relevant component often lives within the embedded knowledge base solutions.
Official Microsoft Reference	Enable AI-Powered Employee Self-Service in Dynamics 365 Human Resources
YouTube URL	Enhance Employee Experience with D365 HR

Copilot for Project Management: Effortless Status Reporting in D365 Project Operations

 Copilot for Project Management: Effortless Status Reporting in D365 Project Operations

Section	Content
Title	Stop Wasting Hours on Project Status Updates! Copilot Drafts Them in D365 Project Operations
Body	Project Managers, listen up! The days of sifting through records to manually compile project status reports are over. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Project Operations (PO) can now automatically draft a comprehensive status report based on the project's actual progress, budget usage, risks, and milestones recorded in the system. How it works: Simply select the project and the reporting period, and Copilot provides an AI-generated narrative draft. You can then review, edit, and send it to stakeholders, saving hours every week. This is a game-changer for project governance and efficiency!
Technical Focus	This feature leverages the system’s deep integration with financial actuals, schedule tracking, and risk management. For reporting customization, look at the ProjStatusReport tables and corresponding Power BI views. Ensure your Project parameters are set to track progress accurately for the best AI output.
Official Microsoft Reference	Draft Project Status Reports with Copilot in Project Operations
YouTube URL	D365 Project Operations Overview

Talk to Your Data: Instant Insights with Copilot

Talk to Your Data: Instant Insights with Copilot

Why export to Excel just to answer a simple question?

The "Chat with Finance & Operations Data" feature allows users to interrogate their ERP data using natural language. Instead of building complex filters or running reports, you can simply ask Copilot questions about your data, and it retrieves the answer from the live system.

What it does:

A user can type a question into the sidecar, such as:

• "Show me all customers in the 'Wholesale' group who have invoices overdue by more than 30 days."

• "What is the total inventory value for item X001?"

Copilot interprets the intent, translates it into a query (using the underlying Dataverse Virtual Entities), and presents the results instantly in a card or grid view.

Key Benefits:

• Democratized Data: Users don't need to know table names or SQL logic to find information.

• Speed: Answers in seconds rather than minutes of navigation.

• Actionable: Users can click through from the chat response directly to the record.

Technical / Developer Input:

For Copilot to "see" your custom X++ tables, they must be exposed as Dataverse Virtual Entities.

X++ Snippet: If you are developing a custom entity and want to ensure it is visible to the Virtual Entity integration (and thus Copilot), ensure the DataManagementEnabled property is true and the Entity Key is correctly defined.

Code snippet

// In your X++ Data Entity property sheet:
// IsPublic: Yes
// DataManagementEnabled: Yes
// PrimaryKey: EntityKey

// To programmatically check if a specific Virtual Entity is available in Dataverse (pseudo-code logic):
if (Microsoft.Dynamics.Platform.Integration.DataEntity.VirtualEntityMetadata::isEntityAvailable("MyCustomEntity"))
{
    info("Entity is ready for Copilot consumption.");
}

Official Microsoft References:

• Feature Guide (Verified): Chat with finance and operations data

• Release Plan (Verified): Experience enhancements to chat with Copilot

Using Dynamics 365 Finance Data in Copilot Studio

This video demonstrates the technical foundation of connecting Dynamics 365 Finance data to Copilot Studio, which powers these conversational data experiences. 

Using Dynamics 365 Finance Data in Copilot Studio - YouTube

Scott Gaines · 5.5K views

Stop Searching, Start Asking: Copilot Generative Help

Stop Searching, Start Asking: Copilot Generative Help

Do your users struggle to find the right screen or process in D365?

The Copilot Sidecar in Finance & Operations applications changes the game for user training. Instead of digging through menus or reading 50-page PDFs, users can simply ask "How do I..." questions in plain English.

What it does:

Copilot analyzes the user's question (e.g., "How do I create a vendor payment journal?") and instantly searches Microsoft's public documentation to generate a precise, step-by-step guide directly within the application. It provides links to the exact forms needed.

Key Benefits:

• Reduced Support Tickets: Users solve their own "how-to" problems instantly.

• Faster Onboarding: New employees get guidance without needing a mentor constantly by their side.

• Context Aware: Copilot understands the current form and context to provide relevant answers.

Technical / Configuration Note:

This feature is controlled via Feature Management. For developers or admins, it is critical to ensure the SystemDefinedHelpPane infrastructure is active.

X++ Snippet: If you are building a workspace and want to check if the new Help Pane capabilities are active before rendering custom help buttons:

Code snippet

// Check if the Modern Help Pane feature is enabled
if (FeatureStateProvider::isFeatureEnabled(classStr(SysHelpPaneGenerativeHelpFeature)))
{
    // The system is using Copilot-powered help; suppress legacy help buttons
    this.visible(false); 
}

Official Microsoft References:

• Overview (Verified): Overview of Copilot capabilities in finance and operations apps

• Feature Guide (Verified): Enable Copilot capabilities in finance and operations apps

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AI and Copilot for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations ERP

This video provides a comprehensive demo of the Copilot capabilities across Finance and Supply Chain Management, including the sidecar experiences.

Excel + AI: The New Standard for Financial Reconciliation

 Excel + AI: The New Standard for Financial Reconciliation

Is your team still manually matching rows in Excel?

Microsoft has released the Financial Reconciliation Agent (part of Copilot for Finance). It lives inside Excel but connects securely to your Dynamics 365 data. It automates the comparison of disparate datasets—like your Bank Ledger in D365 vs. a bank statement file.

What it does:

You connect Excel to your live ERP data. Copilot analyzes the two datasets (e.g., "Internal Ledger" and "External Statement") and automatically matches transactions based on amounts, dates, and descriptions. It then generates a reconciliation report for you to sign off.

Key Benefits:

• Flexibility: Works with any data you can load into Excel.

• Intelligence: AI suggests matches that standard rules miss (e.g., slightly different descriptions).

• Speed: Reduces hours of "stare and compare" work to minutes.

Technical / Developer Input:

To make sure your custom Finance tables are available for Copilot to read in Excel, you must expose them as Public Data Entities.

X++ Snippet: Ensure your entity is decorated correctly so OData can access it:

Code snippet

[
    DataEntityView(DataEntityView::Public), // Essential for external access
    DataEntityPublicName("MyCustomReconciliationEntity"),
    DataEntityLabel("Custom Reconciliation Data")
]
public class MyCustomReconciliationEntity extends Common
{
    // Define your fields and keys here
}

Official Microsoft References:

• Learn Docs (Verified): Reconcile data with the Financial Reconciliation agent

• Release Plan (Verified): Use Copilot extended reconciliation parametrization

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Get started with the Financial Reconciliation Agent

This video demonstrates the Financial Reconciliation Agent in action within Excel, showing how to connect to data and run the automated matching process.