News & Insights / AI and Copilot in Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central now offers several ways to use AI, from finding information and analysing lists to drafting product descriptions and helping process sales enquiries. But “Copilot in Business Central” is not one switch that automates everything. The tools do different jobs, and their availability, permissions and costs need to be checked separately.
For an Australian business, the sensible starting point is a single workflow. Choose a task your team repeats, check the data it depends on, let a person review the output, and measure whether the result is genuinely better than the current process.
These examples reflect Microsoft’s documentation in 2026. What is available in your tenant can depend on the Business Central version, region, language, licence, administrator settings and whether a feature is in preview.
Chat helps users ask questions about Business Central and navigate to relevant pages or records. A new finance team member, for example, might ask where to find a customer account or how a particular workflow operates. It can reduce the time spent learning menu paths, but users still need to understand the underlying data and their permissions.
Analysis assist turns a plain-language question into an analysis view on a list page, with filters, grouping and totals. A finance manager could explore overdue receivables by customer group before deciding whether a permanent report is needed. The suggested view still needs a check of dates, filters and source records.
When preparing a sales quote or order, Copilot can suggest items or resources from a customer’s description. Imagine an account manager receiving “three red touring bikes like the ones we ordered in April”. A suggestion can speed up the first draft, while the manager checks the exact item, quantity, price and stock position.
Copilot can draft product descriptions using item attributes and a chosen tone. This is useful when an ecommerce team has hundreds of similar products to describe. It is still a draft: someone must check specifications, claims, brand voice and Australian spelling before publishing it to a storefront.
Agents go beyond a single prompt. The Sales Order Agent can help interpret incoming customer emails and prepare sales documents for review. The Payables Agent can help with parts of supplier-invoice handling. These workflows need particular attention to exceptions, approvals, mailbox configuration and usage costs. Do not assume an agent should send a customer message or post a financial transaction without human oversight.
A Copilot experience normally assists a user inside Business Central: the person asks for an analysis, searches for information or requests a draft, then reviews the result. An agent can monitor an event and work through several steps with less direct prompting.
That difference changes the risk. A suggested chart is easy to discard. A process that prepares a quote from an email or extracts invoice details needs defined permissions, exception handling, an audit trail and a named person responsible for the outcome.
Microsoft says Copilot is included with Business Central Essentials and Premium. That does not mean every AI-related capability has no additional cost. Microsoft lists agents such as Sales Order Agent and Payables Agent as requiring separately purchased Copilot Credits. Pay-as-you-go agent usage also requires an Azure subscription.
Before budgeting for a pilot, confirm which feature is available in your Australian tenant, whether it is included in your current agreement, whether credits or other consumption charges apply, and how use will be monitored. Check Microsoft’s current pricing and your organisation’s agreement rather than relying on an old price list.
A team member who knows the business question but not the exact page name can find a record or get guidance more quickly. That is especially useful during onboarding. It does not replace role-based training or a review of what the record actually means.
A sales or finance user can test a question, such as sales by item category and month, before asking for a permanent report. For recurring management reporting, governed definitions and reconciliations still matter.
Product descriptions and sales lines are useful starting points when the underlying item data is reliable. They become a liability if a draft is accepted without checking specifications, prices, stock or customer commitments.
Agents are most promising when the incoming request is consistent and exceptions are rare. Special pricing, substitutions, unusual delivery terms or an unclear customer identity should trigger review, not be forced through automation.
Score candidate workflows for frequency, manual effort, data quality, process consistency, exception risk and ease of measurement. A high-frequency task with reliable data and a reversible output is usually a safer pilot than a low-volume task involving complex judgement or irreversible posting.
If you are considering a wider ERP project rather than a specific AI pilot, start with the main Dynamics 365 Business Central page. This guide is intended to explain Copilot capabilities, not replace the implementation and support information there.
Yes. Business Central includes Copilot-assisted experiences such as chat, analysis assist, sales line suggestions and marketing text suggestions. Microsoft also offers agents for selected workflows. Availability depends on the tenant, version, region, language, licence and release status.
Microsoft lists Copilot as included with Essentials and Premium subscriptions. Some agents require separately purchased Copilot Credits. Confirm the current terms for the intended feature before rollout.
Capabilities differ by feature. Do not assume that every suggestion or prepared transaction is posted automatically. Configure permissions, approvals and human review to match the risk of the workflow.
It can help users explore data and create analysis views quickly. Governed reports remain useful when definitions, reconciliations, distribution and repeatability must be controlled.
Check feature availability, licensing, data quality, permissions, privacy requirements, review points, exception handling and how success will be measured. Begin with a limited pilot.
Choose one workflow, confirm the data and controls behind it, and test the relevant feature in a controlled environment. To discuss a Business Central AI pilot, contact Dynamic Aspect.
Sources: Microsoft Copilot FAQ; Analysis assist; Sales line suggestions; Business Central pricing. Feature and pricing details should be rechecked before purchase or deployment.