The Power Apps tutorial changed underneath you
If you followed an older Power Apps Copilot tutorial, you may now be staring at Power Apps Studio wondering where the Copilot controls went. The formula tools still exist, but some of the chat components that makers could place on a canvas have been discontinued for new apps.
The important distinction is simple: Copilot can help you build an app, help you write a formula, or help your users ask questions inside an app. Those are three different features with different requirements.
For most non-developer builders, the safest move is to use Copilot for a narrow task, check what it created, and keep control of the app's data, formulas and permissions.
The short answer
Here is the current route for each job:
| What you are trying to do | Use this now | Check before you commit |
|---|---|---|
| Generate a new app and data model from a description | Start with data > Create new data | This creates Dataverse tables. Dataverse is Microsoft's managed Power Platform data store, and you need the required environment permissions. |
| Generate or understand a Power Fx formula | Copilot in the formula bar | Copilot works on one control and property at a time. It can be wrong and does not understand every Power Apps function or app-wide dependency. |
| Let app users ask questions about app data | Microsoft 365 Copilot in canvas apps | This is a preview feature, requires admin enablement and a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and has important data-source and mobile limitations. |
| Run a specific AI prompt from a button | An AI Builder custom prompt called from Power Fx | This is a separate AI Builder capability. Check region availability, capacity and licensing with your admin. |
Do not look for a new drag-and-drop equivalent of every old Copilot component. Microsoft now recommends Microsoft 365 Copilot in canvas apps for natural-language interaction, but it is not a one-for-one replacement for every old control or customisation.
What changed from the 2024 demonstrations
| Older demonstration | Current position | What a citizen builder should do |
|---|---|---|
| Describe an app and let Copilot generate it | Still supported through Start with data | Use it when Dataverse is the right data source. Do not move a simple SharePoint app to Dataverse merely because Copilot can generate the tables. |
| Add the Copilot control to a canvas screen | You cannot add it to new canvas apps from 2 February 2026 | Check existing apps that use it and plan a transition. Microsoft says existing controls will work for a limited time but will eventually lose support. |
| Add the Copilot Answer control for one-click questions | Discontinued for new apps from 2 February 2026 | Do not copy this step into a new build. Assess Microsoft 365 Copilot in canvas apps, but treat it as a preview with different behaviour and limits. |
| Connect a custom Copilot across a canvas app | Discontinued for new apps from 2 February 2026 | Review the newer Microsoft 365 Copilot and agent route with your admin. Do not assume the old configuration steps still apply. |
| Generate Power Fx from a comment | Still available | Use it for a small, clearly described formula, then test the result against real data. |
| Explain a formula or part of one | Still available | Use Explain this formula or highlight part of the formula and choose Explain this selection. Treat the explanation as a starting point, not proof that the formula is correct. |
Route 1: Start a Dataverse app with Copilot
From the Power Apps home page, select Start with data, then Create new data. Describe the information the app needs to track. Copilot proposes one or more Dataverse tables, including columns and relationships, before you open the generated app.
This route can be useful when you are starting an app such as an asset register, incident tracker or onboarding checklist and Dataverse is already an approved choice.
It is not simply a quicker version of creating a SharePoint list. Microsoft lists several prerequisites, including access to a Dataverse database and the System Customizer security role, which is an environment role that lets a maker change the data model. Your region and environment settings can also affect availability.
Before selecting Save and exit, check:
- Are the tables really separate business objects, or has Copilot split one simple list into an unnecessarily complex model?
- Are choice fields, dates, required fields and relationships correct?
- Who should own each record, and who should be allowed to read or change it?
- Will using Dataverse or another premium capability change the licence required for the finished app?
- Can you explain the data model to the person who will maintain the app after you?
If your process already works well with one SharePoint or Microsoft List, keep that option in the decision. Copilot-generated Dataverse tables are a suggestion, not an instruction to redesign your data platform.
Route 2: Use Copilot for one Power Fx formula
Copilot in the formula bar can explain a formula, explain a selected part of a formula, generate a formula from a code comment, or create a formula from a short natural-language request.
For a comment-generated formula:
- Select the control and property you want to change.
- Type a comment beginning with
//or/*in the formula bar. - Wait for the suggestion or press Enter.
- Press Tab to accept the suggestion only after you have read it.
Keep the request narrow. For example:
// Show active requests assigned to the current user, newest first
Then check the generated formula as if it came from a forum post:
- Does every table, column and control name exist?
- Does the formula work with an empty result and with several records?
- Is a blue delegation warning showing?
- Does the user running the app have permission to read the data?
- Did Copilot overwrite logic that was already in the property?
- Can you explain what the formula does without asking Copilot again?
Microsoft documents important limits. Comment-generated formulas work on one control and property, do not take the existing formula into account, do not recognise user-defined functions, and do not support Power Apps-specific functions such as Navigate(). Microsoft also warns that AI-generated content can be inaccurate.
That makes formula Copilot useful for a first draft or explanation. It does not make the formula tested, delegable or maintainable.
Route 3: Add Microsoft 365 Copilot for app users
Microsoft 365 Copilot in canvas apps is the recommended successor for natural-language questions inside a canvas app. It appears from the app header rather than as a control placed on one screen.
This feature is still in preview and may not be available in every region. A Power Platform administrator must enable it for the environment. The maker then enables M365 Copilot in canvas apps (Preview) under the app's Settings > General, saves the app and publishes it. Microsoft also says app users need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.
For a typical SharePoint-backed app, check the current preview limits before presenting this as a production feature:
- Copilot can answer from SharePoint or Dataverse data, but not both in the same app.
- During the initial preview, a SharePoint app must contain a single SharePoint list for Copilot to answer questions about it.
- Copilot cannot reference a SharePoint list connected through an environment variable.
- Its standard data interaction is read-only.
- It is not available in the Power Apps mobile app.
Those limits matter. A request tracker that uses several SharePoint lists or must work on phones is not currently the simple migration case the headline may suggest.
When a button should run one defined AI task
Sometimes you do not want an open chat pane. You want a button that performs one controlled task, such as turning notes into a short summary.
AI Builder custom prompts can be added to a canvas app as a data source and called from Power Fx with the prompt's .Predict(...) function. This is a separate feature from Microsoft 365 Copilot in canvas apps.
Use this route only after you have:
- created and tested the prompt in the prompt builder
- checked that prompts are available in your region
- confirmed AI Builder or Copilot capacity, meaning the available AI usage allowance, and licensing with your admin
- decided what data may be sent to the prompt
- added a human review step before generated text is saved, sent or used to make a decision
A safer way to use Copilot on your next app
Use this short test before keeping anything Copilot creates:
- Name the job. Is Copilot creating data, drafting one formula, explaining code or answering an app user's question?
- Check the prerequisite. Confirm the environment, permissions, data source, licence, region and preview status.
- Inspect the output. Review tables, relationships, formula references, delegation warnings and permissions.
- Test like a real user. Use a non-owner account, realistic data volumes and the devices your team actually uses.
- Keep a fallback. Know how users complete the task if the preview feature is unavailable or the AI response is wrong.
- Document the decision. Record what Copilot generated, what you changed and what still needs human review.
Recommended move if you followed the older session
Keep the useful parts: generating a Dataverse starting point, generating small Power Fx formulas and explaining unfamiliar formulas.
Retire the old build steps for the Copilot control, Copilot Answer control and custom Copilot integration in new canvas apps. If you need end-user chat, test Microsoft 365 Copilot in a non-production app against your real data-source pattern and device requirements before planning a migration.
If you need one predictable AI action behind a button, assess an AI Builder custom prompt separately. Do not treat it as a free or automatic replacement for the discontinued chat controls.
Evidence notes
Microsoft Learn confirms the product status, documented setup paths, prerequisites and known limitations described here. It does not prove that a feature is enabled in your tenant, that your licence covers the complete app, or that Copilot's generated tables, formulas and answers are correct.
Preview features can change. Before a production rollout, open the linked Microsoft Learn pages, confirm that the labels and limitations still match your environment, and ask your Power Platform administrator to confirm licensing and tenant settings.
Source note
Briefing published by Collab365 Spaces, reviewed by Helen Jones on . Cite as "Power Apps Copilot Changed: What Citizen Builders Should Use Now", Collab365 Spaces. 7 sources referenced.