Power Virtual Agents enhancements showcased in new Microsoft Mechanics video

Debraj Ghosh, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, wtorek, 19 stycznia 2021

Power Virtual Agents is one of the foundational services of the Microsoft Power Platform. Power Virtual Agents enables everybody to author and publish chatbots utilizing the power of conversational AI. We recently shared a Microsoft Mechanics video which demonstrated the core capabilities offered with Power Virtual Agents. We’re excited to now share a new video (video 1) which highlights some of the exciting new updates to Power Virtual Agents, specifically focusing on Power Virtual Agents seamless integration with Microsoft Teams through Microsoft Dataverse for Teams and Power Virtual Agents amazing new native integration with Microsoft Bot Framework Composer.

Video 1. New Microsoft Mechanics Video showcasing updates to Power Virtual Agents

Power Virtual Agents’ New Enhancements

One of the most exciting enhancements to Power Virtual Agents is the new seamless integration with Microsoft Dataverse for Teams which provides a subset of the full Microsoft Dataverse. Millions of professionals use Microsoft Teams for collaboration, and with the addition of Power Virtual Agents to Teams, these users can create sophisticated chatbots for a nearly unlimited number of scenarios. One of the best attributes of Power Virtual Agents is the user-friendly maker canvas and we’re excited to offer this amazing canvas experience as part of the integrated Teams experience. Also, the chatbot maker experience remains easy and even those with non-technical backgrounds can create a chatbot in minutes. A chatbot can be scoped for a specific Team or even shared across the entire organization. With this powerful integration, users can quickly build customized chatbots for example an HR chatbot for frequently asked HR questions, to an IT service desk chatbot to handle basic IT questions. In our new Mechanics video, we demonstrate how quickly and easily a functional HR chatbot which provides information on an employee’s vacation balance can be created inside the Teams environment (figure 1). Importantly, this new avenue of creation abides by the strict security and governance standards offered with all Microsoft services. Dataverse for Teams leverages the data governance paradigms of Microsoft Power Platform and enables access control in the Teams Admin Center. The Power Platform admin center provides more detail, including monitoring dedicated capacity utilization and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies.

Figure 1. Power Virtual Agents chatbot created inside Microsoft Teams with the new Dataverse for Teams

The Mechanics video also demonstrates the new Power Virtual Agents’ native integration with Bot Framework Composer (figure 2). This integration with Power Virtual Agents makes it even easier for professional developers to collaborate with citizen developer counterparts, which helps ensure that your organization creates the most effective chatbots for any scenario. Bot Framework Composer is an open-source visual authoring canvas for pro-developers build chatbots. Composer integrates language understanding services such as LUIS and QnA Maker and allows sophisticated composition of bot replies using Language Generation. Power Virtual Agents with Bot Framework Composer enables you to create chatbots that offer adaptive conversations where a chatbot can seamlessly pivot between topics based on the context of the dialogue making the conversation more intelligent and more realistic. Learn more about extending your chatbot with Bot Framework Composer.

Both these new advances further strengthen the capabilities offered with Power Virtual Agents and expand the flexibility offered to developers of all skill levels. By enabling easier collaboration between end users who are closest to business challenges with the technical expertise of professional developers, Power Virtual Agents enables organizations to create the most adaptable and relevant chatbots required for business success.

Figure 2. Native integration of Bot Framework Composer with Power Virtual Agents

Begin Your Journey with Power Virtual Agents

We hope you explore the possibilities with Power Virtual Agents by starting a trial today. You can build your first chatbot in a matter of minutes and get started on delivering an engaging experience for your customers and employees. Also, make sure to follow our blog for the latest feature updates and use cases for chatbots. Please join our community to share your ideas, provide your comments, and even help drive the future direction of our product development. Below are some quick links to get started on your journey!

Also, check out these other great Microsoft Mechanics videos featuring the Power Platform: