Build a Power Automate Flow with Copilot: Create a Cloud Flow from a Prompt

To build a Power Automate cloud flow with Copilot, sign in at make.powerautomate.com, select Home, choose Create with Copilot, and describe what the flow should do in the What will your flow do? field. Copilot proposes a trigger and actions, you accept or refine them, check the connections, select Create flow, then save and test. It is a faster way to get a first draft, not a replacement for reviewing the result.

Who this is for and what you will have at the end

This guide is for people who use Power Automate in Microsoft 365 and want to get from an idea to a working cloud flow without hunting through connectors: office managers, analysts, IT staff and makers who are new to flows. By the end you will have created a simple flow from a prompt, known how to write prompts that give better drafts, edited a flow by asking Copilot, and understood what Copilot cannot do.

The steps follow Microsoft Learn's page "Create your first cloud flow using Copilot", last updated in September 2026. The portal changes often, so labels may differ slightly from what you see. For error fixing after your flow is built, see Power Automate flow failed: troubleshooting and Power Automate error handling with try-catch. For licensing questions about connectors that your drafted flow may use, see Power Automate licensing and premium connectors.

What Copilot in cloud flows can do

According to Microsoft, Copilot in cloud flows can:

• Understand your intent and create a flow from the scenario prompt you provide.
• Set up connections automatically so you get a working automation sooner.
• Apply the necessary parameters in the flow based on your prompt.
• Respond to requests to change the flow, such as updating or replacing actions.
• Answer questions about your flow and the product, for example "What does my flow do?" or "How do I access child flows?"
• Suggest a description for the flow when you edit its details.

Microsoft's responsible AI FAQ adds that Copilot can create a flow from scratch, edit an existing flow, answer general Power Automate documentation questions and filter out questions unrelated to Power Automate or the current flow.

What it cannot do

The same FAQ is direct about limits:

• Copilot can render and edit flows in a limited manner.
• It supports only a subset of the connectors available in Power Platform.
• It is not equipped to help fix flow errors. (A separate "Troubleshoot in Copilot" feature exists for test and run-history errors when the new designer is enabled.)
• It is optimized for English and has limited support for other languages, so parts of the experience may appear in English.
• It is powered by Azure OpenAI Service.

If your organization wants to turn Copilot in cloud flows off, ask your Power Platform admin, who contacts Microsoft support to do this.

Prerequisites

• A Power Automate account that can sign in at make.powerautomate.com and create cloud flows.
• Access to the connectors your scenario needs, and permission to sign in to the services behind them (for example Outlook, Teams or SharePoint).
• The new cloud flows designer. Copilot is available only in the new designer, not the classic one.

Microsoft's page does not list license or region requirements, so check your tenant's availability and your admin's settings if you do not see Create with Copilot.

Step 1: Write a good prompt

Microsoft's guidance for prompts is short and practical:

• Use the format When X happens, do Y.
• Be as specific as possible. Instead of "I want to process an email", write "When an email arrives, I want to post the subject of the email to 'Contoso' Teams General channel".
• Name the connector where you can, such as Outlook, Teams or Forms.
• If the first result is wrong, tweak the prompt and run it again.

Example prompts drawn from Microsoft's examples:

When an email arrives from [email protected], post in Teams.

When an item is created in SharePoint, send me a mobile notification.

A fuller prompt, following the same pattern, might be:

When a new response is submitted in Microsoft Forms, send an email to [email protected] with the respondent's name and answers.

Treat prompts as drafts. Anything involving conditions, loops or approvals is more likely to need manual adjustment than a simple trigger-and-action flow.

Step 2: Create the flow with Copilot

1. Sign in to Power Automate at make.powerautomate.com.
2. On the left navigation menu, make sure Home is selected.
3. On the Home page, select Create with Copilot. In the What will your flow do? field, describe the automation in natural language.
4. When you are happy with the prompt, select the send (arrow) icon. As you type, Copilot suggests prompts to help you refine your request.
5. Copilot generates a structure: a suggested trigger and one or more actions. If you are satisfied, select Keep it and continue. If not, enter more information in Add more details for Copilot to work with and select the right arrow. The suggested flow regenerates.
6. After you select Keep it and continue, check the connections. A connection that is configured correctly shows a green check mark, and one that needs attention shows a red exclamation mark. Select any flagged connection and follow the instructions to configure it.
7. Select Create flow. The designer opens with your flow, and the Copilot pane appears on the right.
8. In the Copilot pane, follow any suggestions to finish setup, ask questions or make edits.
9. Select Save on the command bar.
10. Test the flow before relying on it.

Step 3: Review what Copilot built

Microsoft says changes made by Copilot should be reviewed in the designer, and that you can undo them. Check each of these before you save for good:

• Trigger. Is it the right event, in the right mailbox, site, list or form? Copilot may pick a reasonable default that is not your actual resource.
• Parameters. Open each action and read the fields. Confirm that dynamic content refers to the correct trigger outputs.
• Connections. Confirm each connection signs in as the account you intend. A flow that runs as a personal account stops working if that person leaves.
• Conditions. If you described branching, check that the logic is what you meant.
• Permissions and data. Think about who can see the messages or data your flow sends.

Step 4: Test the flow

After saving, test the flow from the designer. Trigger the event it listens for, such as sending yourself an email or adding a SharePoint item, then open the run in the run history to see whether each action succeeded. If a step fails, fix it in the designer or use the troubleshooting feature described below.

Edit an existing flow with Copilot

You can also use Copilot on flows you already have, in the new designer:

1. Sign in to Power Automate and select My flows on the left navigation pane.
2. Find your flow, select the vertical ellipsis, and select Edit. You can also open the flow's Details page from My flows and select Edit on the command bar.
3. The flow opens with the Copilot pane on the right. Type an instruction.

Prompts Microsoft gives as examples include:

• Delete action followed by the action name.
• I want to send an email at the end of the flow with subject equal to the SharePoint file name.
• Instead of email, I want to post message on Teams channel.
• Check if each of the SharePoint items being returned has a title that equals 'USB', and if so, send an email.

You can ask questions as well. "What does my flow do?" returns a summary, which is useful when inheriting a flow someone else built.

Troubleshoot in Copilot

Microsoft describes a "Troubleshoot in Copilot" feature that can help identify and resolve errors that occur while testing a cloud flow or when reviewing run history. It works when the new designer experience is enabled. This is separate from the main Copilot assistant, which is not equipped to fix flow errors. See Power Automate flow failed: troubleshooting for the general process.

Common problems

Good habits

• Start small. Generate a simple trigger-and-action flow first, then add steps through follow-up edits.
• Name things. Rename actions and the flow so others can read them later. Copilot can suggest a description when you edit the flow details.
• Do not paste secrets. Keep passwords, keys and personal data out of prompts. Microsoft publishes a separate FAQ on Copilot data security and privacy in Microsoft Power Platform; read it if your data is sensitive.
• Test with safe data. Use a test mailbox, channel or list before pointing the flow at production.
• Keep ownership clear. Decide who owns the flow and which account it runs under.

Checklist

• Prompt written as "When X happens, do Y" with the connector named
• Suggested trigger and actions reviewed, refined with more details if needed
• All connections show a green check mark
• Parameters and dynamic content verified in the designer
• Flow saved and tested with safe data
• Run history checked for failures
• Flow description and owner recorded

References

• Create your first cloud flow using Copilot - Microsoft Learn
• FAQ for Copilot in cloud flows - Microsoft Learn
• FAQ for Copilot data security and privacy in Microsoft Power Platform - Microsoft Learn