Writing Expression Using Copilot with example in Power Automate

 🤖 What is Copilot in Power Automate?

• Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that helps you generate expressions using natural language prompts.
• It simplifies complex logic by translating your intent into code-like expressions, reducing manual syntax errors and saving time.

🧑‍💻 How to Use Copilot for Expressions

• Open the Expression Editor:
  • In any action field (e.g., a condition or formula), click Add dynamic content > Ask Copilot.
• Describe Your Goal in Natural Language:
  • Type what you want to achieve (e.g., “Extract the first 10 characters from the email subject”).
• Review & Insert the Suggestion:
  • Copilot generates the expression (e.g., substring(triggerBody()?['Subject'], 0, 10)).
  • Edit if needed, then insert it into your flow.

💡 Example 1: Formatting Dates

• Scenario: Convert a SharePoint list’s DueDate to "YYYY-MM-DD" format.
• Prompt:
  • “Format the DueDate field from SharePoint to YYYY-MM-DD.”
• Copilot Generates:

  @formatDateTime(triggerBody()?['DueDate'], 'yyyy-MM-dd')
  

• Use Case:
  • Standardize dates for reporting or integrations.

🔤 Example 2: String Concatenation

• Scenario: Combine a customer’s first name and last name from a form response.
• Prompt:
  • “Merge FirstName and LastName with a space in between.”
• Copilot Generates:

  @concat(triggerBody()?['FirstName'], ' ', triggerBody()?['LastName'])
  

• Use Case:
  • Create display names for user profiles or emails.

🤔 Example 3: Conditional Logic

• Scenario: Send a reminder email if a task’s status is "Pending" and the due date is today.
• Prompt:
  • “Check if Status is Pending and DueDate is today.”
• Copilot Generates:

  @and(equals(triggerBody()?['Status'], 'Pending'), equals(formatDateTime(triggerBody()?

• ['DueDate'], 'yyyy-MM-dd'), formatDateTime(utcNow(), 'yyyy-MM-dd')))
  

• Use Case:
  • Automate task reminders based on dynamic conditions.

➕ Example 4: Math Operations

• Scenario: Calculate a 15% discount on an invoice total.
• Prompt:
  • “Multiply TotalAmount by 0.15 to get the discount.”
• Copilot Generates:

  @mul(triggerBody()?['TotalAmount'], 0.15)
  

• Use Case:
  • Automate financial calculations in approval workflows.

✨ Best Practices for Copilot Prompts

• Be Specific:
  • Instead of “Get part of the text,” use “Extract characters 5 to 10 from the Description field.”
• Reference Dynamic Content:
  • Include field names like triggerBody()?['Email'] in your prompts.
• Test Expressions:
  • Use the Compose action to validate Copilot’s output before relying on it.

⚠️ Limitations of Copilot

• Complex Logic: May struggle with deeply nested functions (e.g., xpath(xml, ‘...’)).
• Data Types: Requires clear references to fields (e.g., item()?[‘ID’]).
• Syntax Tweaks: Verify commas, parentheses, and quotes in generated code.

🏆 Why Use Copilot for Expressions?

• ⏱️ Speed: Generate expressions in seconds vs. manual coding.
• 👨‍🏫 Learning Aid: Discover new functions (e.g., coalesce(), ticks()).
• ✅ Error Reduction: Avoid typos in syntax.

🔍 Try it out!

• Next time you build a flow, ask Copilot:
  • “Convert the current time to Eastern Time Zone” →
• Result:

  @convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Eastern Standard Time', 'hh:mm tt')
  

🚀 Additional Power Automate Expression Examples

Here are additional Power Automate expression examples with practical use cases, categorized for clarity and leveraging insights from the search results:

1️⃣ Logical & Conditional Expressions

• ✅ Check multiple statuses in a spreadsheet
  • Delete rows where the "Status" is "completed" or "unnecessary":

    @or(equals(item()?['Status'], 'completed'), equals(item()?['Status'], 'unnecessary'))

  •  :cite[1]
    

  • Use case: Automate spreadsheet cleanup for project management.
• 📅 Validate payment deadlines
  • Send reminders if payment is overdue and the due date is within 24 hours:

    @and(greater(item()?['Due'], item()?['Paid']), less(item()?['DueDate'], 

  • addDays(utcNow(), 1))) :cite[1]:cite[7]
    

  • Use case: Automate invoice reminders for accounting workflows.

2️⃣ String Manipulation

• ✂️ Extract the last 4 characters of a string

  @substring(outputs('Text'), sub(length(outputs('Text')), 4), 4) :cite[5]
  

  • Use case: Mask sensitive data like credit card numbers.
• 🔄 Replace spaces with underscores in filenames

  @replace(triggerBody()?['FileName'], ' ', '_') :cite[2]
  

  • Use case: Standardize filenames before saving to SharePoint.

3️⃣ Date/Time Operations

• 🌐 Convert UTC to a specific time zone

  @convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Eastern Standard Time', 'dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm tt') :cite[3]
  

  • Use case: Localize timestamps for global team notifications.
• ⏱️ Calculate days until a deadline

  @div(sub(ticks(item()?['Deadline']), ticks(utcNow())), 864000000000) :cite[5]
  

  • Use case: Track project timelines dynamically.

4️⃣ Data Transformation & Validation

• 🗂️ Sort an array of objects by property

  @sort(outputs('EmployeeList'), 'Name') :cite[4]
  

  • Use case: Organize CRM contact lists alphabetically.
• ✅ Validate numeric input

  @if(isInt(triggerBody()?['Age']), 'Valid', 'Invalid') :cite[4]
  

  • Use case: Ensure age fields in forms are integers.

5️⃣ Error Handling & Defaults

• 📦 Handle empty or null values

  @coalesce(triggerBody()?['Department'], 'Unassigned') :cite[5]
  

  • Use case: Avoid null errors in HR onboarding flows.
• 🔗 Log flow run URLs for debugging

  @concat('https://flow.microsoft.com/manage/environments/', workflow()?['tags']

  • Use case: Simplify troubleshooting by embedding run links in error emails.

• ['environmentName'], 

• '/flows/', workflow()?['name'], '/runs/', workflow()?['run']['name']) :cite[5]
  

6️⃣ Advanced Functions

• ✂️ Split a string into chunks

  @chunk('PowerAutomateRocks', 5) → \["Power", "Autom", "ateRo", "cks"\] :cite[4]
  

  • Use case: Process long text for SMS or API compatibility.
• 📍 Find the second occurrence of a character

  @nthIndexOf('123456789123456789', '1', 2) → 9 :cite[4]
  

  • Use case: Parse structured IDs or codes.

7️⃣ Creative Use Cases

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Generate random team assignments

  @take(shuffle(variables('Employees')), 3) :cite[4]
  

  • Use case: Randomize task allocations in team workflows.
• 📞 Format phone numbers using "Format by Example"
  • Input: 1234567890 → Output: (123) 456-7890
  • No code needed! Use the Format data by example feature to auto-generate expressions ⁷.

✨ Best Practices

• 🧪 Test expressions using the Compose action to validate outputs before deployment ³⁴.
• 💡 Simplify nested logic with the modern expression editor, which integrates dynamic content and functions in one interface ⁵⁷.
• ❓ Use ? for optional JSON properties to avoid null errors (e.g., triggerBody()?['Department']) ³.