Generative AI in Copilot Studio

Introduction

In this article, we will learn how to control the answers given by Copilot using Generative AI. We'll go over ways to customize and improve the answers, so they fit what you need. By using Generative AI, you can guide the responses to match your goals, choose the right tone, and keep things consistent. This guide will show you how to write better prompts, manage context, and filter responses, helping you get the exact answers you want from Copilot.

Overview of Copilot Studio

Copilot Studio is a powerful tool designed to help developers and business users automate tasks, create workflows, and enhance applications using AI. It integrates with Microsoft’s AI capabilities, allowing users to build custom solutions that leverage natural language processing, machine learning, and generative AI. For more details you can refer to my old blogs.

Controlling answers using Gen AI

If you ask Copilot about unfamiliar topics, it will use Generative AI to provide an answer. Copilot has a feature that allows you to control these Generative AI responses. To manage this, go to the "Topics" section and click on "System." Here, you'll find a list of system topics, including one called "Conversation Boosting." Check whether this option is turned on or off. If it's on, you'll receive answers from Generative AI. If it's off, Generative AI will not be used to generate responses.

You can use this topic to determine whether answers come from public generative AI knowledge or your enterprise data.

In the details of “Conversation Boosting,” you'll notice that the trigger point is set to "On unknown intent." After this trigger, the next step is to generate answers using Generative AI.

In the "Edit" section of “Data Source,” you’ll find two options.

1. Get search results from the knowledge sources using the selected mode.
2. Allow the AI to use its own general knowledge.

As the names suggest, if you want to control the answers using your private data or documents, choose the first option. If you prefer to use Generative AI's public knowledge, select the second option.

To control answers, you can attach documents to the search knowledge base. And you will get two tabs.

1. Featured: For Public website, SharePoint, Dataverse
   
2. Advance: Available connectors and using Custom Connectors.
   

If you have both options enabled, Copilot will first search your knowledge base and create answers based on that data. If no relevant information is found, it will then search using public data and generate answers accordingly.

This is how you can control Generative AI responses in Copilot.

Summary

This guide explains how to control Generative AI responses in Copilot by managing data sources and system settings. Copilot can generate answers from either your private knowledge base or public AI knowledge, depending on your configuration. In the "System" section under "Topics," you can enable or disable "Conversation Boosting," which determines whether Generative AI is used when Copilot encounters unknown topics. In the "Data Source" settings, you can choose to pull answers from your private data or allow the AI to use its general knowledge. If both options are enabled, Copilot will prioritize searching your private data first, and if no information is found, it will then use public data. This provides flexibility in how AI responses are generated, ensuring they meet your specific needs.