Generative AI and Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central: A Game-Changer for Industry Transformation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands as an ever-present force and a game-changer for industry transformation continually dominating discussions across all sectors of business and getting deeper into our daily lives.

In Today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are turning to smarter solutions to stay competitive and agile. Dynamics 365 Business Central is at the forefront of this transformation, integrating powerful AI technologies to streamline operations and unlock new growth opportunities. Among the most revolutionary innovations is the integration of Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot bringing the next generation of AI-powered ERP tools directly into the hands of business users.

These advancements are not only enhancing productivity and accuracy but are also redefining what’s possible in modern enterprise resource planning. AI for SMB empowers smaller businesses with enterprise-level capabilities like smart forecasting and personalized customer insights. Whether it’s automating financial reports, forecasting sales or assisting with bank reconciliation, Copilot in Business Central is making everyday tasks smarter, faster and more intuitive. This blog delves into the ways how AI is reshaping the way work is done, specifically within Business Central.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI is a powerful technology that has the potential to transform businesses by creating original content based on existing data. Here’s what you need to know:

Generative AI can learn from existing artifacts and generate new, realistic content at scale. It creates novel artifacts such as images, video, music, speech, text, software code, and product designs. Unlike repetitive tasks, generative AI produces diverse and creative outputs.

Generative AI in Dynamics 365 Business Central

In Dynamics 365 Business Central, there are exciting generative AI features that can enhance your experience. Let’s explore some of them:

Generative AI Integration:  Microsoft’s unique partnership with OpenAI enables the integration of large-scale language models (LLM) into the Business Central ecosystem. This collaboration brings the innovative power of AI to small businesses in a unique, complete and responsible way.

Azure OpenAI Service: This service provides access to advanced models such as GPT-4, GPT-3, Codex etc. You can leverage these models within Business Central combining their capabilities with the security and enterprise features of Azure.

Sample Code for Exploration: To get started, explore sample code that simplifies setting up and running LLM experiments. The provided extension suggests an item category based on the item description field. You can find the extension’s source code in the Business Central BCTech repository on GitHub.

Getting an Azure OpenAI Key: To use Azure OpenAI Service, you’ll need an Azure subscription. Apply for access to the service and once approved, you’ll receive instructions on creating an Azure OpenAI resource and obtaining your API key.

What is Microsoft Copilot in Business Central?

Copilot in Business Central brings AI-powered assistance directly into the platform. With Copilot in Business Central, small and medium-sized organizations empower their workers through intuitive AI tools that boost creativity and save time. It helps users with everyday tasks by providing intelligent suggestions, automating repetitive processes and even generating content based on existing data. This integration allows businesses to save time, reduce errors and focus more on strategic activities. Microsoft Business Central is already known for its ERP capabilities but with Copilot, it moves closer to becoming a truly smart business platform.

Key Benefits of Copilot in Business Central

Integrating Copilot brings multiple benefits including:

• Time savings: Routine tasks are completed faster.
• Error reduction: AI checks and balances help maintain data integrity.
• Better decision-making: Real-time insights improve strategic planning.
• Enhanced productivity: Employees can focus on higher-value tasks.
• Scalability: As businesses grow, Copilot adapts to increasing complexity.

Thanks to automation in Business Central, businesses can significantly reduce operational bottlenecks and ensure smoother workflows across departments.

Scenarios for using Generative AI & Copilot in Business Central

Generative AI & Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central opens up exciting possibilities across various scenarios. Let’s explore some of them:

Bank reconciliation with Copilot

• Solve the puzzle of bank reconciliation faster and easier.
• Copilot is your AI-powered bookkeeping assistant that helps you turn a tedious monthly chore into a quick review.
• Finds matches with your ledger entries even when multiple charges are consolidated into a single entry.
• Suggests matching ledger accounts to post new transactions to.

AI-powered analysis with Copilot: Get to key insights faster

• Copilot simplifies analysis by transforming raw data into insightful summaries using next generation AI.
• Provides an interactive and versatile way to calculate, summarize and examine data.
• Creates, totals, pivots and filters to help you find the information you're looking for.

Chat with Copilot: Use natural language to interact with Copilot

• Copilot acts as a virtual assistant helping you track down the right information at the right time.
• Finds business data for your company in Business Central.
• Gives explanations or step-by-step guidance on various tasks.
• Helps you understand the purpose and typical use of individual fields.

The Chat with Copilot feature gives you a direct, conversational way to interact with your Business Central data. Whether you're asking about posted amounts, how a process works or what a specific field means, Copilot provides helpful, context-aware responses, plus follow-up guidance when needed. This built-in side panel offers both step-by-step support and instant data insights, helping new and experienced users alike get quick answers without leaving the page.

Improving Customer Service with Sales and Inventory Forecasting

• Effective inventory management is crucial for customer service and profitability.
• Generative AI can assist in sales and inventory forecasting. By analyzing historical data, it predicts demand patterns, lead times and optimal reorder points.
• This helps businesses maintain optimal inventory levels, reduce stockouts and enhance customer satisfaction.

Sales and Revenue Forecasting

Using historical data, Copilot can forecast your sales trends and revenue. It highlights risks, opportunities and deviations from targets.Whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor or service provider - Copilot helps you plan your next move with confidence.

Why it matters :

• Make data-backed decisions.
• Plan growth with accuracy.
• Identify high-performing products and teams.

Enhancing Decision Making

Generative AI can analyze data and provide insights to aid decision-making.

For instance, it can generate financial forecasts for revenue, expenses and cash flow. These forecasts assist businesses in planning and making informed choices.

Automate Financial Reporting

Financial reporting can be a painful task. But with Copilot, you can automate creation of financial summaries, P&L reports, cash flow analysis and more.

It pulls live data from your system and structures it in easy-to-read formats- complete with graphs, tables and insights.

Why it matters:

• Saves hours of manual work.
• Increases accuracy.
• Helps CFOs and accountants stay informed.
• Personalized Marketing Content
• Use generative AI to create unique marketing text for campaigns, emails or social media.
Customize content based on product attributes (e.g. colour, material, size) and brand tone. This streamlines marketing efforts and engages customers effectively.

Why Choose Copilot in Business Central with Dynamics Square?

At Dynamics Square, We have experts in implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with the latest Copilot AI features. Here’s how we support your business:

• Smooth ERP Implementation
• AI Feature Customization
• End-to-End Training & Support
• Trusted Microsoft Partner

We can help you modernize operations with cloud ERP + AI - all in one solution.

Conclusion

The fusion of Generative AI in ERP systems and Microsoft Copilot marks a turning point in how businesses operate, analyze and innovate. With AI in Business Central, organizations are empowered to automate routine processes, generate personalized content and gain real-time insights- all while scaling efficiently.

As Microsoft Dynamics 365 continues to evolve, Business Central Copilot features will play a critical role in delivering smarter, more responsive and deeply integrated business solutions. Whether you're looking to reduce manual workloads, improve decision-making or embrace true ERP automation, Generative AI and Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central are paving the way for a more intelligent and future-ready business ecosystem.

Are you ready to transform your business with AI-driven innovation? Let Dynamics Square guide you through the journey with Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Copilot.