Create a new AI action for variance analysis

[This article is prerelease documentation and is subject to change.]

This article describes the steps required to author a new autonomous AI action for the Variance analysis feature. When you complete the steps in this article, AI actions can run variance analyses on your behalf and notify you when the process is complete.

The Variance analysis AI action creation form is designed to help you create a new variance analysis autonomous action within your Microsoft 365 applications.

Note

To create an AI action, you must first create a template. Learn more about creating and managing templates in Use templates to perform variance analyses. Pivot Tables aren't required for analysis of source files when an AI Action performs the analysis. The dataset only needs the flat table raw data. (The agent uses the metadata components from the pivot table of the original dataset used to create the template for perspective on how to analyze the data.)

Create a new AI action

The following guidance, beginning with step 1, describes how to create an AI action from the Finance homepage sidecar. Alternatively, you can create an agent from within the Variance analysis sidecar after creating a new, or selecting an existing, template. To create an agent from within the Variance analysis sidecar, select Create an agent with this template and proceed to step 3.

To create a new agent from the Finance agents homepage sidecar, follow these steps:

1. In Excel, go to the Finance agents sidecar, and select AI Actions.
2. Select + New AI Action, and select Variance analysis.
3. Fill out each of the required fields as described in the following steps.

1. In the Data Source section, complete the following details:
   • In AI action name (Variance Analysis), enter a unique name to identify the specific action.
   • In Templates, the selected template to drive the steps of the AI action is automatically completed if you create the AI action from within the Variance analysis feature. If necessary, you can change the template by selecting the dropdown and choosing one of the other available templates.
   • In Data source, specify the SharePoint folder where the files to retrieve for analysis can be found and where the output of a Variance analysis AI action is stored.
2. In the Settings section, complete the following details:
   • In Trigger, choose a trigger: either Event or Schedule. This field is required. The Event Trigger autonomously processes the variance analysis when you add a source file to the source folder. The Schedule Trigger autonomously processes the variance analysis when the schedule criteria are met and the two source files are present in the source folder.
   • In Recipient(s), enter the email addresses of the recipients who receive an email notification. You can enter up to 10 recipients. This field is required.
   • Ensure all required fields are completed correctly.
3. Select Save.

Edit an existing AI Action

To edit an existing AI Action, follow these steps:

1. In Excel, go to the Finance agents sidecar, and select AI Action.
2. Select the AI Action you want to edit.
3. Update the required fields as described in the following steps.
4. In the AI Action Name section, update the name of the agent. This field is required.
5. In Data source section, update the SharePoint folder where source data can be retrieved from and where output can be provided. This field is required.
6. In the Recipient(s) section, update the email addresses of the recipients who receive an email notification. You can enter up to 10 recipients. This field is required.
7. In the Settings section, update the Trigger type. You can choose either Event or Schedule.
8. In the Template section, update the template for the variance analysis.
9. Ensure all required fields are completed correctly.
10. Select Save.

Investigate AI Action errors

If you encounter an issue while using the Variance Analysis AI Action creation form, follow these steps:

1. Ensure that the entered SharePoint site URL and library name are correct.
2. Verify the folder name.
3. Check that the recipient email addresses are valid.
4. Make sure that a valid template is selected.
5. Ensure that the specified folder path only contains one file at a time.