Use generative answers in a topic
When you create your copilot, you have the option to enter a URL your copilot uses to generate responses. This URL is used in all features of the copilot. However, you can boost your copilot's conversations by using multiple internal and external information sources within individual topics.
Within a copilot's topic, you can add a Generative answers node. This node allows you to specify more sources that the node searches based on your inputs. Information sources defined in the Generative answers node override sources you specified at the copilot level, which functions as a fallback.
These sources include:
External sources:
- Bing Search
- Bing Custom Search
Internal resources:
- Azure OpenAI on your data
- Documents uploaded to Dataverse
- SharePoint (only modern pages)
- OneDrive
- Custom data (internal or external): Supply your own content from any source. For example, a Power Automate Flow, a Skill, or other source.
Information sources
Different information sources have different capabilities, such as the number of inputs, the type or format of the data, and how (or if) the source needs authentication to access it.
Name | Source | Description | Number of inputs supported in general answers | Authentication |
---|---|---|---|---|
Public Website | External | Searches the query input on Bing, only returns results from provided websites | 4 public URLs (for example, microsoft.com) | None |
Documents | Internal | Searches documents uploaded to Dataverse, returns results from the document contents | Limited by Dataverse file storage allocation | None |
SharePoint | Internal | Connects to a SharePoint URL, uses GraphSearch to return results | 4 URLs per generative answers topic node | Copilot user's Microsoft Entra ID authentication |
OneDrive | Internal | Connects to a OneDrive URL, uses GraphSearch to return results | 4 URLs per generative answers topic node | Copilot user's Microsoft Entra ID authentication |
Dataverse | Internal | Connects to the connected Dataverse environment and uses retrieval-augmented generative technique in Dataverse to return results | Two Dataverse knowledge sources (and up to 15 tables per knowledge source) | Copilot user's Microsoft Entra ID authentication |
Enterprise data via graph connections | Internal | Connects to the connected Dataverse environment and uses retrieval-augmented generative technique in Dataverse to return results | Two per custom copilot | Copilot user's Microsoft Entra ID authentication |
Note
Copilot user authentication for information sources means that when a specific user asks a question of the copilot, the copilot only surfaces content for that specific user to access.
Add a generative answers node
Select the Topics page and open a topic. Find where you want to use generative answers.
Select the plus icon to open the new node menu.
Under Advanced, select Generative answers.
A new node called Create generative answers is added to your topic. To access the Properties pane, select the node's
...
then Properties.You can specify and configure your new data sources:
Authentication
Some sources require authentication, since the copilot makes calls on behalf of the user in the chat window. Calls use the account credentials from powerva.microsoft.com.
The authentication settings configured in the copilot need manual authentication with the Service Provider type of Microsoft Entra ID.
To configure authentication and create a Microsoft Entra ID, see:
- Configure user authentication in Copilot Studio.
- Configure user authentication with a Microsoft Entra ID.
Include delegated permissions for Microsoft Graph:
Files.Read.All
Sites.Read.All
Supported content
Generative answers obtain content stored in these formats:
- SharePoint pages (modern pages)
- Word documents (docx)
- PowerPoint documents (pptx)
- PDF documents (pdf)
Note
Only modern pages are supported. Content from classic ASPX pages on SharePoint won't be used to generate answers.