Add Dataverse tables to your agent as a knowledge source

When you integrate Dataverse tables as a knowledge source, you ground your agent in the data contained in your tables. Learn more in Improve agent responses from Microsoft Dataverse.

Note

To use this knowledge source, Copilot Studio agents must use Dataverse search. If you can't add a Dataverse table to an agent, ask your administrator to turn on Dataverse search in your environment. Learn more in What is Dataverse search and Configure Dataverse search for your environment.
Dataverse tables as knowledge sources require you to set your agent's authentication to Authenticate with Microsoft. The other two options, No authentication and Authenticate manually aren't currently supported.
To add Dataverse tables as a knowledge source, you must have the appropriate permissions to access the underlying data. Missing or insufficient permissions might prevent tables from being visible or selectable during setup. Learn more in Assign a security role to a user.

To add Dataverse tables as a knowledge source, perform the following steps:

Open your Copilot Studio agent.
Select the Build tab.
In the components panel, select the Knowledge button.
Select Add knowledge, and then select Dataverse.
Locate one or more of your Dataverse tables to add. You can add up to 15 Dataverse tables per knowledge source. To narrow down your options, use the search field.

Note

Table recommendations are based on the name of your agent.
Review the knowledge name and description. Provide a detailed description, since the description aids the agent orchestration and helps the agent understand the context of the knowledge source.
Select Add to agent to finish adding the knowledge source.

Tip

Test your agent with questions your users would ask, and include questions that require filtering, such as, "which cases opened this week are still unresolved?", rather than a single lookup. If answers come back thin, the fix is usually a better knowledge description, not a different table.

Prepare Dataverse tables with Data Workspace

When you add Dataverse tables as knowledge, the Select tables step can include a link to Power Apps Data Workspace. Select the link if you need to create, update, or organize data before choosing tables for the agent. Data Workspace opens in a new tab, and you can return to the Add knowledge wizard when you're ready to select tables.

The link appears only when your environment has the required data-preparation solution and Data Workspace is enabled. If the link doesn't appear, continue with the available tables or ask your administrator whether Data Workspace is available in your environment.

Preview feature availability can vary by tenant or rollout group.

Search multiline text and file columns

When you add Dataverse as a knowledge source, you can apply unstructured reasoning to get higher-quality responses from Multiline Text (MemoType) and File (FileType) columns. By default, retrieval works over the structured columns of a table. The preview extends it to unstructured content held in Multiline Text (MemoType) and File (FileType) columns, so notes, descriptions, and attached documents become answerable.

Before performing a search on Dataverse data, make sure you meet the following requirements:

The Dataverse search capability is turned on.
You have maker or admin access (required for modifying views in Power Apps).

Learn more in Configure Dataverse search for your environment.

Important

Creating a search index incurs extra Dataverse capacity costs. Learn more in How much will Dataverse search cost?.

Configure the Dataverse table in Power Apps

In the Quick Find View, explicitly include the table, and the Multiline Text and File columns as Searchable. Learn more in Configure Dataverse search for your environment.

Sign in to Power Apps and select the environment you want.
Select Dataverse then Tables.
Select the Dataverse table you added to the Copilot Studio agent.
Turn on Searchable for each column you want to search.
In the Data experiences pane, select Views.
From the list of views, select the Quick Find View type.
Select a searchable column from the list and add it to the view.
Select Edit find tables columns to add searchable columns from the Find by options.
Select Save and Publish to publish the changes to the view.

Note

If you add a Dataverse knowledge source before configuring your Multiline Text and File columns in Power Apps, it might take up to two days for the system to backfill the request. To expedite, consider adding the Dataverse knowledge again after configuring the field for search.

Known limitations

Functionality	Limitation
Tables per knowledge source	Currently, up to 15 tables.
Authentication	Dataverse tables as knowledge sources require you to set your agent's authentication to Authenticate with Microsoft. The other two options, No authentication and Authenticate manually aren't supported.
Virtual tables	Only virtual tables that use the Finance and Operations data provider can be selected.
File attachments (preview)	Tables, images, and text in non-organization languages aren't supported.

Synonyms and glossary for Dataverse sources

When you edit a Dataverse knowledge source, you don't see controls for synonyms and glossary. Dataverse sources use the table metadata and column descriptions in Dataverse for search-time matching, so you don't add separate synonym lists or glossary entries in Copilot Studio for these sources.

To improve how your agent finds the right rows in a Dataverse source:

Add clear column names and descriptions in the Dataverse table itself.
Update the source name and description on the knowledge source chip so the agent can identify when to use the source.
Test with representative questions in the Preview tab to confirm the agent selects the Dataverse source when expected.
Use skills to help train your agent to understand common verbiage.

Troubleshooting

Most Dataverse table issues fall into the following categories:

Issue	Resolution
Dataverse isn't offered, or no tables can be added	Make sure Dataverse search is turned on in your environment. Learn more in Configure Dataverse search for your environment.
A specific table is missing from the list	Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to access the underlying data. Missing or insufficient permissions might prevent tables from being visible or selectable during setup. Learn more in Assign a security role to a user.
The agent ignores the source and answers generically	Make sure the knowledge source has a clear name and description. The description aids the agent orchestration and helps the agent understand the context of the knowledge source. Also confirm that the agent uses Authenticate with Microsoft.
Notes or attached files never appear in answers	Make sure the Multiline Text and File columns are configured as searchable in the table's Quick Find View. Learn more in Configure Dataverse search for your environment.

When Dataverse, Dynamics 365, and uploaded file sources aren't available

If the Dataverse search-and-index setting for your environment is set to a mode that doesn't support agent knowledge, the Add knowledge dialog shows an admin-action banner. While that setting is in effect, both add-time and retrieval-time behavior are affected:

You can't add new Dataverse, Dynamics 365, or Uploaded files sources to agents in the environment.
Sources of these types that you added before the setting changed stay configured on the agent, but the agent might not be able to retrieve from them.

Copilot Studio makers can't change this setting themselves. Ask your administrator to update the environment's Dataverse search-and-index setting to a mode that supports agent knowledge. You don't need to remove or re-add existing sources — after the setting is updated, the banner clears, retrieval resumes, and you can add new sources again.