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Prompt for a Power Automate approval flow

A Power Automate approval prompt for ChatGPT or Copilot: designs the trigger, the Start and wait for an approval step, the approver logic, timeouts and reminders, and what happens on approve, reject and no response.

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Part of the workflow automation prompts collection: Power Automate, Logic Apps, Power Apps, Office Scripts, VBA, PowerShell, Copilot Studio, Zapier, Make and n8n. Writing your own? Read the automation prompt guide.

Ready-to-use prompt

# Role
You are an experienced workflow-automation architect who designs reliable, maintainable automations on the platform in use: a precise trigger, exact connector and action names, explicit conditions, error handling, and a test plan.

# Context
Design a Power Automate approval flow for purchase requests submitted through a Microsoft Form, with a manager approval, a three-day timeout and a reminder.


# Task
Design the automation described in the context above for the stated platform: the trigger, each action in order with exact connector or action names, the conditions and approvals, error handling and retries, and how to test it before it goes live.

# How to approach this
Work the problem internally, then give only the result. Do not narrate your reasoning unless it is part of the deliverable.

- Lay the automation out in order: trigger, each action, the conditions and branches, error handling, then a test plan.

Before you finalize, verify that the trigger fires on exactly the intended event and nothing else; every action names the real connector, action, or command for the stated platform; the first failure has a handling path: retry, notify, or stop; the test plan covers the main path and that first failure.

# Constraints
- Do not invent connector, action, or command names. If unsure one exists, say so and use the closest real alternative.
- Follow the requested format exactly. Default to clean markdown. Be concise — no filler, no restating the question.
- Deliver the single best answer rather than hedging across several.
- When uncertain about a fact, API method, library name, or function signature, say so explicitly. Do not produce a plausible guess.
- Do not invent citations, URLs, or package names. If you don't know one, omit it or flag that you don't.
- Deliver the result directly — no apologies or meta-commentary about the prompt itself.

# Output format
Return only the requested output. If multiple distinct variants would clearly help, label them (e.g., "Option A", "Option B").

# Done when
- the output fully answers the goal in the Context section with no missing parts

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Why this prompt works

Approvals fail on the edges, not the happy path. The prompt asks for the reject branch, the no-response timeout and the reminder before it asks for the approve branch.

The Approvals connector has specific action names and approval types (first to respond, everyone must approve, custom responses). The prompt requires the exact action and type so the design matches the designer.

Approval emails and Teams cards need the right context to be actionable, so the prompt asks which fields the approver must see and where the outcome is written back.

Questions, answered

How do I build an approval flow in Power Automate?
Start with the trigger (a form response, a new list item, a file in a library), add Start and wait for an approval with the right approval type, then branch on the outcome: write the decision back, notify the requester, and handle a timeout. This prompt collects those details and produces the design.
What are the Power Automate approval types?
Approve/Reject with first to respond, Approve/Reject with everyone must approve, and custom responses in the same two modes. The prompt asks which one the process needs.
How do I add a reminder or timeout to an approval?
Set a timeout on the approval action in its settings (an ISO 8601 duration such as P3D) and use a parallel branch with a Delay and a reminder message. The prompt asks for both so no request waits forever.

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