Copilot prompt for a Power Automate flow
A Power Automate prompt for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot that turns a plain description of what should happen into a flow design: exact trigger, connectors and actions, conditions, error handling and a test plan.
Tuned for Copilot · structured role / context / task / output
Open in the builder →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 flow that saves Outlook attachments to a SharePoint library and posts a summary to a Teams channel. # 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 Think through the problem step by step before answering. Work the hard parts out explicitly, then give a clear final answer. Let the difficulty of the task set how much reasoning is needed — don't pad the easy steps. - 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. - Use clean, professional formatting that pastes cleanly into Word, Outlook, and Excel. Prefer tables and numbered steps for anything structured. - Deliver one finished, office-ready result rather than a set of options. - Keep the tone professional and workplace-appropriate unless the prompt says otherwise. - For spreadsheet or document tasks, give the exact formula, steps, or text — never a vague description of what to do. - 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
Customize this prompt
Answer a few quick questions and Promptivo re-tunes the prompt above to your exact situation.
Start the interview →Why this prompt works
Power Automate fails quietly when the trigger is wrong, so the prompt forces the trigger event and a trigger condition into the Context block before any action is designed.
Generic AI answers invent connector and action names. The prompt requires the names as they appear in the designer and tells the model to say when an action may not exist.
Most broken flows have no failure branch. The prompt asks for run-after error handling and a notification path, not just the happy path.
Licensing and policy surprise people late: premium connectors, DLP blocks and the SharePoint 5,000-item threshold are called out up front.
Using this prompt in Copilot
For power automate flow, Copilot is a strong choice — it's especially good at Office-ready output you can finish in Word, Outlook, and Excel. Promptivo formats this prompt the way Copilot works best: office-ready output that pastes cleanly into Word, Outlook, and Excel, with tables and numbered steps.
Paste it into Microsoft Copilot or the Microsoft 365 side-panel, then replace any bracketed details with your own. Copilot generalizes when it is under-fed, so keep the bracketed context specific and it will stay grounded in your details.
Tuned for Copilot: how it differs
| Model | What Promptivo changes |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Concise instructions, strict format adherence, no preamble. |
| Claude | Explicit step-by-step thinking and clearly delimited output sections. |
| Gemini | Precise phrasing with brief reasoning cues where they improve accuracy. |
| Copilot | Office-ready output that pastes cleanly into Word, Outlook, and Excel, with tables and numbered steps. |
Questions, answered
- Can ChatGPT or Copilot build a Power Automate flow?
- They can design one well when the prompt states the trigger, the connectors, each action in order, the conditions, and what to do on failure. Copilot in Power Automate can also generate the flow from a short paragraph, and this prompt has an output option written for it.
- What should a Power Automate prompt include?
- The trigger event, the systems involved (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Dataverse), the steps in order, any approval or condition, error handling, how often it runs, and any licensing or policy limits such as no premium connectors.
- Why does my flow stop at 5,000 SharePoint items?
- Unfiltered reads hit the list view threshold. Filter with an OData query and enable pagination on the Get items action. The prompt asks the model to design for this.
- Is Copilot good for power automate flow?
- Yes. Copilot handles power automate flow well thanks to its Office-ready output you can finish in Word, Outlook, and Excel, and Promptivo tunes the prompt to match — office-ready output that pastes cleanly into Word, Outlook, and Excel, with tables and numbered steps. Paste it into Microsoft Copilot or the Microsoft 365 side-panel.