AI approvals in Copilot Studio will transform how organizations handle decision-making: automating approval workflows while preserving human oversight where it matters most. We’re thrilled to announce the preview of this powerful capability, designed to empower teams to focus on more strategic, high-impact work.
What are AI approvals?
AI approvals are intelligent decision-making steps built into multistage approval workflows in Copilot Studio. These steps allow AI to evaluate requests using your business rules and criteria, making consistent approve or reject decisions automatically. Unlike traditional rule-based automation, AI approvals can analyze unstructured data, interpret complex documents, and apply nuanced logic – while still allowing human reviewers to oversee and finalize critical decisions.
How do AI approvals work?
AI approvals integrate directly into your existing multistage approvals in Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly known as advanced approvals). You can easily add AI stages – automated decision points – into your workflows to streamline routine approvals.
AI approvals in Copilot Studio follow a simple three-step process:
- Define your decision criteria – Write clear instructions that guide the AI, such as “reject expense reports over $500 without manager pre-approval.”
- Provide relevant inputs – Supply the AI with documents, images, text, or organizational knowledge it needs to make informed decisions.
- Let AI decide – The AI evaluates each request, applies your rules, and returns an approve or reject decision with a clear explanation for its decision.
And the best part? Because you can combine AI stages with manual, human-driven stages, AI approvals foster true human-AI collaboration – where AI handles routine decisions, and humans stay in control of the final outcome.
Key benefits of AI approvals
AI approvals enable a plethora of benefits. Here are a few:
Empower employees to do more meaningful work
AI approvals reduce the burden of repetitive decision-making by automating routine tasks. This gives employees more time each month to focus on strategic, high-impact work. For example, instead of chasing signatures or verifying line items, finance teams can shift their attention to forecasting, budgeting, and negotiating better contracts.
Save hours with every approval
With AI approvals, what used to take days can now happen in seconds. Requests are processed instantly, even outside of business hours. That means no more waiting for someone to check their inbox; your workflows keep moving, around the clock.
Cut costs with faster approvals
When AI handles approvals instantly, your team avoids delays that lead to missed discounts or late fees. For instance, AI-driven invoice approvals can help finance teams secure early-payment savings and prevent costly penalties – without lifting a finger.
Make fewer error and promote better outcomes
Because AI follows your rules exactly, it reduces the chance of human error in approval workflows. That means fewer corrections, more reliable decisions, and stronger compliance. In the long run, this leads to better financial results, improved decision-making, and protects your organization’s reputation.
A digital transformation specialist summed it perfectly:
As someone deeply involved in digital transformation, I see [AI approvals] as a breakthrough for: faster workflows, fewer errors, better compliance, and more time for meaningful work
What can you use AI approvals for?
AI approvals are flexible and can be applied to many everyday workflows. Here are some common use cases:
- Expense reimbursement approvals: Approve or reject claims automatically when they meet policy thresholds, receipts are valid, and spending aligns with company guidelines.
- Purchase order (PO) approvals: Approve purchase requests when they fall within budget, meet vendor requirements, and match the appropriate authorization level.
- Vendor/supplier approvals: Accept or reject new vendor applications based on qualification criteria, compliance standards, and risk thresholds.
- Invoice processing approvals: Validate and approve invoices when documentation is complete, amounts are accurate, and payment terms are met.
- Document review approvals: Approve contracts, proposals, or reports if they meet formatting standards, include required elements, and are complete.
- Time-off request approvals: Automatically approve or flag time-off requests based on available balances, coverage needs, and scheduling rules.
- Travel authorization approvals: Automatically approve travel requests if they comply with policy, stay within budget, and are booked in advance.
Ready to get started?
AI approvals are available exclusively in agent flows within Microsoft Copilot Studio, giving you the power to automate approvals with intelligent decision-making.
To get started:
- Familiarize yourself with AI approvals in our public documentation.
- Open your agent flow in Copilot Studio and select the “Run a multistage approval” action from the AI capabilities section.
- Configure your AI approval stages by writing clear instructions, uploading relevant documents or data, and defining your approval criteria.
- Start simple with use cases like expense approvals or document reviews and expand to more complex use cases as you go along.
- Deploy your workflow, knowing it integrates seamlessly with any human approval stages you include.
We have one question for you: What will you build?
Helpful resources
- General information about multistage approvals: aka.ms/advancedapprovalsdoc
- Documentation on AI approvals: aka.ms/aiapprovalsdoc
- How to write instructions in your AI approvals: aka.ms/intelligentapprovalprompting
- Multistage approvals (formerly, advanced approvals) blog: aka.ms/advancedapprovalsblog
- Agent flows blog: Introducing agent flows: Transforming automation with AI-first workflows | Microsoft Copilot Blog
Tell us what you think
Tried AI approvals? We’d love to hear how it went. Use the thumbs up/down feedback tool in Copilot Studio or contact us directly. Your feedback helps shape the future of intelligent automation.
