Build intelligent automations with AI, RPA, and Microsoft 365 to streamline work and reduce manual tasks

Key Features

• Build flows faster using Copilot, AI Builder, and Gen AI tools
• Learn to create robust cloud and desktop automations through real-world examples
• Implement best practices for security, governance, and monitoring

Book Description

Whether you're automating a daily task or implementing automation at scale, this third edition gives you everything you need to succeed. This practical guide makes automation accessible, helping you streamline operations using low-code cloud flows, desktop RPA, and AI tools built into Microsoft Power Automate.

You’ll begin by building foundational skills through easy-to-follow tutorials that show how to automate actions across Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Slack, and more. From there, you'll level up to integrating approvals, databases, and Forms, handle complex scenarios such as sequential and parallel approvals, and manage shared flows.

The book explores Power Automate’s robotic process automation capabilities, teaching you how to automate legacy applications, web interfaces, and Access databases. With expanded coverage of AI Builder, sentiment analysis, Copilot, and document summarization using generative AI, you'll gain hands-on experience creating intelligent, responsive workflows that drive efficiency.

Written by a Microsoft 365 expert, this third edition adds 8 new chapters along with guidance on governance, compliance, and enterprise deployment, making it a complete guide for anyone looking to get started or scale automation with Power Automate.

*Email sign-up and proof of purchase required

What you will learn

• Build cloud flows using triggers, connectors, and actions
• Use Copilot and generative AI to create and edit flows
• Automate desktop tasks with Power Automate for Desktop
• Create approval processes for Teams, Slack, and email
• Connect Power Automate to Dataverse, Forms, and SQL
• Implement error handling, monitoring, and troubleshooting
• Govern and scale automations using best practices

Who this book is for

This book is ideal for information workers, citizen developers, and Power users looking to automate workflows across Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, and third-party platforms. Basic familiarity with Microsoft 365 is recommended.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Basics

Chapter 1: Introducing Microsoft Power Automate

Chapter 2: Getting Started with Power Automate

Chapter 3: Working with Email

Chapter 4: Copying Files

Chapter 5: Creating Button Flows

Chapter 6: Generating Push Notifications

Chapter 7: Working with Shared Flows

Part 2: Advanced Operations and Flows

Chapter 8: Working with Conditions

Chapter 9: Understanding Expressions and Functions

Chapter 10: Getting Started with Approvals

Chapter 11: Working with Multiple Approvals

Chapter 12: Posting Approvals to Teams

Chapter 13: Using Databases

Chapter 14: Working with Microsoft Forms

Chapter 15: Posting to Slack

Chapter 16: Accepting User Input

Chapter 17: Automating Entra ID

Part 3: Robotic Process Automation, Al Models, Copilot, and Beyond

Chapter 18: Introducing Robotic Process Automation

Chapter 19: Contributing to an Access Database with RPA

Chapter 20: Automating Web Pages with RPA

Chapter 21: Introducing Al Models and Generative Al

Chapter 22: Creating a Sentiment Analysis Flow

Chapter 23: Using Copilot to Create and Manage Flows

Chapter 24: Using Generative Al to Summarize Documents

Part 4: Administration

Chapter 25: Exporting, Importing, and Distributing Flows

Chapter 26: Monitoring and Troubleshooting Flows

Chapter 27: Governance in the Power Platform

Review

“If you’ve ever felt bogged down by repetitive tasks - copying files, sending emails, managing approvals, or updating databases, this book is for you. What I love is the balance of simplicity and depth. It’s perfect for non-technical users who want to streamline work, yet it doesn’t shy away from advanced scenarios like multi-stage approvals, database integration, RPA, and AI-powered flows. By the time you’re halfway through, you’ll start spotting automation opportunities everywhere. The book doesn’t just teach features; it helps you think like a workflow designer.”

Steve Miles, Microsoft MVP

About the Author

Aaron Guilmette, a Senior Program Manager for Customer Experience (CXP), provides guidance and assistance to customers adopting the Microsoft 365 platform. He primarily focuses on collaborative technologies, including Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Teams. He also works with identity and automation solutions.

He has been involved with technology since 1998 and has provided consulting services for customers in the commercial, educational, and government sectors internationally. Aaron has also worked on technical certification exams and instructional design for Microsoft and other organizations.