Use Copilot in time entry (preview)

Applies To: Project Operations for resource/non-stocked based scenarios, Lite deployment - deal to proforma invoicing.

Copilot in time entry is designed to simplify the time entry experience and make it less time consuming by significantly reducing the number of pages that project team members must open. The time that the feature helps save can instead be used for high-leverage tasks.

The Copilot in time entry feature currently has two primary capabilities:

• Log time.
• Generate external comments.

Enable or disable the Copilot in time entry feature

The Copilot in time entry feature is currently in preview and can be accessed only in environments that are hosted in the NAM Microsoft Azure region. Before you try to access this feature, contact your tenant administrator to confirm that your environment meets this requirement.

To enable Copilot in time entry, follow these steps.

1. Sign in to Dynamics 365 Project Operations.
2. Ensure that you're using Project Operations version 4.103.0.X or later. This feature isn't available for earlier versions.
3. On the left navigation, change the area to Settings.
4. In the General section, select Parameters.
5. A list of organization units should appear. Double-tap (or double-click) the Organization Units row for the columns that aren't links.
6. On the Project Parameters page, in the Feature Control field, select Feature Control.
7. Select Enable Copilot in time entry, and then select OK.

Interactive Copilot chat experience

You can access both Copilot capabilities of this feature only by using the interactive Copilot chat experience. Because the Copilot chat experience is currently in preview, it might not be enabled on your environment.

• On the top menu bar, select the Copilot icon next to the user icon to expand the Copilot sidecar. The following message is shown: "Get started with Copilot by typing your request in chat."
• To collapse the sidecar, select the Copilot icon again.

Log time by using Copilot

Based on a user's existing project task assignments for the current week, this capability suggests draft time entries that can be created. If the user has preexisting time entries in that week, Copilot ensures that they aren't duplicated.

Follow these steps to log time by using Copilot.

1. Open the Time Entries page.

2. Begin a chat conversation by selecting the Copilot icon to expand the Copilot sidecar.

3. In the chat window, enter Log my time or Create time entries. Then select the Enter key.

   Copilot responds, "Working on it," and begins to scan your project assignments. It then responds with the suggested time entries for the current week. (It first removes any duplicate entries.) Learn more about how to create resource assignments.

4. Expand the section for each project to review the suggested time entries. To create time entries, select Create entries.

   Copilot responds with a confirmation that time entries are being created. It also prompts you to refresh the time entry grid to view the latest changes.

5. Refresh the time entry grid.

6. You can now make any necessary modifications to the draft time entries before you submit them for approval.

Generate external comments by using Copilot

External (customer-facing) comments are often crucial details that are added to individual time entries. Some users might even be unable to submit time entries for approval until they add these comments.

In the current process for creating and modifying external comments, users must open a new page for each time entry. Therefore, the process is very time consuming and can lead to inaccuracies in the submitted comments.

Copilot helps simplify this process in two ways:

• It generates external comments by using details such as the Project, Project Task, Role, and Duration values of a time entry. (The generated comments are kept under 100 characters.)
• It provides an effective interface where users can view and modify all comments together, without having to open a separate page for each entry.

Follow these steps to generate external comments by using Copilot.

1. Open the Time Entries page.

2. Begin a chat conversation by selecting the Copilot icon to expand the Copilot sidecar.

3. In the chat window, enter Generate comments or Add external comments. Then select the Enter key.

   Copilot first responds, "Working on it," and begins to use details such as the Project, Project Task, Role, and Duration values of each time entry to generate a generic first draft of the external comments. It then responds with the generated external comments for each time entry. Each generated comment is shown as an editable text box and can immediately be modified.

4. Review the generated comments, and make any necessary modifications to them. When you finish, select Save all.

   Copilot responds with a confirmation that comments are being saved for all time entries.

5. Refresh the time entry grid to view the latest changes.

To view previously saved external comments, enter View comments in the chat window. Copilot shows all previously saved comments. Notice that there's no Copilot icon for them. You can review, modify, and then save these comments in a similar way.

More resources

• Copilot in time entry responsible AI FAQ

Depending on where your environment is hosted, you might have to allow data movement across regions to use copilots and generative AI features. If your environment is hosted in a region that requires data movement across regions to use copilots and generative AI features, your tenant administrator must consent to the terms of use and select the Move data across regions checkbox in the Power Platform admin center. Learn more about how data movement across regions works.