As a Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate (PL-200), it’s instrumental to understand their importance, the capabilities they offer, and the ability to integrate them into applications such as Dynamics 365 and Power Apps that enhance business productivity and customer engagement. This article delves into the chatbot skills and artificial intelligence capabilities that are crucial for a PL-200 Microsoft Power Platform consultant.
Chatbot Skills
Chatbots are automated bots which are programmed to imitate human conversation. In Microsoft Power Platform, Power Virtual Agents (PVA) is a service that can be used to create, manage, and deploy powerful chatbots as per business requirements.
Conversation Flow Building
Chatbots can simulate human-like conversations, making users feel as though they’re communicating with another human instead of a bot. Microsoft provides Power Virtual Agents where consultants can design conversational flows utilizing a user-friendly interface.
Example:
Assuming a chatbot for online store customer service. The conversation flow could be designed in the manner:
User: “I want to return an item.”
Chatbot: “Could you please provide me with the order number?”
Topic and Entities Identification
A critical skill of any chatbot is understanding the ‘topics’ or ‘entities’ the user wants to discuss. For instance, a customer service chatbot should comprehend inquiries about product pricing, shipping status, or refunds. Power Virtual Agents use Microsoft’s AI capabilities to recognize these key details during a conversation.
Connection with Backend Systems
Chatbots can connect to backend systems like customer databases or order management systems in real time. In Power Platform, developers can use Power Automate to design these connections. For instance, a chatbot can connect to a CRM system to retrieve customer details or update order status.
Artificial Intelligence Capabilities
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer systems. It includes learning, reasoning, self-correction, and understanding language. Microsoft’s Power Platform embeds AI capabilities through AI Builder.
Predictive Analysis
AI Builder has models that can help in predicting future outcomes like customer churn, sales forecasts, etc. AI builder then uses this predictive model to drive action in Power Automate or applications built in Power Apps.
Object Detection
Object detection lets you count, locate, and identify selected objects within any image. For instance, if an organization wants to digitize its inventory management, they can use the object detection capability to identify and count items.
Form Processing
Form processing enables AI to recognize and extract information from forms. A functional consultant might set up a model in AI Builder where the AI recognizes merchant name, transaction date, and total amount from receipts and invoices.
Text Classification
AI Builder provides text classification models used to categorize text into predefined groups. Common uses include sentiment analysis, intention prediction, or spam detection.
The capabilities of AI and chatbots on the Microsoft Power Platform make them powerful tools for businesses in streamlining operations and improving customer relations. Therefore, the PL-200 Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant should master these skills to deliver the best technology solutions for their organizations. By efficiently combining these technologies, businesses can fully harness the power of automation and AI to find smart and innovative solutions to problems.
Practice Test
True or False: Chatbots can be enhanced with AI capabilities which enable them to understand and respond to human language.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: AI capabilities, like natural language processing, are often being integrated into chatbots to enhance their ability to understand and respond to human language in a meaningful way.
Which of the following is a key skill of a chatbot?
- A. Data Analysis
- B. Ordering food online
- C. Understanding and responding to human language
- D. Email marketing
Answer: C. Understanding and responding to human language.
Explanation: Understanding and responding to human language is a key skill of a chatbot, imbued through AI capabilities like natural language processing.
True or False: Microsoft Power Platform does not support the integration of chatbots.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: Microsoft Power Platform does support the integration of chatbots, including the Microsoft Bot Framework and Power Virtual Agents.
Chatbots integrated with AI can _______.
- A. Only display pre-programmed responses
- B. Both understand and respond to human conversation and display pre-programmed responses
- C. Only respond to specific commands
- D. None of the above
Answer: B. Both understand and respond to human conversation and display pre-programmed responses.
Explanation: Chatbots integrated with AI can go beyond just displaying pre-programmed responses, they can also understand and respond in ways that simulate human interaction.
True or False: AI enables chatbots to learn and improve over time.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: AI capabilities allow chatbots to learn and refine their responses over time using machine learning algorithms.
Which of the following is not an AI capability?
- A. Emotion Recognition
- B. Natural Language Processing
- C. Compiling code
- D. Speech Recognition
Answer: C. Compiling code
Explanation: AI capabilities commonly include aspects like emotion and speech recognition, and natural language processing. Compiling code is not an AI capability, it’s more related to software development.
True or False: With Microsoft Power Platform, chatbots can be trained with pre-existing data sets.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Power Platform’s AI Builder allows developers to use pre-existing data sets to train their AI models, which can then be used to improve the functionality of chatbots.
Power Virtual Agents (PVA) is a tool on Microsoft Power Platform that allows users to ________.
- A. Create, maintain, and improve chatbots.
- B. Fix bugs in the system.
- C. Monitor traffic on websites.
- D. None of the above.
Answer: A. Create, maintain, and improve chatbots.
Explanation: PVA is designed to allow users to easily create chatbots, as well as maintain them, analyze their performance, and make improvements where necessary.
True or False: AI capabilities cannot be integrated with chatbot frameworks other than Microsoft’s.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: AI capabilities can be integrated with many different chatbot frameworks, not just Microsoft’s. It entirely depends on the framework’s capacity to support AI integrations.
Natural Language Understanding is one of the AI capabilities which ______.
- A. Translate languages
- B. Understands human language and intent
- C. Codes software
- D. Builds websites
Answer: B. Understands human language and intent
Explanation: Natural Language Understanding, or NLU, is a subset of AI that helps chatbots understand and interpret human language in a meaningful and usable way.
Interview Questions
What is a chatbot skill in terms of Microsoft Power Platform?
A chatbot skill is a contained piece of functionality that delivers a specific capability. In the context of Microsoft Power Platform, it refers to the specific abilities that can be added to the chatbot, such as answering FAQs, performing transactions, integrating with CRM systems, etc.
How does AI capabilities enhance a chatbot in Power Platform?
AI capabilities enhance a chatbot by enabling it to understand and interpret user inputs more accurately, carry out sophisticated tasks, engage in human-like conversations, and continually learn and improve from interactions.
What is the role of Microsoft Bot Framework in building chatbots?
Microsoft Bot Framework provides the comprehensive tools and services required to build, test, deploy, and manage chatbots. It includes the Bot Framework SDK for developing bots, Bot Framework Service for connecting bots to channels, and Azure Bot Service for deploying bots on Azure.
What are some of the AI capabilities available in Microsoft Power Platform?
Some AI capabilities in Microsoft Power Platform include AI Builder, Power Virtual Agents, and Power BI AI, enabling users to build and use custom machine learning models, create intelligent chatbots, and employ AI-driven analytics, respectively.
What does Power Virtual Agents allow you to do?
Power Virtual Agents allows you to create powerful chatbots using a guided, no-code graphical interface without needing expertise in data science or coding.
Can we integrate a chatbot developed with Power Platform with a CRM system?
Yes, chatbots developed with Power Platform can be integrated with CRM systems like Dynamics 365 to aid in tasks like tracking customer interactions, updating records, creating tickets, and more.
How can AI Builder in Power Platform help businesses?
AI Builder provides a no-code experience for training, building, and deploying machine learning models. This helps in automating processes, enhancing decision making, making predictions, and augmenting data insights.
How does Microsoft Power Virtual Agents use AI in the chatbot?
Power Virtual Agents uses AI to understand complex language inputs, guide users towards a goal with intelligently designed conversation paths, extract information from user inputs, and learn and improve over time.
What are some examples of AI features in Power BI?
Some AI features in Power BI include key influencers visual, Q&A feature, anomaly detection, smart narratives, and automated machine learning.
What is the role of AI models in Power Platform?
AI models in Power Platform enable intelligent data analysis and automated business processes, providing predictive insights, recommendations, and automation of repetitive tasks based on learned patterns and behaviors.