How to Activate and Configure the Sales Order Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central

Imagine automating the tedious task of manually entering sales quotes and orders received via email, significantly reducing errors and increasing operational efficiency. That’s exactly what Microsoft’s new AI-powered Sales Order Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central can do for your business.

This ultimate guide walks you step-by-step through activating and configuring the Sales Order Agent. Whether you’re a Business Central consultant, operations manager, or finance professional, you’ll learn how to leverage this powerful feature confidently.

What is the Sales Order Agent?

The Sales Order Agent is an AI-powered Copilot feature in Dynamics 365 Business Central designed to automate the creation of sales quotes and orders directly from incoming emails. By intelligently reading and interpreting the content of incoming emails, the agent automatically extracts relevant information, reducing manual intervention.

How the Sales Order Agent Helps Your Business

Automated Email Processing: Eliminates the manual review of incoming sales order emails by automatically parsing and converting them into actionable sales quotes or orders.
Enhanced Operational Productivity: Enables your sales and finance teams to focus on strategic tasks rather than administrative duties.
Real-Time Data Handling: Instantly processes incoming emails, allowing for quicker customer response times and improved service levels.
Consistent Data Entry: Maintains consistency in data entry across sales documentation, improving reliability and reducing reconciliation tasks.
Ease of Integration: Easily integrates into existing Business Central workflows, allowing seamless adoption and minimal disruption.

Key Benefits

Efficiency: Automates manual data entry, saving valuable time.
Accuracy: Reduces human error by processing emails with precision.
Flexibility: Customizable configurations tailored to your business processes.
Control: Users can review and manually override AI-generated entries.

To better understand the business benefits, see How Sales Agent Can Transform Your Order Processing

Prerequisites

Action Summary: Before enabling and activating the Sales Order Agent, ensure the proper licenses, environment, and shared mailbox are set up beforehand.

Sales Order Agent prerequisites:

Licensing: Requires a production environment. Premium licenses are recommended, but not required.
Environment Setup: Ensure your Business Central environment is on the correct version (26.X).
Email Setup: Configure a dedicated shared mailbox for receiving sales orders.
Email Templates: Prepare sales order email body templates for consistent automation (optional).

Once you have addressed all the prerequisite steps above, it’s now time to activate the Sales Order Agent and begin configuration. First up, activating the agent in Business Central.

How to Activate the Sales Order Agent

Action Summary: Enable Sales Order Agent within the Copilot & Agent Capabilities window and then Activate the agent within the Sales Order Agent configuration window.

Step 1: Access Copilot & Agent Capabilities

Click the magnifying glass in the top-right corner of the Role Center to bring up the Intellisearch box. Alternatively, press ALT + Q to launch the search window, too.

Type Copilot in the search box and click Copilot & Agent Capabilities to navigate to the configuration window. From this window, you can review all AI-related features and functionalities currently available to you in Business Central.

Step 2: Enable the Sales Order Agent

Locate the Sales Order Agent within the “Production-Ready Previews” pane.

Confirm the status of the agent. If the Sales Order Agent is Active, skip to Configuring the Sales Order Agent. Otherwise, follow the steps below to activate the agent.
Select Sales Order Agent and click Activate. You will see the Status change from Inactive to Active.

Close this window and return to the Role Center.

Step 3: Activate the Agent

Click the Sales Order Agent icon in the top-right corner of the Role Center window to launch the agent’s configuration window.
Click Activate. The Sales Order Agent icon will change from a dashed border to a solid border, to indicate the agent is now completely activated.

Configuring the Sales Order Agent

With the Sales Order Agent enabled and active in Business Central, now it’s time to configure the agent.

Step 1: Open the Configuration Window

CLICK the Sales Order Agent’s icon in the top-right corner of the Role Center.
CLICK the Gear icon to open the configuration window.

For users who only need to manage agent tasks (e.g., review quotes, review emails, etc.), ADD each user to a new line but don’t check Can Configure.
For users who need to manage agent tasks and also configure agent behavior (e.g., how the agent handles emails, quote conversions, item availability checks, etc.), ADD the user and CHECK the box for Can Configure for each applicable user.

For users who only need to manage agent tasks (e.g., review quotes, review emails, etc.), ADD each user to a new line but don’t check Can Configure.
For users who need to manage agent tasks and also configure agent behavior (e.g., how the agent handles emails, quote conversions, item availability checks, etc.), ADD the user and CHECK the box for Can Configure for each applicable user.

When all users have been added, click “OK” to close the window.

Step 3: Set Up Mailbox Monitoring

Action Summary: Configure the agent to monitor a specific shared mailbox.

If the Agent should monitor incoming information, TOGGLE this setting ON.
CLICK the three dots next to ACCOUNT to select which shared mailbox the agent should monitor.

SELECT the appropriate mailbox and click OK

Ensure the checkbox for Mailbox is checked

For deeper mailbox and integration best practices, see Integrating Sales Order Agent with Microsoft 365

Step 4: Configure How the Agent Responds to Inquiries

Action Summary: Configure how the agent responds to new inquiries based on whether the sender is registered or unregistered in Business Central.

Types of Senders

Registered Senders: These are senders who are current contacts in your Business Central environment (i.e., the sender has an official contact card in BC).
Unregistered Senders: These are senders who are not currently in your Business Central environment (i.e., the sender does not have an official contact card in BC).

How it Applies: When the Sales Order Agent receives a new email, it can query your contact table to determine if the sender is already registered in your system. Once the sender’s status is determined (registered or unregistered), the agent will use the configuration setting for that type of sender to determine its subsequent actions.

Now that we’ve discussed the two kinds of senders an agent interacts with, let’s discuss the three configuration settings available to each and how they impact the agent’s actions.

Configure Sender Settings for Message Reviews

Action Summary: For each type of sender (registered or unregistered), select the appropriate configuration setting that aligns with your process. There are three options for both types of senders.

All: The agent prompts the Business Central user to review all request emails before generating a quote and reply email.
First Message in the Conversation: The agent only prompts the BC user to review the first message in a new conversation thread. All subsequent actions in the process will be handled by the agent alone, not including outgoing emails (see below).
No Review (advanced): The agent does not prompt the BC user to review the quote before drafting the reply email with the quote attached. The BC user is still required to review the outgoing message before the agent sends the reply.

Note: No outgoing emails are sent automatically to the customer without prior review by the BC user.

In other words, if you select No Review (advanced), the agent will not prompt you to review the originating request or generated quote. It will only prompt you to review the outgoing email to the customer, which has the quote attached.

Step 5: Configure How the Agent Uses Item Availability in Requests

Action Summary: Configure how the agent will handle item checks when a quote is requested.

When a new quote request is received, the Sales Order Agent can query the item table to determine the availability of the item.

If you only want the agent to provide a quote for items that are currently available:

Check the box for “Select only available items.”
Otherwise, the agent will respond to the client with a quote, regardless of availability.

Step 6: Configure How the Agent Handles Quotes Creation

Action Summary: Configure how the agent will handle quote creation.

Much like the configuration setting that determines whether the agent prompts the Business Central user to review the originating inquiry, we can also configure the Sales Order Agent to prompt the user to review quotes when they are created and updated.

If you want the agent to prompt the Business Central user to review the newly created or updated quote before the agent generates the reply email:

CHECK the box next to “Review quotes when created and updated.” With this setting turned on, the agent will create a review step for the BC user to review the quote before generating the return email with the quote attached.

If no review is required:

Leave the checkbox unchecked. This will configure the agent to auto-generate the quote based on the original request without user intervention.

For how the agent manages changes and approvals, see From Quotes to Orders.

Step 7: Configure How the Agent Handles Quote Conversions

Action Summary: Configure how the agent handles approved sales quotes and converts them into sales orders.

Once the customer approves a quote, we can configure the Sales Order Agent to automatically convert the sales quote into a sales order and then send a confirmation email back to the client, with the sales order confirmation attached.

If you want the agent to convert accepted sales quotes into sales orders automatically:

Check the box next to “Make orders from quotes.”

If you want the agent to add a review step for the new sales order before the agent drafts the return email:

Check the box next to “Review orders when created and updated.”

Note: If this setting is inactive, the agent will automatically convert the quote into an order and draft the return email, but will wait to send until after the user reviews and confirms the email.

Step 8: Activate the Agent in Business Central

Action Summary: Verify agent configuration settings and activate the agent.

Once all the configuration steps above are completed:

Navigate back to the first page of the Sales Order Agent configuration window.
Ensure the ACTIVE toggle is on and click UPDATE to activate the agent. The agent will now begin monitoring the specified shared mailbox for new requests.

Testing the Sales Order Agent

Action Summary: With our Sale Order Agent activated and configured, we will test the agent for any errors or issues throughout the process.

For this scenario, we will send an email from a user who’s already registered in Business Central. However, you can still test the agent using an unregistered user.

Send Quote Request from the Customer

Create a new email that you will send to your shared mailbox email address and add a quote request for an item you offer.
Click “Send” and then navigate back to Business Central.

Review the Sales Order Agent’s Process

When a new quote request is received, a red badge will display over the Sales Order Agent icon to indicate how many tasks are ready for review.

To review the current task, CLICK the Sales Order Agent icon to open its task list. Any task requiring your review is listed under Needs Attention.

To review this task and move the process to the next stage, CLICK the specific task requiring review to open the Review Pane.
When the review pane opens, you are presented with the agent’s generated email reply to the customer, including the specific item request, quantity, and delivery date. The outgoing email will also include a PDF version of the Sales Quote.

Make any necessary changes to the email and click “Confirm” when you’re ready for the agent to send the email reply.
Alternatively, you can click “Decide Later” if you need more time before proceeding to the next stage of the process. This will pause the task until you click “Confirm.”
After confirming the outgoing email, you are taken back to the Sales Order Agent task pane. From this pane, you can review the current task’s steps or navigate to previous tasks.

Navigate back to your email service and find the Agent’s reply email. Review the email for accuracy.

Note: At this point, a simple “Approved” in a return email will trigger the agent to convert the Sales Quote to an Order. However, to pressure test the agent’s functionality, we’re going to update our original request to see how the agent handles the change.

Click “Reply” on the email and adjust the quantity and/or date of the original request.

After updating the quote request, click “Send” to send it back to the agent for processing.
The agent will receive the update request and process it accordingly. If the item is still available after the quantity change, the Sales Order Agent will modify the original Sales Quote.

Once the quote is updated, the agent will prompt the Business Central user to review the outgoing email for the updated quote request. If approved, click “Confirm” to send this updated quote back to the customer.

Navigate back to your email provider and review the updated quote for accuracy. If approved, click “Reply” and write a simple approval confirmation and click “Send.”

When the Sales Order Agent receives this approval confirmation, the agent will convert the Sales Quote into a new Sales Order, generate the outgoing Sales Order Confirmation email, and prompt the Business Central for review.
If the email is approved, click “Confirm” for the agent to send it to the requesting customer.

Navigate back to your email provider to review the email and attached sales order for accuracy.

Note: At this point, the Sales Order Agent’s tasks are complete and the rest of the sales process is determined and actioned by the proper team in Business Central.

How to See the Sales Agent’s Performance

To review how your agent is performing (e.g., emails processed, quotes created, etc.), Business Central offers a helpful metrics pane that is easily accessible from the Sales Order Agent window.

Metrics Displayed:

Received Emails
Quotes Created
Orders Created
Time Saved on Emails (3-min per email creation average)
Time Saved on Quotes (6-min per quote creation average)
Amount including Tax (sum)

There are two ways to view this metrics pane:

1. Hover your mouse over the Sales Order Agent icon and the metrics pane will appear.

2. Click the “Sales Order Agent” icon, then click the Information icon to display the pane.

Best Practices

To maximize the value of the Sales Order Agent, consider these best practices:

Review Settings: Configure the agent to prompt a review step for all unregistered customers.
Domain Whitelisting: Restrict automated processing to whitelisted domains.
Manual Override: Regularly review automated orders for accuracy and intervene when needed.
Testing: Begin with a single customer in production to validate your configurations before scaling broadly.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Quickly resolve common setup and configuration issues:

Agent Not Appearing: Verify feature toggle and appropriate licensing.
Emails Not Sending: Ensure the mailbox configuration is correct and active.
Behavior Not Triggered: Review and refine your matching logic conditions.

FAQ

Q: Can the Sales Order Agent be tested in a sandbox?
A: Currently, the Sales Order Agent requires a production environment for testing.
Q: Does it support attachment handling?
A: Attachments are not automatically processed but can be manually reviewed.
Q: Is the agent operational across multiple companies in BC?
A: Yes, but configurations must be set individually per company.

Activating and configuring the Sales Order Agent significantly streamlines your sales order management. With careful setup, robust testing, and adherence to best practices, you can quickly achieve measurable improvements in efficiency and accuracy.