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Ground an agent on Dataverse tables: setup, notes and files, and why it answers generically

Add Dataverse tables as knowledge in Copilot Studio so the agent answers from your own records, such as cases, assets or orders, with each user seeing only what they're allowed to. The prerequisites, the 15-table limit, searching notes and attached files (preview), and the fixes when the agent ignores the source.

Copilot StudioFix · Tutorial4 min read

Checked against Microsoft Learn · 5 sourcesHow we write guides

Most business answers live in Dataverse: cases, orders, assets, contacts. Adding tables as knowledge lets an agent answer questions like "which high-priority cases opened this week are still unresolved?" straight from those rows. Since September 2026 it can also reason over notes and attached files in those rows, in preview.

Before you start

RequirementWhy
Dataverse search is on in the environmentThe agent finds rows through Dataverse search. If it's off, Dataverse doesn't appear as a knowledge option at all. An admin turns it on
The agent's authentication is Authenticate with MicrosoftNo authentication and Authenticate manually aren't supported for Dataverse knowledge
You can read the tablesTables you can't access don't appear when you add knowledge

Users sign in with Microsoft, and Microsoft says Copilot Studio tailors answers to who is asking and what they're allowed to see. Always test with a low-permission account before you launch.

Add the tables

  1. Open the agent, go to Build, and select Knowledge.
  2. Select Add knowledge → Dataverse.
  3. Select up to 15 tables for this knowledge source. Search helps; suggestions are based on the agent's name.
  4. Write a real description: what's in these tables and which questions they answer. The agent uses the description to decide when to search this source.
  5. Select Add to agent.

Tip

Test with questions that need filtering, not just a lookup, for example "unresolved cases opened this week". Microsoft's advice: if answers come back thin, the fix is usually a better description, not a different table.

Make the data easy to find

Dataverse knowledge has no synonym or glossary settings in Copilot Studio. It uses the table and column metadata instead:

  • give columns clear display names and descriptions in Dataverse, for example "SLA breach date", not "cr12_dt2";
  • give the knowledge source a clear name and description;
  • use skills to teach the agent your organisation's own words.

Search notes and attached files (preview)

By default, the agent reasons over structured columns. To include long text (Multiline Text) and documents in File columns:

  1. In Power Apps → Dataverse → Tables, open the table and turn on Searchable for those columns.
  2. Under Views, open the Quick Find View, add the columns, and add them to Find by (Edit find table columns).
  3. Save and publish.

Points to know:

  • If the knowledge source was added before you made these columns searchable, it can take up to two days to catch up. Adding the knowledge source again speeds this up.
  • The search index uses extra Dataverse capacity, which costs money. Check with your admin.
  • Inside attached files, tables, images, and text in languages your organisation doesn't use aren't supported yet.

Limits

  • Up to 15 tables per knowledge source.
  • Virtual tables: only those using the Finance and Operations data provider.
  • Preview features roll out at different times, so they may not appear in your tenant yet.

When it doesn't work

SymptomFix
Dataverse isn't offered, or no tables can be addedTurn on Dataverse search in the environment (admin)
A table is missing from the listYou lack read access to it; get a security role that covers it
The agent answers generically and ignores the dataImprove the knowledge source's name and description; confirm the agent uses Authenticate with Microsoft
Notes or files never show up in answersMake those columns searchable and add them to the Quick Find View, then allow time or re-add the source
A banner says an admin must act, and Dataverse, Dynamics 365 or uploaded files can't be addedThe environment's Dataverse search-and-index setting doesn't support agent knowledge. An admin changes it; existing sources then work again without being re-added

Sources