Copilot for Azure Logic Apps Standard

Those who live in the code-based world have long been enjoying the option to utilise the generative AI assistance via GitHub Copilot.  Powered by OpenAI and Microsoft, Copilot provides invaluable context-based suggestions for completing code patterns based on training from open source code repositories.

Until recently, there was no such assistance available for integration developers who preferred the low-code approach of Logic Apps Standard (although Sandro Pereira has produced a useful utility for Logic Apps Consumption). Given the large number of Logic App connectors available and the inherent complexity in designing integration patterns, a “Copilot” functionality would be especially useful for creating and documenting workflows.

Thankfully, Microsoft is now taking great strides in introducing Azure OpenAI to the Logic Apps development space. In mid-November last year, Microsoft revealed a public preview offering of the Workflow Assistant, a chat interface powered by Azure OpenAI and ChatGPT that can offer context-based suggestions for your workflows that Copilot does for Azure Functions, for instance.  Although currently only available in the Azure Portal (not Visual Studio Code just yet), the assistant can perform many useful functions such as:

• Suggest which connectors to use in a given scenario and how to configure them
• Describe how to implement a proven pattern to solve a particular problem
• Describe an existing workflow giving a detailed report of what it does

What’s more, the responses are determined by the workflow currently open and therefore reflect the relevant context. This is an extraordinary help to those who are not necessarily that familiar with all of Logic Apps capabilities.

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