Let’s be honest — we’ve all met a bad chatbot.
You ask a simple question, it gives a vague answer, and three minutes later you’re typing “agent please” out of sheer frustration.
But when done right, a chatbot can be one of the most useful, human-feeling tools in your business. It can answer common questions instantly, help staff find information faster, and even escalate real issues to the right person — all without losing that personal touch.
And the good news? You can build one yourself using Microsoft Power Virtual Agents (now part of Copilot Studio) — no coding required.
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What Makes a Good Chatbot?
A great chatbot doesn’t try to replace people. It supports them.
The best bots are:
- Helpful — they give real answers, not vague apologies
- Human-friendly — they sound like part of your brand, not a script
- Efficient — they get users where they need to go quickly
- Connected — they can hand off to a human when needed
If you can design your chatbot with these four traits in mind, it’ll add genuine value — not just novelty.
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Why Microsoft Power Virtual Agents (Copilot Studio)?
Microsoft’s chatbot platform is built for businesses that already use Microsoft 365. It lets you design, test, and publish chatbots directly from a web browser.
You can:
- Build bots using natural language prompts with Copilot assistance
- Connect to SharePoint, Teams, Excel, or third-party systems
- Add handoffs to live agents (via Teams or Dynamics 365)
- Deploy your bot on a website, Teams, or internal portals
Because it lives in the Microsoft ecosystem, your data remains secure and compliant — and your IT team can manage everything centrally.
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Typical Chatbot Use Cases for SMEs
Chatbots aren’t just for big corporates anymore. Small and medium businesses are using them to save time, improve communication, and free up people for higher-value work.
Here are some practical, achievable examples:
| Area | Example Chatbot Task | How It Works | Requirements / Notes |
| Customer Service | Answer FAQs (e.g. hours, pricing, location) | Bot retrieves content from SharePoint, website, or Knowledge Base | Works out of the box with Copilot Studio Q&A |
| Log support tickets | Bot collects details and creates a ticket in ConnectWise, HaloPSA, or Dynamics | Connector or Power Automate flow required | |
| Escalate to a live agent | If a query isn’t resolved, the bot hands off to a real person in Teams | Microsoft Teams integration | |
| Sales & Marketing | Lead capture | Collects contact info, saves it to Excel or CRM | Dynamics, Excel, or Dataverse connector |
| Product recommendation | Asks qualifying questions and suggests products | Requires pre-set logic or product list | |
| Internal IT / HR | Password reset or policy lookup | Answers staff queries or launches reset process via Power Automate | Requires secure workflow setup |
| Employee onboarding help | Provides forms, checklists, and links for new hires | Connects to SharePoint or Forms | |
| Operations | Report an incident or request | Collects info, sends notifications to the right department | Power Automate + Teams connector |
| Schedule maintenance | Lets users request time slots and confirms booking | Outlook / Bookings integration |
All examples are achievable using Microsoft Power Virtual Agents (Copilot Studio) with standard connectors or Power Automate flows. Availability depends on your Microsoft 365 licence and data environment.
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Step-by-Step: Building a Chatbot in Copilot Studio
Building your first bot is easier than you think.
Step 1: Define the Purpose
Start simple.
Decide what problem your chatbot will solve — for example, answering FAQs, creating service tickets, or helping employees find forms.
A focused bot performs better than one that tries to do everything.
Step 2: Build the Conversation
Use Copilot Studio’s natural language authoring to describe what your bot should do.
You can type something like:
“Create a topic that helps customers check the status of their ticket.”
Copilot will generate a full conversation flow, which you can tweak to match your tone and add custom responses.
Step 3: Connect to Your Data
Want your bot to give real, contextual answers?
Connect it to SharePoint lists, Dynamics 365 data, or even Excel files through Power Automate.
That’s what makes it useful — not just chatty.
Step 4: Test and Train
Preview your bot in Copilot Studio to make sure it responds correctly.
Adjust phrasing, add synonyms, and fine-tune escalation rules.
If it’s customer-facing, make sure it knows when to say “Let me connect you to a real person.”
Step 5: Deploy and Monitor
Once you’re happy, publish the bot to Teams, your website, or a customer portal.
Then monitor usage and refine its responses over time.
You can even add analytics to see which questions users ask most often — a goldmine for improving your content or FAQs.
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Make It Sound Human
The best bots don’t sound robotic — they sound like your brand.
For Dial a Nerd, that means clear, friendly, and a little witty when appropriate.
Here are a few quick tips:
- Keep responses short and conversational
- Use contractions (“you’re” instead of “you are”)
- Add personality without going overboard
- Always give the user a next step
Your bot should feel like a helpful colleague, not a machine.
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Keep It Secure
Because Power Virtual Agents runs in Microsoft’s secure cloud, it respects your tenant’s existing security, compliance, and access controls.
That means:
- Only authorised users can access internal bots
- Sensitive data stays in your Microsoft environment
- Admins can manage permissions and monitor interactions
If you’re connecting to external systems like CRMs or finance apps, just make sure proper authentication and least-privilege access are configured.
Chatbots aren’t here to replace humans — they’re here to make humans more effective.
With Microsoft Copilot Studio, even small businesses can build chatbots that answer questions, collect information, and connect customers or employees to the right resources — automatically, securely, and in your brand’s voice.
At Dial a Nerd, we help businesses get started with Microsoft automation — from chatbots and Power Automate to full Microsoft 365 integration.
