Tariffs change at lightning speed, threatening profits and forecasts. But for companies that stay ahead, volatility can become an edge—unlocking smarter sourcing decisions and resilience competitors can’t match. The 4,400-page Harmonized Tariff Schedule alone changes dozens of times a year.¹ One week, your steel imports have a 15% tariff. The next week? Maybe 25%. Or maybe zero if a new trade agreement sneaks through.

Every shift in the 4,400-page Harmonized Tariff Schedule puts supply chains at risk. A single misclassification can mean six-figure fines, delayed shipments, or missed revenue targets. Compliance teams burn endless hours chasing updates, while procurement and operations scramble to adjust forecasts and supplier contracts. And despite all that effort, if there is an unexpected policy change, most companies pay the price in lost time, money, and customer trust. The reality is that no human team can easily keep pace with this level of volatility and should instead look to agents and AI to help reduce the busy work and stay ahead of disruptions.

Tariffs are a textbook example of where agents have the potential to excel. No team can realistically monitor 4,400 pages of classifications that shift as chaotically as they do today. Agents take on the repetitive monitoring and data tracking that overwhelm even the best compliance team. When these kinds of tasks are handled by agents, leaders and teams can focus on decisions that move business forward. Microsoft offers multiple ways to make that real, whether you want to start small or transform your entire approach to tariff intelligence.

The Microsoft advantage: 3 ways to build tariff intelligence

Microsoft offers three distinct paths for tackling tariff changes, whether you’re ready for a complete transformation or need to start small and scale up.

1. Use first-party agents in Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 offers a built-in supplier communication agent that automatically researches supplier information and generates outreach so you can quickly navigate tariff changes and supply chain disruptions. It pulls data from your procurement history, current inventory levels, and supplier performance metrics to identify suppliers that can answer questions about capacity, lead times, and alternative shipping routes.

When tariff changes threaten your delivery schedules, you can quickly compose communications that include relevant data from multiple systems. You no longer need to hunt through spreadsheets to find supplier contact information or manually request alternative sourcing options.

2. Build custom agents in Copilot Studio

With Copilot Studio, you can build custom agents that can calculate the impact of tariff changes on your products and contracts when asked, surface sourcing alternatives, and flag agreements that may need renegotiation.

These agents can connect to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and Outlook as knowledge sources, and monitor supplier communications for mentions of tariffs, delivery delays, or capacity constraints. Document scanning capabilities mean contracts, shipping manifests, and regulatory updates become searchable, contextual data that informs agent recommendations. Behind the scenes, Microsoft Dataverse maintains data integrity and security with its unified structure and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). You can deploy quickly without sacrificing governance.

These agents can also connect with your Dynamics 365 and other enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, whether that’s SAP, Oracle, or another platform, alongside your product data, supplier information, and procurement contracts through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

MCP is an open standard that enhances the relevance of agent responses. It facilitates the connection of AI agents to various data systems and standardizes how applications provide context to large language models (LLMs). With integration between LLM applications and external data sources, the protocol is useful for building AI-powered tools and workflows like customized tariff agents.

Security and compliance controls are built into the platform, so you can deploy agents rapidly while maintaining governance over what data they can access and what actions they can take. Want an agent that can read tariff schedules but not modify procurement contracts? Copilot Studio makes those boundaries clear and enforceable.

3. Explore partner solutions through the agent ecosystem

Microsoft’s partner ecosystem extends your capabilities with specialized agents tailored for industry-specific needs. Partners like Avanade are already building tariff and trade solutions that plug directly into Dynamics 365, so you can scale faster with proven expertise.

Avanade’s Tariff Navigator provides a single, intelligent agent experience to assess tariff exposure, model “what-if” scenarios, and proactively adjust purchasing, sourcing, and pricing decisions. The cost of inaction is steep and includes margin erosion, unexpected cost spikes, and reactive decisions that weaken competitiveness. And trying to tackle these challenges alone often leads to fragmented efforts and limited impact. Avanade is a trusted advisor with deep technical expertise and experienced industry specialists. Its consultative approach means Tariff Navigator is built around your people, tailored to how they work and the unique business challenges they face.

Using Microsoft’s low-code technologies, Avanade also allows for fast deployment of customized approaches that integrate with your existing systems and empower your teams to act quickly. The result is a practical, business-first application designed for measurable impact.

The Tariff Navigator solution by Avanade doesn’t just manage tariffs—it strengthens your organization’s ability to compete in a volatile global market. It’s about protecting profitability today while building the agility to seize opportunities tomorrow.

Beyond tariffs: Building resilience for what’s next

Tariff management offers you the opportunity to reimagine how supply chain operations handle complexity and uncertainty. The same agent architecture that helps you navigate trade policy changes can tackle other operational challenges, such as supply chain disruptions and vendor performance monitoring.

Agents you build in Copilot Studio or access from Microsoft Marketplace and the partner ecosystem have the potential to help organizations prepare trade agreements, navigate natural disasters, accidents, and other events that reshape supply chains temporarily or permanently. From a Suez Canal blockage to a geopolitical shift that reroutes global trade overnight, agents help you adapt fast.

Ready to take on changing tariffs?

Tariff volatility isn’t slowing down, and the next policy shift could hit tomorrow. The question is whether to react after the fact or build resilience now to better navigate future disruptions. Microsoft empowers customers to get started today, with custom or prebuilt agent options, depending on your needs. Dynamics 365 gives you the intelligent foundation and embedded supplier communications features. Copilot Studio lets customers build custom agents that track schedules, calculate impacts, and surface risks. Or you can use our partner solutions, like Avanade, to extend and customize agents. Either path puts AI agents to work for you, protecting margins, safeguarding compliance, and addressing volatility before it disrupts your supply chain.

Next steps

• Explore updates from the Copilot Studio and Power Platform teams to learn about Power Platform Community Conference 2025.
• Visit Avanade Tariff Navigator.
• Visit Dynamics 365 ERP solution page.
• Watch part 1 and part 2 of the day-in-the-life of a procurement manager videos on YouTube

¹Harmonized Tariff Schedule, United States International Trade Commission.

The post 3 ways to navigate changing tariffs with AI agents appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

As customer service representatives juggle multiple cases, tabs, and applications throughout their day, interruptions—whether from browser crashes, accidental closures, or system reboots—can be costly. That’s why session restore, also known as app session restore, is a game-changer in Dynamics 365 Copilot Service workspace (CSw). This feature ensures service reps can pick up exactly where they left off, minimizing disruption and maximizing productivity. 

Reclaiming lost time 

Before session restore, service reps who lost their session due to a crash or logout had to manually reopen each case, retrace their steps, and rebuild their workspace. This not only wasted time but also increased the risk of errors and customer dissatisfaction. 

Now, with session restore, CSw automatically saves the state of an service rep’s workspace, including open sessions, tabs, and navigation context. Then, it restores the workspace when the service rep logs in again. Whether a service rep was mid-case or toggling between multiple records, their environment is rehydrated with precision. 

Saving your space 

Session restore is enabled by default in CSw and works seamlessly behind the scenes. Here’s what it captures: 

• Open sessions: All active sessions, including customer cases and conversations. 

• Tab state: The exact session tabs and sub-tabs open within each session. 

• Navigation context: The specific records and views the service rep was working on. 

• Productivity tools: The specific productivity tool that was in focus.  

When the service rep logs back in, Dynamics 365 reconstructs the workspace as it was, no clicks required. 

Real-world impact 

Organizations using session restore report significant improvements in efficiency and satisfaction. For example: 

• Service reps returning from a break or system update can resume work instantly. 

• Supervisors see fewer escalations due to lost progress. 

• IT teams spend less time troubleshooting session-related issues. 

This feature is especially valuable in high-volume contact centers where every second counts. 

Learn more 

To learn more, read the documentation: Enable session restore to automatically reopen browser sessions and tabs | Microsoft Learn 

The post Use session restore for seamless continuity in Customer Service appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Across industries, organizations are transforming how they deliver value. From engineering to IT services to internal PMOs, leaders are rethinking their operating models to become more service-centric—where success depends on how efficiently projects are delivered, how accurately time is tracked, and how transparently work connects to financial outcomes. 

For these organizations, projects are not side activities—they are the business. 
That shift brings new demands on visibility, control, and integration. It’s no longer enough to simply manage schedules and tasks. Modern project management must connect delivery with the systems that run the enterprise: finance, resource planning, HR, and analytics. 

With Microsoft Project Online retiring in September 2026, many organizations are now considering what comes next. The decision isn’t just about replacing a familiar tool—it’s about selecting a solution that supports your business model for the future. For organizations managing service-based operations, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations delivers the capabilities, flexibility, and innovation to support that evolution. 

Why organizations are choosing Dynamics 365 Project Operations 

As organizations look beyond Project Online and products like Project Server versions 2016 or 2019, they often share five common needs that shape their evaluation: 

1. Plan and track resources and time in one place 

2. Connect project data with finance and operations systems 

3. Configure and extend workflows through the Power Platform 

4. Support project-based service delivery from proposal to profit 

5. Adopt a solution built for the future of AI-driven work 

These needs define where Dynamics 365 Project Operations, and the broader Microsoft Cloud, deliver the solutions required to manage the end-to-end project-to-profit business process. 

Unified resource and time management 

Resource planning and time capture are the foundation of effective project management—and the areas where Project Operations offers immediate benefit over legacy tools. 
Project Operations brings project planning, resource allocation, and time tracking together in a single application that connects delivery teams with finance and leadership. 

Project managers can assign resources based on skills, availability, and utilization targets. Team members can record time and expenses directly against tasks, ensuring that data flows seamlessly into cost and billing calculations. 
With configurable approval workflows built using Microsoft Power Automate, organizations can align governance to their unique policies—such as multi-level approval chains or project-based exceptions—without needing costly customization or development. 

For organizations that previously relied on custom scripts or spreadsheets to track resource data, this connected model reduces administrative overhead and gives leaders a single, accurate view of project health, capacity, and cost at any time. 

Connected to finance, operations, and ERP systems 

While Project Operations is not an ERP system, it is designed to interoperate seamlessly with ERP applications—including both Microsoft Dynamics 365 and third-party systems such as SAP, Oracle, and Workday. This flexibility is a core strength of Microsoft’s platform approach. 

At the heart of this interoperability is Microsoft Dataverse, a secured and extensible data platform that connects applications across Microsoft and 3^rd party ecosystems. Through Dataverse, organizations can share projects, customer, and financial data across systems while maintaining a single source of truth. 

For customers already using Dynamics 365 Finance, the connection is native. Time entries, expenses, and project costs automatically flow into Finance for accounting, invoicing, and reporting, eliminating the need for custom middleware or manual data synchronization. This native link between operational execution and financial management gives leaders a unified view of profitability and compliance. 

Customers using third-party ERP systems can achieve the same connected experience through Power Platform connectors and Azure integration services. Whether reporting data into a corporate data warehouse, syncing budgets to SAP, or sharing timesheet data with Workday, Project Operations offers the flexibility to operate within your existing ecosystem. 

Configurable workflows through the Microsoft Power Platform 

No two organizations manage projects in exactly the same way. Some rely on centralized PMOs with strict approval processes, while others empower teams to adapt workflows dynamically. 

Project Operations supports both models through its foundation on the Microsoft Power Platform—giving organizations the ability to configure without code. 

Using Power Apps, project leaders can design tailored forms and dashboards for project creation, approvals, or time capture. Power Automate enables process automation such as notifying managers when utilization thresholds are reached or routing expense reports for multi-level approval. 

Meanwhile, Power BI brings advanced analytics to every role—from dashboards that track project margins and resource utilization to executive reports summarizing business performance across portfolios. 

Because Project Operations shares the same platform as other Dynamics 365 applications, these extensions inherit enterprise-grade security, compliance, and data governance controls. The result is a solution that can evolve with your organization—without the risk or cost of maintaining custom code. 

Purpose-built for project-based services 

For professional services organizations—consulting firms, engineering companies, digital agencies, architecture practices, and IT service providers—Project Operations delivers a complete Professional Services Automation (PSA) solution. 
It aligns sales, delivery, and finance on a single connected platform, providing end-to-end visibility from proposal to profit. 

Through integration with Dynamics 365 Sales, organizations can manage the sales lifecycle for their project-based opportunities. Teams can develop project quotations, proposals and estimates directly within Sales, convert them into active contracted engagements and projects, and continue through delivery, billing, and revenue recognition without switching systems. 
Key PSA capabilities include: 

• Project estimation and proposal management 

• Task planning and resource scheduling 

• Time and expense capture with mobile access 

• Budgeting, cost control, and forecasting 

• Invoicing and revenue recognition 

• Earned value tracking and performance analytics 

Besides professional service organizations, Project Operations can also scale to other project-based verticals. This includes manufacturing, engineering, and construction. It also includes internal Portfolio planning and prioritization when used with key ISV  and industry-specific partner solutions and extensions.  

By connecting delivery with sales and finance, Project Operations ensures project engagements are executed profitably, billed accurately, and managed transparently. This level of integration is especially valuable for organizations that operate globally, where visibility into utilization, cost, and margin is critical for growth and compliance. 

Ready for AI and continuous innovation 

Project Operations is part of Microsoft’s broader service-centric application strategy. Therefore, it benefits from continuous innovation across Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and Azure AI. Recent investments redefine project management execution—with intelligent agents, predictive analytics, and AI-assisted decision-making. 

New agentic capabilities automate routine administrative tasks such as time, expense, and approval submissions, freeing teams to focus on higher-value work. AI-powered what-if scenario modeling helps project managers understand the financial or resource impact of potential changes before they happen. And change order management features ensure logging of adjustments to scope, schedule, or cost with an auditable history. 

These capabilities bring Microsoft’s vision for agentic ERP and service management to life. Systems don’t just record data but actively assist in executing, analyzing, and improving business processes. 

Because Project Operations is built within the Microsoft Cloud, it also benefits from shared capabilities such as Microsoft Copilot, Power BI advanced analytics, and Azure security and compliance frameworks. This ensures our customers gain access to new functionality as the platform evolves—without disruption or costly upgrades. 

Built for how your business operates 

Whether you’re managing internal projects, professional services engagements, or large-scale programs, Project Operations is designed to scale. Organizations can start small—managing schedules or work, tracking time and/or resources within Dataverse. They can then expand to include other processes, and AI-driven insights over time. Because the underlying processes and data are in a single place, experiences can be lit up without any large-scale data migrations. Usage patterns can then evolve to include other parts of project cycle across the organization.  

This unified approach helps eliminate silos between teams and systems. It also ensures that data flows consistently—from project creation and scheduling to billing and performance reporting. It also positions organizations to take advantage of ongoing Microsoft innovation in automation, analytics, and AI. 

Are you ready for what’s next? 

The retirement of Project Online marks a turning point. Not just for project management at Microsoft, but for how organizations connect people, processes, and financials around project-based work. For leaders seeking to modernize their project operations environment, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations offers a clear path forward. 

It combines the structure and scalability of enterprise-grade project management with the flexibility of the Power Platform and the intelligence of the Microsoft Cloud. 

If your organization is evolving toward a service-centric model—where accurate time capture, resource optimization, and financial visibility drive success—Dynamics 365 Project Operations provides the foundation to unify your project lifecycle, connect your data, and prepare for the next generation of intelligent, AI-powered project delivery. 

If a Professional Services Automation (PSA) solution that meets the needs of your service-centric organization is what you need, now is the time to evaluate Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations. It’s more than a replacement for Project Online. It’s what’s next to drive project profitability from prospect to project to profit. 

The post What’s Next: Why Project Online Customers Should Evaluate Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, customers expect more than just plain text when interacting with businesses. Traditional text-based conversations can be inefficient. This is especially true when customers need to exchange detailed information, explore options, or make quick decisions. That’s where rich messaging comes in. 

Rich messaging introduces interactive elements, such as forms, carousels, and suggested replies, directly within the conversation. This enables businesses to create conversations that are not only more engaging but also visually intuitive. Subsequently, customers understand the choices faster and act with confidence. 

Now, you can preview rich media messaging across both live chat and WhatsApp. With rich media messaging, businesses can deliver enhanced experiences on the channels customers use most. This reduces typing, speeds up resolution, and improves overall satisfaction for both customers and agents. 

Rich media message types  

While rich messaging is already available for Apple Messages for Business, forms, suggested replies, and cards are available in live chat and suggested replies are available in WhatsApp.  

For scenarios where these options don’t fully meet a business’s live chat requirements, organizations can use Microsoft’s Adaptive Card technology to create fully customized JSON-based messages. 

Key capabilities 

One template, multiple channels  

Create rich message templates once and use them across both live chat and WhatsApp. There’s no need to redesign for each channel.

Preview pane 

Instantly preview how your rich media message will appear to customers while designing, ensuring accuracy and a great user experience.  

Seamless bot integration 

Reuse certain rich media templates, such as live chat forms and WhatsApp suggested replies, directly in Copilot Studio—eliminating the need to recreate templates for bots.  

Service reps can customize templates 

Customer service representatives can easily customize admin-designed templates by editing fields before sending them to customers, enabling personalized interactions. 

Enhanced customer experience 

Rich messages are more visually engaging and make it easier for customers to share relevant information. This boosts customer satisfaction and reduces resolution times.

Get started today 

To get started, navigate to the Copilot Service admin center, select Productivity in Support experience and then select Manage for Rich messages. Here you can start designing rich message templates for customer service representatives and bots. 

Learn more 

Watch a quick video introduction.

To learn more, read the documentation: Create rich messages | Microsoft Learn 

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