What is AI Builder in the Power Platform?
AI Builder is a no-code AI service built into Microsoft's Power Platform. It lets you add pre-built and trainable AI models to Power Apps and Power Automate without writing code. Common use cases include reading invoices and forms automatically, classifying text, detecting objects in images, and predicting outcomes based on historical data.
AI Builder lets you add no-code AI capabilities to Power Apps and Power Automate without writing a single line of code or having a data science background.
What AI Builder does
AI Builder adds a set of AI-powered actions and controls to the Power Platform. In Power Automate, these appear as regular steps in a flow. In Power Apps, they appear as controls you can drag onto a canvas. Behind the scenes, the models run on Azure AI infrastructure, but you never have to interact with that layer directly.
The core promise: you describe what you want to recognize or predict, and AI Builder handles the rest.
Available model types
AI Builder offers several model types, each suited to a specific task. Form processing reads structured documents such as invoices, purchase orders, and receipts, and extracts fields like amounts, dates, and vendor names. Object detection identifies items in photos, useful for inventory checks or quality control. Text classification categorizes incoming text into groups you define, such as tagging support tickets by topic. Sentiment analysis determines whether a piece of text is positive, negative, or neutral. The prediction model uses historical data from a table to forecast outcomes, such as whether a lead is likely to convert.
Some models are pre-built and ready to use immediately. Others require you to upload sample data and label it before the model can be trained.
Using AI Builder in Power Automate
You add an AI Builder action to a flow the same way you add any other action: click “New step” and search for “AI Builder.” Common flows include sending an invoice through form processing and writing the extracted data to a SharePoint list, or running sentiment analysis on incoming support emails before routing them to the right team.
For a practical starting point for building automated document flows, see how to automatically save email attachments.
Using AI Builder in Power Apps
In Power Apps, AI Builder controls let users interact with AI directly in the app. A camera control can trigger object detection, or a text input can run through a classification model on submission. The output of the model becomes a variable you can use elsewhere in the app, such as showing a suggested category or a confidence score next to a form field.
Difference from Azure AI
Azure AI Services and Azure Machine Learning give you full control over how models are built, trained, and deployed. That control comes with complexity: you need an Azure subscription, technical knowledge, and often a developer. AI Builder removes that complexity by offering a curated set of models with a guided setup. If your use case fits one of the available model types, AI Builder is faster to implement. If you need custom endpoints, fine-tuned models, or integration with non-Power Platform systems, Azure AI is the better fit.
If you work with AI tools more broadly at work, see how to write effective prompts to get better results from any AI system.
Our tip: Start with a pre-built model before attempting a custom one. Upload three to five sample documents to test form processing before training on your own dataset. It takes under ten minutes and tells you immediately whether AI Builder fits your use case.
Frequently asked questions
What can AI Builder do in Power Automate?
In Power Automate, AI Builder lets you add AI actions directly inside a flow. You can extract information from invoices or forms, detect the sentiment of incoming emails, classify text into categories, or identify objects in uploaded images. The result is that your flow can make decisions based on document content, not just trigger conditions.
Do I need Azure AI or machine learning experience to use AI Builder?
No. AI Builder is specifically designed for users without a data science background. Most models come pre-trained by Microsoft, and the custom models are trained through a point-and-click interface where you label your own sample data. You do not need to configure Azure resources or write Python code.
Is AI Builder included in my Microsoft 365 licence?
AI Builder is not included in standard Microsoft 365 or Power Platform licences by default. It requires AI Builder credits, which come with certain Power Automate per-user plans or can be purchased separately. Some models offer a limited free preview capacity so you can test before purchasing.
What is the difference between AI Builder and Azure AI?
AI Builder is built on top of Azure AI services but abstracts away all the technical configuration. Azure AI gives developers full control over model training, endpoints, and deployment. AI Builder is the simplified version for business users who want results without infrastructure setup. For advanced scenarios, Azure AI offers more flexibility.