Power BI Service Now Supports AI-Ready Data Preparation

Microsoft is rolling out a new capability that lets users prepare their data for AI directly within the Power BI Service, eliminating the need to switch to Power BI Desktop. This update brings AI-prep tools — such as Copilot schema setup and Verified Answers — into the web service, making semantic models more seamless to ready for AI workflows.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why use it?

  Easily keep your semantic models Copilot-ready, with support for additional model types like Direct Lake models and more.

• What’s included?

  You can now configure your semantic models for AI by selecting a Copilot schema, setting up verified answers, and adding AI instructions — all in one place.

• What to do next?

  Make sure to update your model settings so users in your organization can start using Copilot with confidence. If you currently only see Verified answers, don’t worry — the full capabilities are still rolling out globally and should appear soon.

• Where to find it?

  In Power BI Service, open the semantic model you want to prepare, then select Prep data for AI in the ribbon.

Ready to see what more Power BI can do for your business? Explore the power of Business Intelligence and get in touch with us today!

Power BI to Remove Metric Sets, Prompting Migration Plans

Microsoft will begin phasing out its Metric Sets feature in Power BI starting October 25, 2025, signaling a shift away from the longstanding metrics framework. The full retirement is scheduled for November 15, when Metric Sets will no longer be accessible in Power BI Service or Desktop

Here are some recommended alternatives:

• Use your existing datasets and measures

  Since Metric Sets are built from measures in your dataset, you can continue to use those measures directly in your reports and dashboards.

• Adopt certified or shared datasets

  Centralize your business metrics by using certified or shared datasets as your trusted source of data.

• Switch to Power BI Scorecards

  Power BI Scorecards remain an excellent way to track key metrics, monitor goals, and visualize performance trends over time.

• Watch for new metrics capabilities

  Microsoft is introducing enhanced experiences—like Copilot-powered artifact discovery—to make it even easier to locate and work with your data in Power BI.

Discover how Power BI drives smarter decisions — explore our Sport Wellington case study and get in touch with us today.

Visual Studio’s October AI Roadmap Promises Smarter Coding Tools

Microsoft today published its October roadmap, revealing plans to more deeply integrate AI agents and Copilot features across Visual Studio’s core workflows. The update teases enhancements in performance, governance, model support, and agent modes — setting the stage for a more seamless AI-assisted development experience.

Here’s what they are focusing on:

• Remote Agents

  Remote agents like GitHub Copilot Coding Agent are being integrated natively into Visual Studio for a seamless, in-platform experience.

• New Agent Modes

  Switching between built-in and extension-provided modes will soon be more intuitive—supporting even more complex workflows.

• Agent Mode & Chat

  Major upgrades are coming to agent mode and chat planning tools, making collaboration and task management smarter than ever.

• Performance Enhancements

  Performance remains a top priority—expect faster startup times, optimized token usage, and improved code search performance.

• Model Context Protocol (MCP)

  Microsoft is working toward full MCP spec support, improving UX and governance controls to bring your entire dev stack securely into Visual Studio.

• AI Models

  Get access to the latest, rigorously tested AI models—ensuring the best coding experience right inside Visual Studio.

Ready to bring AI to your Dynamics 365 and Power Apps? Explore Infinity AI Agents and contact us today.

Microsoft Highlights Untapped Value in Visual Studio Subscriptions

Microsoft is shining a spotlight on the hidden value inside Visual Studio subscriptions. From cloud credits to essential software and training resources, many developers aren’t fully leveraging what’s already included in their plan. A new update from Microsoft aims to raise awareness and help subscribers unlock these benefits.

Here’s what you have been missing out:

• Azure credits

  Professional subscriptions may include $50 monthly in Azure credits, while Enterprise subscriptions can provide up to $1,800 annually.

• Downloads section

  Formerly known as MSDN, this section gives you access to Windows Server, SQL Server Developer Edition, Office Professional Plus, and dozens of other Microsoft products for development and testing.

• Licenses & discounts

  Visual Studio Enterprise subscribers often get 12 months of Pluralsight access, plus Azure Dev/Test discounts—making it easier to set up affordable test environments that mirror production.

• Why it matters

  Your subscription is more than just an IDE. It’s a gateway to learning new skills, experimenting with prototypes using Azure credits, and testing enterprise scenarios with included software. Don’t leave these benefits on the table!

Ready for a solution built around your organisation’s needs? Discover the power of Customer Relationship Management—let’s talk today.

Microsoft Launches Agent Framework (Preview) to Simplify AI Agent Development

Microsoft has introduced the Agent Framework (Preview), giving developers a new way to build and run AI agents within .NET. The framework is designed to reduce complexity, making it easier to connect agents, manage orchestration, and streamline hosting. This marks a step toward making AI agent development more accessible to every developer.

Here’s what you need to know:

• What’s an Agent?

  Agents are systems designed to accomplish objectives. They become more powerful when equipped with reasoning, decision-making, tool usage, and context awareness.

• What’s a Workflow?

  Workflows define the steps needed to achieve a goal—like gathering requirements, designing, implementing, testing, and deploying.

• Agents + Workflows = Smarter Systems

  Workflows don’t require agents—but agents can supercharge them. With reasoning, tools, and context, agents can optimize workflows. This is the foundation of multi-agent systems, where multiple agents collaborate to tackle complex objectives.

• Meet Microsoft Agent Framework

  Microsoft Agent Framework is a powerful set of .NET libraries that makes building and orchestrating AI agents easier than ever. From simple chatbots to complex multi-agent workflows, it streamlines development, deployment, and monitoring with minimal boilerplate code.

• Built on Proven Foundations

  The framework builds on trusted technologies like Semantic Kernel, AutoGen, and Microsoft.Extensions.AI—bringing reliable, production-ready tools to developers. Learn how to build your own agent here.

Want to bring AI-powered Agent actions into your Power Apps and Dynamics 365 such as analyzing data, generating insights, updating records, and surfacing recommendations? Explore Infinity AI Agents and contact us today.

Visual Studio September 2025 Update Brings Powerful AI-Driven Enhancements

Microsoft has rolled out the September 2025 Visual Studio update, introducing a fully integrated agentic AI experience. From code generation and modernization to profiling and code reviews, these features are designed to transform the way developers build and optimize applications.

Here’s what’s new:

• Profiler Agent

  No need to be a profiling expert—Profiler Agent uses AI to analyze CPU usage, memory, and runtime behavior. It highlights performance bottlenecks, creates or optimizes BenchmarkDotNet benchmarks, and suggests fixes in a guided loop—all seamlessly integrated with GitHub Copilot.

• .NET Application Modernization

  Upgrade your .NET apps to the latest versions and migrate to Azure faster with the Copilot-powered modernization agent, designed to streamline upgrades and migrations.

• MCP Prompts, Resources & Sampling

  Model Context Protocol (MCP) introduces a standardized way for servers to expose structured prompts, contextual resources, and agentic behaviors—making LLMs more powerful in development environments.

• Mermaid Diagram Generation

  Visual Studio now supports rendering Mermaid diagrams directly in the Markdown editor—whether you write the syntax yourself or let Copilot generate it for you.

• Smart Code Reviews

  GitHub Copilot takes local code reviews to the next level with AI-driven insights that make reviews faster, smarter, and more effective.

Transform the way your organization works. Learn how a custom application can be tailored to your needs—contact us today.

Visual Studio’s New MCP Features Aim to Deepen Copilot Context Awareness

Microsoft announced that Visual Studio will now support MCP prompts, resources, and sampling, bringing richer context from engineering stacks directly into the IDE. These enhancements are designed to upgrade the Copilot experience by enabling more intelligent, context-aware developer workflows.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why Use MCP?

  Seamlessly integrate external tools and services to make your development workflow more intelligent and context-aware.

• MCP Resources & Templates

  Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets servers share files, database schemas, or app-specific info—each identified by a URI—so you can pull relevant context directly in the IDE.

  How to use: In chat, click +Reference → MCP Resource, choose a template, fill arguments, and add the resource.

• MCP Prompts & Prompt Templates

  Provide structured instructions tailored to your server’s content for sharper, task-specific responses.

  How to use: Click +Reference → Prompts → MCP Prompts to select and apply.

• MCP Sampling

  Enable advanced agentic behaviors where MCP servers can make nested LLM calls, unlocking multi-step, automated tasks—Visual Studio handles this automatically if your MCP supports it.

Curious how chatbots and automated workflows come to life? Explore our NZPA case study and get in touch with us today.

Microsoft Launches All-in-One Marketplace for Cloud, AI, and Business Apps

Microsoft has officially launched Microsoft Marketplace, a unified platform that brings together Azure Marketplace and AppSource into a single destination to discover, purchase, and deploy cloud and AI solutions. The new Marketplace features tens of thousands of solutions, integrates AI apps and agents, and aims to simplify how customers and partners engage with Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem.

• What Are Frontier Firms?

  They’re leaders accelerating AI transformation to enrich employee experiences, reinvent customer engagement, reshape processes, and unlock creativity and innovation.

• How to Get Started

  The Microsoft Marketplace is your trusted hub for cloud solutions, AI apps, and intelligent agents. It extends the Microsoft Cloud, bringing partner innovations to customers worldwide.

• Why Marketplace Matters

  • AI Apps & Agents for Any Need

    Access thousands of AI-driven solutions to automate tasks, speed decision-making, and boost business value—all designed to work seamlessly with your existing Microsoft stack.

  • Comprehensive Catalog

    Explore solutions spanning data, analytics, productivity, collaboration, and industry-specific scenarios—integrated with Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Microsoft Security, and more.

  • Integrated Experience

    Discover, deploy, and use partner-built solutions directly inside Microsoft products for a smooth, secure workflow.

Want to harness the power of AI to uncover insights, update records, and more in your Dynamics 365 and Power Platform? Explore Infinity AI Agents and contact us today.

Power BI Brings Modeling Tools Directly to the Browser

Microsoft has rolled out general availability of semantic model editing directly in the Power BI service, enabling users to modify models through their web browsers for the first time. This update broadens the platform’s capabilities by bringing core modeling workflows—once limited to desktop tools—into the online experience.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Create new semantic models in the web

  Connect to 100+ data sources directly in your browser. Go to the Create page, select Get data, choose your source, configure settings, and select the tables to include—then pick your next step.

• Option 1: Create a report

  Jump right into the familiar report editor and start building visuals, adding filters, and customizing layouts—no desktop app required.

• Option 2: Only create a semantic model

  Focus on modeling first. Add relationships, write DAX measures, and configure row-level security before creating reports.

• Option 3: Transform data

  Use the modern Power Query editor to shape and transform your data in the browser, then decide whether to create a report or just a semantic model.

• Edit existing semantic models in the web

  Manage relationships, author DAX, edit properties, configure row-level security, and refresh schema and data—all online.

Want to see Power BI in action? Read our IPCA case study to discover how they transformed complaints handling, created dashboards for trend analysis, and gained full transparency with Power BI integration.

Looking to explore Power BI? Contact us today for expert guidance.

Microsoft Announces General Availability of TMDL View in Power BI

Microsoft has officially released TMDL view as generally available in Power BI, moving it out of preview as of September 2025. The new release gives users full control and visibility over semantic models through a modern, code-first editing experience.

Here’s what’s new:

• Enhanced Code Editor

  Enjoy syntax highlighting for DAX and Power Query, helpful tooltips, auto-formatting, and quick code actions—similar to the TMDL Visual Studio Code extension.

• TMDL Diff View

  Review and compare changes before applying them for safer, more transparent updates.

• Smarter Usability

  Drag-and-drop sections and intuitive UI upgrades make editing faster and easier.

• Stronger Robustness

  Power BI Desktop is now hardened to open and edit any semantic model, enabling seamless collaboration with external tools, code files, or AI-powered edits.

Ready to turn data into powerful insights? Explore Business Intelligence and connect with our team today.