M365 Makeover: App Builder, Workflows & Agents

If you're going to use the M365 Personal Productivity tools, you should understand 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 and most importantly, where they actually live.

🔁 Workflows = Automation

Use it when you want to automate tasks across Microsoft 365.

Example:

“When I get an ‘Account Expired’ email → add item to tomorrow’s standup.”

✔ Uses Microsoft apps

✔ AI prompts for logic

✔ Lives in Power Platform environment

❌ Cannot use external connectors (like DocuSign)

❌ Cannot run custom code

🛠 App Builder = Lightweight Productivity Apps

Use it when you need a quick internal app.

Example:

“I need an app to log daily hours and show some graphs.”

✔ Runs inside its SharePoint site

✔ Uses pre-created SharePoint list

✔ Creates flows stored in Default environment

❌ Cannot connect outside its SharePoint site

❌ Cannot use document libraries

❌ Cannot support lookups

🤖 Agents = AI Personal Assistant

Use it when you want an AI to reason over documents and chat with you.

Example:

“Summarize what’s happening in this SharePoint site.”

✔ Designed for AI reasoning

✔ Reads connected document sources

✔ Lives in Microsoft 365 managed cloud

❌ Cannot write/update data

❌ Cannot automate workflows

❌ No ALM or solution-aware logic

Download the PDF above for the full summary.