🤖 Use AI Builder Models in Power Apps

📅 Published Date: March 6, 2025 ✍ Author: Pranay Reddy Muthyala

📌 Introduction

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into business applications has become increasingly accessible, thanks to Microsoft’s AI Builder. This platform empowers users to infuse AI capabilities into their Power Apps without requiring extensive coding or data science expertise. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to leverage AI Builder models within Power Apps, covering both prebuilt and custom models, and how to integrate them into canvas and model-driven apps.

🧠 Understanding AI Builder Models

AI Builder offers two primary types of models:

🔹 Prebuilt Models

These are ready-to-use models designed for common business scenarios, such as:

Business Card Reader – Extracts contact information from business cards.
Receipt Processing – Extracts data from receipts.
Text Recognition – Identifies and extracts text from images.

🔹 Custom Models

For more specific business needs, AI Builder allows users to train their own AI models:

Prediction – Predicts outcomes based on historical data.
Form Processing – Extracts data from structured documents.
Object Detection – Identifies and counts objects within images.

Understanding these models helps in choosing the right AI solution for your organization.

🛠️ Creating a Custom AI Model

To address unique business challenges, you might need to create a custom AI model. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1️⃣ Access AI Builder – Sign in to Power Apps Studio or Power Automate Studio, and navigate to AI Hub > AI Models.

Access AI Builder

2️⃣ Select a Model Type – Choose a custom model type such as Prediction, Category Classification, or Entity Extraction.

Select Model Type

3️⃣ Prepare Your Data – Ensure you have relevant data for training the model. AI Builder provides sample datasets if needed.

4️⃣ Train the Model – Upload data, label relevant fields, and train your AI model.

Select Text to Analyze

Select Tags

Review Tags

Train Your Model

Model Training in Progress 5️⃣ Publish the Model – Once trained, publish it so it can be used in Power Apps and Power Automate workflows.

Test Your Model

Model Test Result

🔗 Integrating Prebuilt Models into Power Apps

Prebuilt models can be easily integrated into both model-driven and canvas apps:

📌 Model-Driven Apps

1️⃣ Open Form Designer in your model-driven app.
2️⃣ Add an AI Component, such as the Business Card Reader.
3️⃣ Map the component to appropriate table columns where extracted data will be stored.

📌 Canvas Apps

1️⃣ Insert an AI Component from the AI Builder section.
2️⃣ Place it on the canvas and configure it to capture and display extracted data.

🎨 Adding Custom AI Models to Canvas Apps

To use a custom AI model in a canvas app:
Model Usage 1️⃣ Ensure Model Publication – Confirm that your AI model has been trained and published.
2️⃣ Insert an AI Component – In Power Apps Studio, go to Insert > AI Builder, and select the relevant model (e.g., Object Detector).
3️⃣ Configure Properties – Set up image inputs and display fields to process documents and show results dynamically.

This allows apps to automate tasks like inventory tracking, form processing, and object detection.

📊 Benefits of Using AI Builder in Power Apps

✔ Enhanced Efficiency – Automates repetitive tasks, reducing manual effort.
✔ Improved Accuracy – Minimizes human errors in data processing.
✔ Scalability – Easily adapts AI models to evolving business needs.

By integrating AI Builder models into Power Apps, organizations can streamline operations and drive innovation without the need for extensive coding or AI expertise. 🚀

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