How to Notify users via Copilot Studio when a file is uploaded to SharePoint

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Posted on by AA-18041806-0

Question

Hello everyone,

I’m working on a scenario using SharePoint, Power Automate, and Copilot Studio (Microsoft Teams) and I would appreciate guidance on the recommended approach.

Scenario

When any file is uploaded to a SharePoint document library
The user who uploaded the file should receive a notification from Copilot Studio in Microsoft Teams
The Copilot should ask the user something like:“A new file has been uploaded. Do you want me to proceed with processing this file?”
Based on the user’s input:
- Yes → continue processing the file (automation / workflow)
- No → stop or ignore the file

What we have tried so far

We created a trigger from the Copilot Studio → Overview → Triggers
The trigger used is:SharePoint – When a file is created (properties only)
With this setup:
- The Copilot successfully receives a signal when a file is uploaded
- A message is sent to the Copilot, confirming that the trigger works

✅ So the SharePoint trigger and connection are working correctly.

❓ However, the challenge we are facing is:

The message is reaching the Copilot, not the actual user
We want to notify the file uploader (or a specific user) in Teams
We also want to capture the user’s Yes/No response and continue the workflow based on it

Questions

What is the recommended architecture for this scenario?
How can we:
- Send a proactive message from Copilot Studio (Teams) to the user when a file is uploaded?
- Ensure the message clearly references the uploaded file (name, link, etc.)?
What is the best way to collect the user’s response (Yes/No) and use it to control the next steps?
Should this be implemented using:
- A Teams proactive message from Power Automate, followed by Copilot interaction?
- Or a Copilot Studio event trigger that starts a topic automatically?
Are there any platform limitations or licensing considerations we should be aware of?

Goal

We are looking for a production‑ready, Microsoft‑recommended pattern to:

Detect file uploads in SharePoint
Notify users through Copilot Studio in Teams
Ask for confirmation
Proceed with processing only after user approval

References, examples, or architecture guidance would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Categories:

Calling actions from Copilot Studio

Building Copilot Studio chatbots in Microsoft Teams

Topic creation & management

Copilot Studio skills development

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Valantis 3,406 on at

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Hi @AA-18041806-0,

Copilot Studio has a built-in proactive messaging feature for this. The event trigger you already set up handles detection, but to notify the actual uploader you need a separate Power Automate flow using the proactive message action.

Architecture:

1. Power Automate flow triggered by SharePoint "When a file is created (properties only)"
2. Flow sends a proactive message from your agent to the uploader via the Teams connector
3. The agent handles the Yes/No response in a topic

Step by step:

1. In Power Automate, use the "Post message in a chat or channel" action from the Teams connector
- Post as: Microsoft Copilot Studio agent
- Post in: Chat with agent
- Agent: your agent
- Recipient: use the "Created By Email" dynamic value from the SharePoint trigger. This gives you the uploader's email automatically.
- Message: include the file name and link using dynamic content from the trigger

2. The message will appear in the user's personal chat with your agent in Teams. The user can then reply Yes or No.

3. In Copilot Studio, create a topic that handles the Yes/No response and routes to the appropriate follow-up actions.

Key requirements:

- The agent must be published to Teams and installed by the user. If not installed, the proactive message won't be delivered.
- The agent and the Power Automate flow must be in the same environment.
- Proactive messages only go to personal chats with the agent, not channels.

One limitation: the Yes/No response starts a new conversation turn in the agent. You need to pass the file context (name, URL) forward, either via a Copilot Studio variable set in the topic or by storing it temporarily somewhere the topic can access.

Ref: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/advanced-proactive-message

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/teams/send-a-message-in-teams

Best regards,

Valantis

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🏷️ For follow-ups @Valantis.

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11manish 1,366 on at

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The recommended approach is to use Power Automate as the orchestration layer: trigger on SharePoint file upload, send a proactive Teams message (preferably via Adaptive Card) to the uploader, capture their Yes/No response, and then continue processing.

Copilot Studio should be used for conversational interaction after the user engages, not as the initial trigger mechanism.

Start with:

SharePoint trigger

Power Automate flow

Adaptive Card (wait for response)

Conditional processing

Then enhance with Copilot if needed

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Vish WR 1,021 on at

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@AA-18041806-0

If you want to notify via email by the agent or when someone sends an email, the agent responds via email. You can refer to this blog written of the community member Vindo Selvam

https://community.powerplatform.com/blogs/post/?postid=0f8d0d3d-8a25-f011-8c4e-00224833c1bb

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Sayali Microsoft Employee on at

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Hello @AA-18041806-0,

In this scenario, using a Copilot Studio SharePoint trigger alone is not sufficient to notify the file uploader or collect their approval, because event‑based triggers activate the agent in a system context rather than a user conversation context. This means the Copilot receives the file‑upload signal internally but cannot proactively start a Teams chat with the user who uploaded the file. The Microsoft‑recommended production pattern is to detect the file upload using a Power Automate flow, retrieve the uploader’s email from SharePoint metadata, and then send a proactive Teams message (typically via an Adaptive Card) to that specific user from the Copilot bot identity. The Adaptive Card can include file details such as name and link, ask a Yes/No confirmation question, and wait for the user’s response. Based on the response captured in the flow, the automation can either proceed with processing or terminate the workflow. Optionally, once approval is received, the flow can invoke a Copilot topic for further AI‑driven processing. This architecture ensures user‑level notification, decision capture, and controlled workflow execution in a production‑ready manner.

Reference Document-
1.Send proactive Microsoft Teams messages - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn
2.Overview of adaptive cards for Teams - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn
3.Ask with Adaptive Cards - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn
4.Create flows that post adaptive cards to Microsoft Teams - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

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Haque 1,897 on at

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Hi @AA-18041806-0,

Based on the goal (We are looking for a production‑ready, Microsoft‑recommended pattern ) you have set is kind of real requirement to implement a use-case. First of all, to cater your goal there is no microsfot-recommended pattern to be in places - we have to decorate this with best practices. I support @Valantis recommendation but wihtout one corner case - I support adaptive card to be interactive with some considerations ( i meant adavative card has some drawbacks). Not sure, I am kind of interesed what processing you are doing next once yes/no is answered :)

How does it look if we decrate this goal from the scratch? If I understood correctly what's you need, here is the sequence we need to go over:

If we see it sequentially - the actions goes down lik below:

Let's see if we can leverage PA and Adaptive Cards for goal we have set:

1. Detect File Uploads in SharePoint --> Use Power Automate with the trigger "When a file is created (properties only)" on the target SharePoint document library.

2. Notify Users Through Copilot Studio in Teams --> In the Power Automate flow, after the trigger, send a notification to the user who uploaded the file (or what user you want to). Let's use the Microsoft Teams connector to send a message or adaptive card to the user’s Teams chat. Alternatively, invoke a Copilot Studio agent topic via an HTTP request or Power Automate connector that sends the notification message. The notification should include file details (name, link) and a prompt for confirmation.

3. Ask for Confirmation: The notification message or Copilot Studio agent should ask the user a clear question like:
“A new file has been uploaded. Do you want me to proceed with processing this file?”. Use adaptive cards with actionable buttons (Yes/No) in Teams or a conversational prompt in the Copilot agent. Capture the user’s response.

4. Proceed Only After User Approval --> If the user responds Yes, continue the processing workflow:

Trigger downstream automation (e.g., data extraction, approval workflows, document processing).

This can be done by continuing the Power Automate flow or invoking another Copilot Studio topic.

Note: I followed this for Adaptive Cards, please make sure all the negative sides mentioned.

I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!

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