Agent need to perform action in Excel

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Posted on by N962908

I have a use case where

OUTPUT : Need to update master file (Excel) column(1-2 columns) , which has around 1000 rows .

INPUT : User will drop the file(excel) in the agent , i need to read the file, grab data and update the master excel.

There are rules defined in a file(text or word/Excel).

Data update will be based on the rules (Calculation, Comparison) the master file.

Questions :

Should i pass the Input file and rule file to a "Prompt" and ask to update the master file

Any other approach , which is reliable and perform the job.

Categories:

Calling actions from Copilot Studio

Autonomous agents

Topic creation & management

Model context protocol

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11manish 2,983 on at

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Use Copilot Studio + Power Automate where the agent accepts the uploaded file, triggers a flow, reads the input and rule files, applies the business logic, and updates the master Excel. Use a Prompt only for interpreting complex or unstructured rules—not for directly updating 1000-row Excel files. This gives you the best combination of reliability, performance, auditability, and maintainability.

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Valantis 6,456 on at

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Hi @N962908,

Don't pass 1000 rows to a prompt for updating. That's the wrong approach for this scenario, it's unreliable, slow, and token-expensive.

The right architecture:

1. Agent accepts the uploaded input file from the user and stores it (OneDrive or SharePoint)

2. Agent triggers a Power Automate flow as a tool/action, passing the file reference

3. The flow reads the input file using Excel Online (Business) connector, reads the rules file, applies your calculation/comparison logic using expressions and conditions, then updates the master Excel using Update a row action

If the rules are complex and unstructured (written in natural language like "if column A is greater than column B multiply by 1.1"), then use a single AI Builder prompt or Claude/GPT action to parse the rules into structured JSON first, then pass that structured logic to the flow. The flow handles the actual row-by-row Excel updates, not the LLM.

Key point: agents are good at understanding user intent and orchestrating actions, Power Automate is good at reliable data processing and Excel manipulation. Use each for what it's designed for.

Best regards,

Valantis

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