Copilot Studio

Trigger Power Automate flow from Copilot Studio when no answer is found

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Posted on by Jerald Felix

362 Super User 2026 Season 1

Hi everyone,

I’ve created an agent using Microsoft Copilot Studio and configured grounded knowledge for answering user queries.

Now I want to implement a fallback mechanism. If the agent is unable to find an answer from the knowledge source, it should automatically trigger a flow (using Power Automate) that sends an email to the support/L2 team with the user’s query.

I’ve already created a flow in Power Automate, but I’m not sure how to properly connect it as an action or fallback in Copilot Studio. I’m also unable to find the correct option to trigger this when no answer is found.

My goal:

Detect when the agent fails to answer
Trigger a Power Automate flow
Send an email to the support team with the user query

Questions:

How can I configure a fallback topic in Copilot Studio?
How do I connect my Power Automate flow to that fallback?
Is there a recommended approach or best practice for this scenario?

Any guidance or step-by-step help would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix

Categories:

Calling actions from Copilot Studio

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MichaelFP 1,999 Moderator on at

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Put the information on the Instructions. Tells when no answer found on the knowledge sources call the tool (Power automate) to execute.

I'll let the LLM decide and send when no answer find.

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chiaraalina 2,059 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hi

If your requirement is unknown intent, customize the Fallback system topic and call an agent flow from there, passing UnrecognizedTriggerPhrase.

If your requirement is specifically “knowledge search found no useful answer”, don’t assume the Fallback topic will cover that. Agent level knowledge runs through Conversational boosting so you may need to handle the escalation logic closer to that path instead of relying only on Fallback.

Also, your Power Automate flow must be agent-compatible: it needs When an agent calls the flow and be stored in the same environment. Otherwise it won’t appear or won’t run correctly from Copilot Studio.

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Haque 3,249 on at

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Hi @Jerald Felix,

PAF Configuring Fallback in CS:

Step-1: In the first place, make sure the flow is triggered by an HTTP request or a custom connector so it can be invoked externally. The flow should accept input(the user query) and send an email to the support team.

Step-2: If the flow is not already triggered by an HTTP request, add a "When an HTTP request is received" trigger. Copy the HTTP POST URL generated by Power Automate - doing so you exposed your flow for external tirgges.

Step-3: Call the flow from Copilot Studio - in Copilot Studio, locate the fallback or error handling settings for your agent or knowledge source. Please add an action to call the Power Automate flow’s HTTP endpoint when no answer is found. Pass the user’s query as a parameter in the HTTP request body.

Step-4: Fallback Trigger - In Copilot Studio, configure the fallback condition to detect when no answer is found. This is typically done by setting a fallback action or rule that triggers when the knowledge source returns empty or null.

Step-5: How integration works - test it. Simulate a query that the knowledge source cannot answer. Verify that the Power Automate flow is triggered and the support team receives the email.

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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Vivek Trivedi-MCT 4 on at

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.Hi Jerald,

One of the reasons for Power Automate flows often don't appear in Copilot Studio because they are not created within a solution, are missing the "when an agent calls the flow" triger or are in a different environment. Ensure the flow is in a solution,uses the correct trigger and has Inputs/Outputs defined

Here are the key reasons and solutions:

Flows Must Be in a Solution: Flows created in "My flows" in Power Automate will not show up. You must create the flow inside a Solution.

Correct Trigger Required: Use the trigger: "When an agent calls the flow (v2)".

Missing Action Response: The flow must conclude with the "Return value(s) to Power Virtual Agents" (now called Respond to Agent) action.

Environment Mismatch: Ensure the flow and the Copilot agent are in the same environment.

Input/Output Schema: Ensure the input and output variables are clearly defined in the trigger and response actions

I have created a small video in response to your question can watch on youtube https://youtu.be/5YaqD_pAT_Q

Regards
Vivek Trivedi

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