WonderLaura @iwmentor – Laura Rogers

If you’ve opened a SharePoint list or library this week and noticed something different at the top of the command bar, you may have noticed a new button! Microsoft just rolled out the new SharePoint Workflows button, and it’s a game-changer for end users who’ve may have seen Power Automate as intimidating.

In this post and video, I’ll walk you through exactly what’s new, where to find it, and how the experience changes if you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Plus, I’ll share one really important nuance about approvals that you’ll want to know before you start building.

📍 Where to Find the New SharePoint Workflows Button

First, the new SharePoint Workflows button is showing up in both lists and document libraries. However, it’s a gradual rollout, so don’t panic if you don’t see it yet.

While you’re checking out the command bar, you’ll also notice that the old “Automate” menu is gone. Instead, those options have been moved under a consolidated Integrate menu, which now contains your flows, Quick Steps, approvals, rules, and Power Apps all in one place.

🧭 Inside the New Workflows Panel

When you click the new SharePoint Workflows button, a panel opens with four main areas:

1. A search bar for finding templates or describing what you want to build
2. Start from a template — a scrollable gallery of the most common automations
3. Build from scratch — for when you want to build something custom, not from a template
4. Your workflows — a list of every flow you own, with the ability to turn them off and on from here

The “Your workflows” section is honestly one of my favorite features. Previously, managing your flows meant jumping over to Power Automate. Now you can turn workflows on and off, view run history, and even add a co-owner without ever leaving SharePoint.

🛠️ Build from Scratch with the “Mad Libs” Interface

Next, the Build from scratch experience is what really opens this up to end users. Instead of the full Power Automate designer with its connectors and dynamic content, you get a clean Mad Libs-style interface where you fill in dropdowns and watch a plain-English sentence build itself.

For example, choose a SharePoint trigger like “When an item is created,” pick an action like “Send a message in a Teams channel,” and the panel walks you through it field by field. There’s only one trigger and one action — but for the most common notification and alert scenarios, that’s really all you need.

If you do need something more advanced when editing one of these workflows you’ve already created, simply click Edit in Power Automate and your simple workflow opens in the full designer, where you can add conditions, loops, and additional actions.

🤖 AI Workflows in SharePoint with Copilot

Now here’s where things get interesting. If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, the panel looks slightly different. You’ll see an additional AI Workflows tab next to the regular Workflows tab, plus AI-powered templates like “Recap communications on a topic” and “Help me prepare for my day.”

These AI Workflows in SharePoint use prompts and AI actions instead of standard connectors. Therefore, they can do things like summarize emails, generate recurring reports from channel agents, and run scheduled prompts against your list items. Here’s an example of filtering the list of workflows to show all of the Copilot ones.

One thing to note: AI (Copilot) Workflows can’t be edited in Power Automate the way regular flows can. So you’ll do all your editing inside the SharePoint panel itself.

✅ The Approvals Nuance You Need to Know

When you build a workflow that involves approvals, you’ll see two options that look similar but behave very differently:

• Approvals → Send an approval request (the standard Approvals action)
• SharePoint → Create an approval request (tied to the new SharePoint approvals setting)

The standard Approvals action sends a notification to Teams but does nothing back in SharePoint — no status update on the item, no record of approval, nothing. In contrast, the SharePoint Create approval request action requires you to first enable the approvals setting on the list, but it then updates the item’s approval status column automatically once someone approves or rejects.

Therefore, if you want approvals that actually show up on your SharePoint items, always use the SharePoint Create approval request action — not the Approvals actions.

🚀 Try the New SharePoint Workflows Button Today

So there you have it — the new SharePoint Workflows button gives end users a simple, friendly way to build automations without ever opening the full Power Automate designer. Share this with all end users and non-technical business users that you know!

If you want to go deeper on Power Automate, check out my beginner and advanced Power Automate courses at IW Mentor. And don’t forget to join me every Wednesday at 11am Central for Power Hour, where we cover a new Microsoft 365 topic every week.

❓ FAQs

1. Do I need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to use the new SharePoint Workflows button?

No. The new SharePoint Workflows button is available to everyone. The Copilot license simply unlocks additional AI Workflows and AI-powered templates inside the same panel.

2. Will my existing Power Automate flows be affected?

Not at all. Your existing flows continue to run as usual and are still editable in Power Automate. The new SharePoint Workflows button is an additional creation surface, not a replacement.

3. Why don’t I see the new SharePoint Workflows button in my tenant yet?

The rollout is gradual. If you don’t see it today, you’ll likely have it within the next few weeks. Microsoft hasn’t published prominent official documentation yet, so visibility varies tenant by tenant.

4. Can I edit AI Workflows in Power Automate?

No. AI Workflows that include Copilot actions don’t have an “Edit in Power Automate” option. You’ll need to do all your editing inside the SharePoint Workflows panel.

5. What’s the difference between regular Workflows and AI Workflows in SharePoint?

Regular Workflows use standard Power Automate connectors and actions. AI Workflows in SharePoint use Copilot-powered actions like prompts, recaps, and agent-based automation, and they require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Here is the associated video, with step by step instructions: