Introduction
Welcome to Smart Agents documentation — AI assistants for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Smart Agents brings AI-powered assistants directly into your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central environment. Instead of navigating multiple pages, running reports, or writing manual queries, you simply ask a question in plain English and receive an answer that draws from your live Business Central data.
This guide is the user manual for every screen in the app. It is code-backed: each page, field, and action described here comes straight from the app's source, and field help text matches the tooltips you see in Business Central.
Where to start
New to AI? Start with Concepts — it explains agents, models, credits, tools, and autonomy in plain language, using Business Central ideas you already know (Job Queue, permission sets, approval workflows). The rest of the manuals assume you've met these terms.
Then read in this order:
- Concepts — the AI ideas behind the app, for BC consultants.
- Getting Started — turn the app on, add credits, and pick your AI models.
- Managing Agents — create an agent and give it an identity, capabilities, and instructions.
- Chatting — talk to your agent and get work done.
All sections
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Concepts | AI concepts for BC consultants + glossary — read first if you're new to AI |
| Getting Started | Setup, tier images, credits, buying credits, AI models |
| Managing Agents | Agent list & card, image, knowledge files, authorized users, published channels, suggested prompts, departments |
| Chatting | The chat window, replying to agents, chat sessions |
| Tools & Connections | Tool configurations, available tools, field defaults & links, BC data connections, web resources, credentials |
| Sharing | Sharing agents out, incoming shares, inviting tenants |
| Administration | Email log, user defaults, exported data, usage |
| Testing & Benchmarks | Test cases, test runs, benchmarks |
| Troubleshooting | Common problems and fixes, grouped by what you were trying to do |
For developers
- API Reference — complete REST API documentation for programmatic access.
- AL SDK — developer documentation for extending the BC extension in AL.
- BC Extension — installation and configuration details.
Key capabilities
- Natural language queries — Ask questions about your Business Central data in plain English. Responses can include text summaries, sortable tables, charts, and direct links to relevant BC pages.
- Agent templates — Pre-built agents for common tasks such as financial reporting, inventory management, and customer service. Activate a template and start using it immediately.
- Custom agents — Create your own agents tailored to your business processes. Define instructions, choose which data the agent can access, and share the agent with your team.
- Role-based access — Agents respect Business Central permission sets and user roles. Administrators can layer additional data access policies on top of standard BC permissions.
- Usage-based credits — Pay only for what you use. Credits are consumed per query based on the complexity of the request and the AI model selected.
- Conversation history — Every interaction is saved automatically. Resume past conversations, export them, or review them for compliance purposes.
System requirements
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 2 (v25) or later
- A valid Smart Agents subscription (a free trial is available for new customers)
- Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) for authentication
- Outbound HTTPS connectivity to the Smart Agents API
- Supported browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox (latest versions)
How to find any screen
- Tell Me (Alt+Q): search for the page name shown at the top of each manual.
- Role Center: the Smart Agents menu group links to Smart Agents, Credits, and Setup.
- From a related page: many screens open from an action on another page — each manual's How to open it section tells you exactly where.