Copilot Studio Logging and Diagnostics – A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction to Logging and Diagnostics in Copilot Studio

Logging and diagnostics in Copilot Studio help developers monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize chatbot applications. With proper logging mechanisms, you can:
✅ Track chatbot interactions and detect issues.
✅ Analyze Power Automate flows for failures and performance bottlenecks.
✅ Monitor API calls and log error responses.
✅ Identify latency issues and improve system efficiency.

Effective logging and diagnostics prevent errors from affecting users and enable proactive issue resolution.

---

1. Understanding Logging and Diagnostics in Copilot Studio

Why Logging is Important?

Logging allows developers to:

• Track real-time user interactions.
• Debug API errors and Power Automate failures.
• Measure chatbot response times for performance tuning.
• Identify broken workflows before they impact users.

Types of Logging in Copilot Studio

📌 AI Trace Logs – Captures conversation details, response times, and errors.
📌 Power Automate Run History – Logs execution status of automated flows.
📌 API Request & Response Logs – Captures API calls and failures.
📌 Application Insights (Azure) – Advanced monitoring with real-time analytics.

---

2. Configuring Logging in Copilot Studio

Step 1: Enable AI Trace Logs in Copilot Studio

1. Open Copilot Studio.
2. Navigate to Monitor → AI Trace Logs.
3. Click on a conversation log to inspect:
   • User queries and bot responses.
   • Response times for each message.
   • Errors or fallback responses.

✅ Use AI Trace Logs to analyze chatbot performance and identify incorrect responses.

---

Step 2: Monitor Power Automate Flow Execution Logs

Since Copilot Studio relies on Power Automate, flow failures must be logged and diagnosed.

How to Check Power Automate Run History:

1. Open Power Automate.
2. Navigate to My Flows → Select a Flow.
3. Click on Run History to view past executions.
4. Expand a failed run and inspect error messages.

✅ Common Power Automate Issues:
❌ Authentication failures (wrong API keys, expired tokens).
❌ Timeout errors (slow APIs, long processing times).
❌ Incorrect data mappings (mismatched input/output).

---

Step 3: Enable API Logging in Power Automate

If the chatbot makes API calls via Power Automate, logging API requests and responses is essential.

How to Log API Calls in Power Automate:

1. Add a “Compose” action before making the API call.
2. Insert @json(triggerBody()) to log the incoming request.
3. After the API call, add another “Compose” action to log the response.

✅ This helps diagnose API failures and ensures the chatbot receives the correct data.

---

Step 4: Configure Application Insights for Advanced Logging

Azure Application Insights provides real-time logging and diagnostics.

How to Set Up Application Insights for Copilot Studio:

1. Open Azure Portal.
2. Go to Application Insights and create a new instance.
3. Connect Power Automate logs and API logs to Application Insights.
4. Use Log Analytics to track errors and performance trends.

✅ Best For: Large-scale chatbots needing deep analytics and real-time monitoring.

---

3. Diagnosing Errors Using Logs

Step 1: Troubleshoot Chatbot Conversation Issues

📌 Issue: The chatbot provides incorrect responses.
📌 Solution:

1. Open AI Trace Logs.
2. Check if the chatbot misunderstood user intent.
3. If yes, adjust the language model settings.

✅ If the chatbot fails to respond, check Power Automate logs for flow failures.

---

Step 2: Fix API Call Failures

📌 Issue: The chatbot fails to fetch external data from APIs.
📌 Solution:

1. Check API request logs in Power Automate.
2. Look for HTTP error codes (401 Unauthorized, 500 Server Error, etc.).
3. If the API is failing, use Postman to test the endpoint separately.

✅ If the API works in Postman but fails in Power Automate, check authentication settings.

---

Step 3: Diagnose Slow Response Times

📌 Issue: The chatbot is slow to respond.
📌 Solution:

1. Open AI Trace Logs and check response times.
2. If Power Automate flow execution is slow, open Run History and inspect delays.
3. Optimize slow Power Automate actions by reducing loops and API calls.

✅ Target chatbot response time: Under 2 seconds for smooth user experience.

---

4. Automating Logging and Alerts

Step 1: Create Power Automate Alerts for Failures

1. Open Power Automate.
2. Create a new flow that triggers when an error occurs in chatbot logs.
3. Use the “Send Email Notification” action to alert admins.
4. Set the email message to include:
   • Error details from logs.
   • Timestamp of failure.
   • Suggested fixes.

✅ Goal: Automatically notify developers whenever chatbot errors occur.

---

Step 2: Integrate Logs with Microsoft Teams for Real-Time Monitoring

1. Create a Power Automate flow that logs errors in Microsoft Teams.
2. Use the “Post a message in Teams” action to send alerts.
3. Set up a dedicated Teams channel for monitoring chatbot issues.

✅ Benefit: Real-time error tracking without manually checking logs.

---

5. Best Practices for Logging and Diagnostics in Copilot Studio

✅ Enable AI Trace Logs – Capture every chatbot interaction.
✅ Monitor Power Automate Run History – Track and fix automation failures.
✅ Log API Calls – Store request/response data for debugging.
✅ Use Application Insights – Get real-time performance analytics.
✅ Set Up Automated Alerts – Get notified of errors via email or Teams.
✅ Optimize Slow Workflows – Reduce latency in chatbot responses.

---