Microsoft Leaders Outline AI-Driven Business Central Roadmap
During the 2025 Business Central/NAV Product Roadmap session, Microsoft executives outlined how AI is influencing ERP systems, specifically Business Central. The session, featuring Mike Morton, Vice President, Dynamics 365 Business Central & SMB Business Apps, Microsoft, Blazej Kotelko, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft, Kennie Pontoppidan, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft, and Aleksandar Totovic, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft, provided a look at how AI, automation, and analytics are being embedded into everyday workflows.
Business Central’s Growth and Reach
Mike Morton began with an update on the product’s adoption. More than 45,000 companies now run Business Central, representing a range of industries and business sizes.
Morton shared examples that demonstrate the platform’s reach, including:
- Sapphire Gas, a midmarket company using Business Central for greater visibility
- Nanoleaf, a startup that began with basic deployment and scaled as demand for products grew
- Michelin, a global enterprise that uses Business Central in specific divisions to manage acquisitions and dealer operations
These examples show how Business Central supports organizations from “pretty small businesses to pretty large enterprises” through its flexibility and integration.
ERP ‘Crossroads’
Morton then described a “crossroads moment” for ERP. While the shift from on-premises to cloud transformed how businesses access data, AI will redefine what users can do with it.
“ERP hasn’t changed that much at its core, but AI is starting to change that foundation.”
He outlined specific areas where Copilot and AI agents can drive measurable impact, like budgeting, procurement, purchase invoice classification, version management, and item tracking. By automating repetitive work, employees can focus on higher-value analysis and decision-making.
He referenced three stages of AI maturity within Business Central:
- Copilot assistance: Users ask questions, and AI provides context, completes simple actions
- Human-in-the-loop automation: Agents perform tasks under human supervision
- Autonomous agents: Agents handles end-to-end processes with users approving exceptions and setting guidelines
“Think of it as moving from helping people type faster to helping them make better decisions, faster.”
AI Demos
Kotelko demonstrated how AI is already integrated into Business Central. He gave a walkthrough of the AI and Copilot features, where users can view, enable, and test new capabilities. Many are built by Microsoft, while others come from partners.
In a demo, Kotelko showed AI-generated product descriptions and summaries, and a new summarization tool.
He also demonstrated Autofill, which populates missing customer details by sourcing accurate data from the web. Users can review, accept, or reject the suggestions.
Finally, he showcased the Sales Order Agent, which can process customer emails, generate quotes, and prepare draft replies in email, all with user control. “The human is always in the loop,” he emphasized. “The agent doesn’t send anything without approval.”
AI, Analytics, and Finance
Pontoppidan demonstrated how Copilot and Power BI are bringing real-time intelligence and automation to financial management.
He showed how Copilot can surface financial insights by analyzing data and highlighting areas that need attention. Users can then set up automated reports and KPI alerts.
Pontoppidan also demonstrated the new “drill-back” capability, which enables users to click directly from a visualization into related Business Central for fast verification and analysis.
Semantic search helps users quickly find and forecast data. For example, sales teams can use it to locate forecasting tools and refine trends.
Looking Ahead
To round out the session, Morton gave perspective on where AI stands in its lifecycle and where Business Central customers fit in.
Referencing Gartner’s Hype Cycle, he noted that “Every major technology goes through this. The key is to engage early, learn, and adapt.”
Morton outlined three concrete steps for organizations:
- Move to the cloud
- Enable Copilot features
- Adopt AI agents, like the Payables Agent and Sales Order Agent
He also outlined investment 2025 investment areas in Business Central, including quality management, subcontracting, Shopify integration, sustainability, and compliance.
Stay Connected
Users and partners can stay connected through businesscentral.com, YouTube, and LinkedIn, where Microsoft continues to share feature updates, deep dives, and product demos.
