Copilot Studio: Chatbots That Work for Housing Associations

Your residents expect 24/7 service. Your contact centres can't keep up. Copilot Studio changes that equation.

A well-designed chatbot handles routine enquiries automatically, freeing your teams to deal with complex tenant needs. Self-service that works reduces avoidable contacts, delivers better tenant outcomes, and protects your premium service channels for the queries that actually need human expertise.

Why Housing Associations Need Intelligent Chatbots

Tenants increasingly expect to resolve issues on their terms, using digital channels they're already comfortable with. Channel hopping between phone calls, web portals, and chatbots has become standard behaviour. Your service model needs to accommodate that reality.

Copilot Studio sits within Microsoft's Power Platform, letting housing associations deploy intelligent chatbots into omnichannel platforms that benefit both tenants and colleagues. You build powerful chatbots using a no-code graphical interface. No programming required.

The platform integrates with hundreds of apps through prebuilt connectors, creates custom workflows with Power Automate, and uses AI-driven insights to monitor and improve performance continuously.

Publish your bots to multiple channels. Live websites. Mobile apps. Microsoft Teams. Facebook. Your tenants can access support wherever they are.

Three Ways Copilot Studio Stands Apart

Advanced AI for understanding intent and sentiment. The AI engine works behind the scenes to identify the most relevant responses for each enquiry. This matters for housing associations where tenants might phrase the same repair request in dozens of different ways. The bot understands what they mean, not just what they say.

Already included with Microsoft Teams licensing. Your first internal bot costs nothing additional. External tenant-facing bots require Copilot Studio licensing, but you can test the technology internally before committing resources to tenant-facing deployments.

Full integration with Power Platform, M365 and Azure. Unlike standalone chatbots that operate in isolation, Copilot Studio connects directly to your existing systems. Over 100 approved connectors ready to use. This transforms Copilot Studio from a simple FAQ bot into an automation engine that can trigger repairs, update tenant records, or escalate complaints automatically.

Creating Your Knowledge Base

Copilot Studio becomes your self-service operating manual for tenant services. It defines what you offer and how you deliver it. This ensures tenants get high-quality, responsive answers on-demand, at times that suit them.

Include self-learning loops in your bot flows. The bot improves its accuracy and relevance automatically as more people use it. Your FAQ database evolves based on actual tenant behaviour rather than assumptions about what they need.

Contact centre colleagues benefit equally. They always have correct information to hand. Fewer knowledge gaps. Reduced training time for new starters. Less dependence on institutional memory residing in specific team members' heads.

Employee satisfaction improves. Staff turnover reduces. Both particularly acute problems in contact centres where constant pressure and limited support drive people away.

Starting with Internal Bots

Many housing associations deploy bots internally first. Knowledge management tools for staff. Centralised information resources accessible from anywhere.

New Starter Q&A bots accelerate induction by providing instant answers to common questions about policies, procedures, and systems. New colleagues find their way around your organisation faster without consuming senior staff time.

Copilot Studio works as an app within Microsoft Teams. You create chatbots that answer colleague queries directly in their daily workspace. No additional platforms to learn.

Integration That Matters

The full Power Platform enables genuinely sophisticated chatbots. Copilot Studio connects with Power Automate for workflow automation, Dataverse for data storage, AI Builder for enhanced intelligence, and hundreds of data connectors for system integration.

This separates Copilot Studio from basic FAQ bots that can only respond with static information. Your bot can check tenant records, trigger repairs processes, update case management systems, or escalate urgent issues automatically. It becomes an active participant in service delivery rather than a passive information source.

Proof from the Sector

mhs homes, Kent's largest independent social landlord managing over 9,500 homes, needed to meet new Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Manual telephone surveys restricted response volumes and consumed significant staff time.

We implemented Dynamics 365 Customer Voice backed by Dataverse, integrating with their existing Capita OpenHousing system. Survey distribution automated after repair completions. Response volumes doubled compared to previous telephone surveys. Regulatory requirements met without manual survey campaigns, maximising return on existing Microsoft 365 licences.

Honeycomb Group modernised their entire IT infrastructure through complete cloud migration to Azure and Microsoft 365. Remote working that functions properly. Modern, secure infrastructure. Predictable costs. Better service delivery across all housing operations.

The foundation exists for implementing Copilot Studio once core systems operate in the cloud environment where integration works reliably.

Getting Started

Copilot Studio licensing comes included with Microsoft Teams for internal use. Test the technology with your teams first. Build proof-of-concept bots for FAQs, ICT support, HR queries, or new starter information. See what works before committing to tenant-facing deployments.

External tenant-facing bots require separate Copilot Studio licensing. Investment scales with usage. Start with specific high-value use cases rather than attempting to automate everything simultaneously.

Focus on enquiries that consume disproportionate contact centre time whilst requiring minimal human judgement to resolve. Repair reporting. Rent account queries. Appointment confirmations. Let PVA handle those whilst your teams address complex tenancy issues requiring empathy and discretion.

If you have a live chatbot today, compare its capabilities against what Copilot Studio delivers. The gap will surprise you. Technology has moved significantly in the past few years. Your current solution might have been appropriate when deployed but no longer represents best value.

Want to explore Copilot Studio for your housing association? TSG Housing specialises in Power Platform implementations for social landlords. We understand your operational environment, regulatory requirements, and integration challenges. Contact TSG to discuss proof-of-concept bots that demonstrate value before scaling deployment.