Sales teams spend a surprising amount of time entering contact information into their CRM. Whether leads come from trade shows, inbound emails, discovery calls, or marketing campaigns, someone must still manually type names, phone numbers, companies, and job titles into the system.

As lead volume grows, so does the risk of incomplete records, data entry errors, and lost selling time. Fortunately, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement includes a smarter way to capture lead information in D365 Sales. Form Fill Assist uses Microsoft Copilot to extract data from business cards, emails, PDFs, and other documents, then suggests values directly within Lead and Contact forms. This Tip of the Month shows how Form Fill Assist helps reduce manual data entry, improve data quality, and get sellers back to selling faster.

Tip summary: Capture lead information faster with Form Fill Assist

Form Fill Assist is an AI-powered feature in Dynamics 365 Sales that helps sellers populate Lead and Contact forms and avoid manually entering information. By uploading a file, using Smart Paste, or leveraging contextual suggestions, Copilot automatically recommends values for matching fields directly within the form.

Suggestions are never applied automatically. Sellers can review each recommendation, accept individual fields, or click Accept All before saving the record, ensuring they remain in complete control of the data.

How Form Fill Assist Works

The Form Fill Assist toolbar appears at the bottom of Lead and Contact forms in D365 Sales. Sellers can generate field suggestions in three ways:

1. Upload a file

Drag and drop or upload a supported file directly into the toolbar. Copilot extracts information and maps it to the appropriate fields.

Supported file types include:

• PDF
• DOCX
• CSV
• TXT
• PNG
• JPG / JPEG
• BMP

2. Use Smart Paste

Copy text or an image, such as an email signature or contact information, and click Smart Paste, or simply press Ctrl + V when no field is selected. Copilot analyzes the content and suggests matching values.

3. Receive contextual suggestions

Even without uploading a file or using Smart Paste, Copilot can recommend values based on information already entered on the form and recent records you’ve worked with.

For example, after scanning a business card from a trade show, a seller can upload the image and have the Name, Company, Email, Phone Number, and Job Title fields populated within seconds. After reviewing the suggestions, they simply click Accept All and save the record.

Tip steps: How to enable Form Fill Assist

Prerequisites:

• D365 Sales Enterprise or Premium license (the feature is hidden for users who do not meet the license requirement)
• Modern UI (refreshed look) enabled for the Sales Hub app
• System Administrator or System Customizer role to configure environment settings
• The Allow form fill assistance column property enabled on any field where suggestions should appear

1. Enable Form Fill Assistance

In the Power Platform admin center, select your environment and navigate to:

Settings > Product > Features

Enable:

• Form fill assist toolbar
• Smart paste and file suggestions

If these settings aren’t available under Features, Microsoft may have moved them to:

Copilot > Settings > Power Apps > Data Entry

2. Confirm the modern UI is enabled for Sales Hub

The Form Fill Assist toolbar is only available in the refreshed Sales Hub interface. Verify that the modern UI is enabled for your Sales Hub app.

Go to the Sales Hub app, open Settings, and confirm the modern UI toggle is enabled.

3. Verify column settings

Standard fields such as First Name, Last Name, Company Name, Email, Phone Number, and Job Title already support Form Fill Assist.

If you want suggestions for custom fields:

• Open the column in the Power Apps maker portal.
• Enable Allow form fill assistance.

Note: Fields secured with column-level security are not supported.

4. Test the Toolbar

Open a new Lead or Contact record and confirm the toolbar appears at the bottom of the form.

Test it by:

• Uploading a business card image
• Using Smart Paste with contact information from an email
• Clicking Accept All to populate the record before saving

Tip insights: How sellers use Form Fill Assist every day

Form Fill Assist fits naturally into existing sales workflows, including:

• Trade show follow-up: Upload business card photos to create leads in seconds.
• Inbound inquiries: Copy an email signature and use Smart Paste to populate the form.
• Spreadsheet imports: Upload CSV exports and let Copilot suggest matching values.
• PDF intake forms: Extract customer information directly from completed documents without manually reading through them.

Why this tip matters

Manual data entry is one of the most repetitive and time-consuming tasks for sales teams. Form Fill Assist reduces that burden by helping sellers capture lead information faster while improving data accuracy and record completeness. The result is less time spent typing and more time engaging with prospects.

If you’d like help enabling Form Fill Assist or exploring other AI-powered capabilities in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, our Microsoft experts are here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can optimize your Dynamics 365 environment. And be sure to return next month for another CE Tip of the Month.