In the March and April 2026 releases, Annata introduced the first AI Actions in A365, Annata’s industry solution built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for automotive, trucks & buses, and equipment businesses.
The release marks an important step in how AI is being applied across enterprise operations. Rather than positioning AI as a separate assistant layered on top of existing systems, Annata is embedding AI directly into operational workflows inside A365 itself.
From natural language device search to AI-driven rental quotation workflows, sales quote generation, and sales order creation, the latest A365 capabilities are designed to reduce workflow friction and enable more intent-driven interactions across daily operations.
To explore the thinking behind this approach, we spoke with Heimir Skúli Guðmundsson, Product Enablement Manager at Annata. Heimir shares why Annata believes enterprise AI must move beyond assistive experiences and become operationally embedded into the way systems work.
A lot of “AI-powered” solutions today are exactly that: powered on top of something else.
A layer. A copilot. A feature you switch on. Useful? Sometimes. Transformational? Rarely.
Because if AI sits on top of a system that was never designed for it, businesses still operate within the same constraints:
- the same workflows
- the same friction
- the same dependency on manual navigation and system knowledge
That’s not how we see AI evolving at Annata.
From the beginning, our focus with A365 and Drive AI has been to build AI into how the solution operates, not bolt it on later as an additional interface.
The March and April releases are the first real expression of that approach.
In short
- Annata introduced the first AI Actions in A365 during the March and April 2026 releases
- A365 is Annata’s industry solution built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for automotive, trucks & buses, and equipment businesses
- AI Actions in A365 allow users to execute workflows through intent-driven interactions and natural language requests
- Initial AI Actions in A365 support rental quotation workflows, sales quote generation, and sales order creation
- The solution reduces manual workflow navigation by enabling AI-driven operational execution directly within A365
- Upcoming releases will extend AI Actions in A365 into inbound warranty claim workflows and additional Drive AI-driven scenarios
Why AI in enterprise software must be built into the system
If AI is truly part of the enterprise solution, it should not feel separate from the system itself. It should appear naturally in how users interact with software from the very first moment.
That’s why one of the first capabilities we introduced in A365 was natural language device search.
The goal is simple: reduce friction between intent and action.
For many users, especially in complex automotive, equipment, and rental operations, the challenge is not a lack of functionality. It’s the effort required to navigate systems built around rigid process structures.
AI changes that dynamic when it’s embedded into the workflow itself.
AI actions in A365 for Rental Quotation workflows in A365
Most enterprise systems today are still designed around predefined workflows. But people don’t think in workflows.
No one wakes up excited to navigate a process tree or manually execute sequential ERP steps. People think in outcomes.
That led us to a simple question: What changes when the system understands intent instead of requiring structured input?
Instead of guiding users through every operational step manually, AI Actions allow the system to execute workflow actions directly based on intent.
This changes the role of AI from assistive to operational.
Drive AI actions for Sales Quote Generation and Sales Order Creation
In April 2026, we expanded the same approach with Drive AI Actions for:
- sales quote generation
- sales order creation
AI agents can now manage deal execution workflows end-to-end by:
- generating quotation journals
- creating sales orders directly within A365
- reducing manual navigation across multiple operational steps
Both actions are built on standardized endpoints with validation and security controls in place.
That matters because enterprise AI cannot only be capable. It also has to be governed, reliable, and operationally scalable inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 environments.
This is where AI begins moving beyond assistance and into execution.
Not simply helping users complete workflows, but reducing the operational complexity behind those workflows altogether.
Why scalable AI architecture matters in Microsoft Dynamics 365 environments
One of the realities that still doesn’t get discussed enough in enterprise AI is that capability alone is not the challenge.
Scalability is. Performance is. Cost control is.
During our prototyping phase at Annata, we saw that well-designed AI Actions in A365 can significantly reduce unnecessary system interactions and orchestration overhead.
This is one of the reasons we believe AI cannot be treated as an afterthought or an overlay strategy.
If AI is added later, organizations inevitably spend time optimizing around architectural limitations that already exist.
Our approach with A365 and Drive AI is to design for AI from the start.
What’s coming next for AI Actions in A365
The March and April releases are only the beginning. In June 2026, we’re extending AI Actions in A365 further with support for inbound warranty claim workflows.
The objective is to deliver:
- end-to-end inbound warranty claim workflow support
- additional posting actions for rental operations
- expanded Drive AI-driven operational scenarios as they become production-ready
The long-term direction is clear.
Most importantly, software starts adapting to people instead of forcing people to adapt to software.
For us, that is the real opportunity with AI in enterprise applications.
Not simply smarter features, but fundamentally smarter ways of working.
The March and April releases are an important milestone because they represent the beginning of that shift inside A365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
To learn more about AI Actions in A365 and other updates from the recent update, check out our Product Spotlight.
About the author
Heimir Skúli Guðmundsson is Product Director at Annata, who has helped shape the evolution of A365 and Annata’s industry solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics 365.
He began his career at Annata as a junior consultant working on Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation projects before moving into R&D, where he contributed to the development of Dataverse-based applications including Service, Sales, and Inspections. He also worked closely with early customers on product design, feature prioritization, and the certification of Annata applications on Microsoft AppSource.
Today, Heimir works across product strategy, enablement, and innovation initiatives for A365, collaborating with customers, partners, consultants, and internal teams to support the evolving needs of the automotive, truck, bus, equipment, and rental industries.
