Microsoft introduces Product Change Management agent template

PEX Network’s key takeaways:

• Microsoft announced the public preview of the Product Change Management agent template.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) powered solution transforms how manufacturers manage the process of change across equipment, products, and processes.
• The Product Change Management agent template is already being used to revolutionize change management at Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA).

Microsoft announced the public preview of the Product Change Management agent template – an AI-powered solution that transforms how manufacturers manage the process of change across equipment, products, processes, and more.

Built on Microsoft Copilot Studio, the agent streamlines workflows and unifies systems, helping teams shrink approval cycles from weeks to days, minimize errors, and accelerate time-to-market, according to Microsoft.

The agent template is already being used to transform change management at Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, bringing intelligence, speed, and reliability to the CCBA change lifecycle.

Join the PEX Network community

Don't miss any news, updates or insider tips from PEX Network by getting them delivered to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter and join our community of experts. 

Learn More

Microsoft’s Product Change Management agent template

Engineering change management (ECM) is how manufacturers introduce product and process updates without disrupting production. Each change follows a controlled, multi-step path in which requests are reviewed, approved, and communicated across stakeholders and systems.

In response to market shifts, regulatory demands, and quality improvements, manufacturers initiate millions of these change requests every year.

However, ECM remains slow, wrote Pepijn Richter, general manager at Microsoft Cloud for Industry. “While highly collaborative, the process is easily bogged down by siloed information, manual steps, and disconnected processes. When it breaks down, costs from scrap, stoppages, and delayed product launches pile up.”

The Product Change Management agent template tackles these challenges by adding intelligence, automation, and orchestration to what is otherwise a manual, error-prone process. Delivered as a managed, customizable solution, it accelerates deployment while maintaining consistency and governance.

By connecting people, data, and systems with Microsoft AI, the agent streamlines execution, cutting approval cycles to days, improving uptime, and ensuring full traceability of every change.

Register for All Access: Change Management 2026!

Transforming change management with AI

“AI-powered change management is now imperative. As changes proliferate across more assets and systems, manufacturers need governed, AI-guided workflows to maintain speed and quality,” Richter stated.

The Product Change Management agent template acts as an AI-driven orchestrator for engineering changes. Its specialized sub-agents handle routine tasks autonomously, enabling teams to concentrate on critical reviews.

With Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams, it accelerates change cycles, reduces errors, and preserves compliance and alignment.

Key features of Microsoft’s Product Change Management agent template include:

• Automated workflow orchestration: Accelerating approvals by coordinating the entire change process, from request to closure, autonomously.
• System of record synchronization: Updates are consistently reflected across product lifecycle management (PLM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms.
• Collaborative stakeholder engagement: Simplifying communication across engineering, quality, and operations with natural language interfaces and intelligent routing.
• Data-driven impact analysis: Evaluating proposed changes across inventory, suppliers, and production.
• Built-in compliance and traceability: Enforcing governance policies, tracking decisions, and supporting regulatory compliance without adding complexity.

“The Product Change Management agent is streamlining equipment management across CCBA’s capital assets and products, enabling faster identification of impact areas and responsible individuals, and improving operational efficiency,” commented Joshua Motsuenyane, chief information officer at CCBA.

All Access: Future of BPM 2026

You asked, and we listened. Business process management (BPM) remains the cornerstone technology for driving organizational transformation, according to the survey results featured in the latest PEX Report. As we look toward 2026 and beyond, generative AI, agentic AI, and intelligent process orchestration are redefining how processes are designed, executed, and optimized. BPM is your key to adapting swiftly and effectively in this new era.

PEX Network is bringing together industry leaders, technology innovators, and thought leaders to answer your biggest questions and explore the advancements reshaping business today. And you're invited. Register for free to save your spot now! 

Register Now