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BC 2026 release wave 2unofficial launch event map, by waldo

Features › Copilot and agents

MCP data tools

GA · 5 min in 1 video · dev relevance high · documented as Run data queries with MCP Server high match

MCP data tools

Four system tools (find tables, table relations, table schema, data query) let an LLM write AL queries that Business Central compiles and runs, with no APIs needed. Compiler errors return to the agent so it can correct itself.

Area: Copilot and agents. Status: GA. Developer relevance: high. Airtime: 5 min across 1 video, demoed.

Status evidence

  • Nothing said about status; launch event convention: generally available unless stated otherwise.

Where they talk about it

  • What's new: MCP Server: 0:36 to 6:04, demo at 1:44 (called "Data tools (find tables, table relations, table schema, data query)" and "Compile and run AL queries with compiler feedback" there)

Quotes

  • 1:03 "there's basically no need to use APIs or anything it just works like that" - Design decision: data access through queries instead of purpose-built APIs.
  • 1:16 "we have uh introduced four new system tools" - States the scope of the release: four new system tools for data access.
  • 2:01 "it completely depends on the permissions that you already have the tables that you have access to in business central" - Access is governed by the user's existing table permissions, not by API definitions.
  • 2:46 "takes 30 steps. It takes 2 minutes. It's a good example of a longunning agent" - Gives a concrete figure for how long a data-analysis run takes in the demo.
  • 3:49 "we have seen that newer models are actually pretty good at writing EL query" - Explains why the optional Microsoft Docs MCP server is not needed much with newer models.
  • 4:38 "the compilation messages you get is directly from our compiler" - Agents get real compiler errors, which lets them fix their own queries.
  • 5:25 "So whatever you can express in an AL query is now available to agents." - Defines the capability boundary of the data tools.
  • 5:48 "there are also limitations in queries in business central on how much data can be returned and for how long the query can run" - States a limitation that affects what analysis is practical.

Caveats mentioned

  • Access depends on the permissions the user already has on tables
  • Result quality depends on how good the agent is at writing AL queries
  • Only what can be expressed in an AL query works; unsupported or non-optimal queries will not work
  • Queries in Business Central limit how much data can be returned and how long a query can run
  • Agent only sometimes corrects itself (described as 'often times')

Prerequisites mentioned

  • An MCP host such as Copilot Studio or VS Code
  • Data tool enabled under server features in the MCP configuration
  • Data tools enabled

Documented features match

Docs checked on 2026-10-02: the match is against Microsoft's what's new pages for the wave as they were on that date. Microsoft keeps filling the documentation, so "no documented item" can go stale. The wider product documentation on learn.microsoft.com was searched for this feature on the same date; the feature's data lists an article when one was found.

Tags: mcp, agents, al, queries, api, reporting, testing

Generated by pipeline step 06. Source: YouTube auto-captions of the launch event videos, see the deep links. Not official.