Model selection and temperature settings

When you create a prompt action in prompt builder, the panel on the right includes a Settings section. This section allows you to set these parameters:

  • Version of the generative AI model
  • Temperature

This article explores the impact of these parameters.

Generative AI model versions

The dropdown menu allows you to select among the generative AI models, which generate the answer to your custom prompt.

The default model as of November 2024, is GPT 4o Mini (general availability, or GA). It's possible to also use the more powerful GPT 4o model (GA). These exact minor versions of these models are subject to change.

When you use prompt actions in Power Apps or Power Automate, they consume AI Builder credits.

Note

Older prompts created in prompt builder that rely on this default model GPT 3.5 model were or will be auto-upgraded to GPT 4o Mini model. Government cloud continues to use GPT 3.5 model until the end of November 2024.

Choose a model

Choose between the models based on status and licensing rules.

GPT model Status Licensing rules Functionalities Region availabilities
GPT 4o Mini GA - Default model Consumes credits in Power Apps and Power Automate. More information: Power Platform Licensing Guide Trained on data up to December 2023. Context allowed up to 128k tokens. Feature availability by regions for prompts
GPT 4 GA Consumes credits in Power Apps and Power Automate. More information: Power Platform Licensing Guide GPT 4o has knowledge up to October 2023 and has a context length of 128k tokens. Feature availability by regions for prompts

Choose between the model based on capabilities and scenarios.

Comparison of GPT-4o Mini and GPT-4o

Factors GPT-4o Mini GPT-4o
Cost Lower, more cost-effective Higher, premium pricing
Performance Good for most tasks Superior for complex tasks
Speed Faster processing Might be slower due to complexity
Use Cases Summarization, information tasks Complex data analysis, reasoning, and content creation tasks

Decision Narrative

When you need a cost-effective solution for moderately complex tasks, have limited computational resources, or require faster processing, choose GPT-4o Mini. It's ideal for projects with budget constraints and applications like customer support or efficient code analysis.

When you're dealing with highly complex, multimodal tasks that require superior performance and detailed analysis, choose GPT-4o. It's the better choice for large-scale projects where accuracy and advanced capabilities are crucial. Another scenario where it's a better choice is when you have the budget and computational resources to support it. GPT-4o is also preferable for long-term projects that might grow in complexity over time.

Use of AI prompts in context of Microsoft Copilot Studio

AI prompts don't consume AI Builder credits when in the context of Copilot Studio, but consume messages when they're built on a GA GPT model.

Learn more about message consumption in the Power Platform Licensing Guide.

Temperature

The slider allows you to select the temperature of the generative AI model. It varies between 0 and 1, and guides the generative AI model about how much creativity (1) vs deterministic answer (0) it should provide.

Temperature is a parameter that controls the randomness of the output generated by the AI model. A lower temperature results in more predictable and conservative outputs. To compare, a higher temperature allows for more creativity and diversity in the responses. It’s a way to fine-tune the balance between randomness and determinism in the model’s output.

By default, the temperature is 0, as in previously created prompts.

Temperature Functionality Use in
0 More predictable and conservative outputs.
Responses are more consistent.
Prompts that require high accuracy and less variability.
1 More creativity and diversity in the responses.
More varied and sometimes more innovative responses.
Prompts that create new out-of-the-box content

While adjusting the temperature can influence the model’s output, it doesn’t guarantee a specific result. The AI’s responses are inherently probabilistic and can vary even with the same temperature setting.