Unknown Actions in Power Automate – Day 7: Bing Search (Preview)

In today’s installment—Day 7—of our dive into lesser-known or newer capabilities within Power Automate, we explore the Bing Search (Preview) connector. Though it currently offers a minimal number of actions, even this one unlocks powerful potential by tapping into Microsoft’s Bing Search APIs directly from your flows. This lets you integrate real‑time news and information without needing to call external APIs manually. 

The connector is officially in “Preview,” meaning it’s a relatively recent addition and may evolve over time. It’s a Standard‑tier connector, so it’s available across Power Automate, Power Apps, and Logic Apps. Microsoft includes it in the list of standard connectors, but unlike many, its catalog of actions is limited—yet purposeful. 

The single action currently supported is List news by query , which returns up‑to‑date news articles based on a search query. 

What Is “List news by query”? 

This action is the core of the Bing Search connector. In Power Automate, choose the “List news by query” action (Operation ID: GetNews), input a search term, and you’ll get an array of news article objects. Each includes details like headline, URL, description, publication date, and more. 

Here’s what makes it useful: 

• Real‑time news retrieval : Get live news on any term or topic without needing separate HTTP steps. 
• Easy to use : One built‑in action returns structured results. 
• Flexible input : Use dynamic content or variables for queries like trending topics or user‑entered search terms. 
• Divider between preview and production : While still “Preview,” it shows Microsoft’s confidence in automated news retrieval as part of workflow tools. 

Typical Scenarios 

Now, let’s explore unconventional yet practical ways to use the action in your automations. 

Monitoring Brand Mentions 

If you manage brand reputation, this action allows automatic tracking of news mentions. Build a flow like this: 

• Trigger : Every few hours, or manually. 
• Action : Use “List news by query” with your brand name. 
• Condition : If new articles appear, send an email or Teams message. 
• Details : Include title, URL, snippet, and publication date. 

This lets you immediately surface media stories, respond to emerging PR issues, and stay ahead of potential crises—all without manual searching. 

Event or Conference Updates 

Hosting or attending events? Keep tabs on relevant coverage: 

• Search queries like keynote speaker names, event title, or industry terms. 
• Flow can compile results into daily summaries. 
• Automatically post to internal channels, CRM logs, or newsletters. 

Your team stays informed with minimal effort, avoiding missed media opportunities or overlooked articles. 

Competitive Intelligence 

Track competitor news with a flow to surface significant mentions: 

• Input competitor names and relevant keywords (“merger,” “launch”). 
• Detect spikes in coverage. 
• Route alerts to leadership or marketing teams with quick summaries. 

This automates your PR and market monitoring process and democratizes intelligence across your organization. 

Architecting a Flow with “List news by query” 

To use the connector effectively, follow this flow outline: 

1. Trigger : Scheduled (e.g., daily), or event-based (e.g., Power Apps button). 
2. Action : “List news by query” 
3. Control logic : 
4. Branching : 
5. Output : 

With this structure, one action integrates real-time news into multiple automation channels. 

Technical Inputs and Outputs 

While Power Automate abstracts most details, it’s helpful to understand what’s happening behind the scenes: 

• Operation ID : GetNews 
• Request input : 
• Response : JSON array with objects containing properties such as: 

Each returned object can drive downstream connectors for alerts, logging, or user-facing notifications. 

Best Practices 

Even though the action is straightforward, consider the following: 

• Debounce intervals : Avoid frequent execution to conserve connector allotment and lower noise. 
• Deduplication : Keep track of returned URLs or dates to prevent re-sending old articles. 
• Localization : If targeting specific regions, use advanced market parameters for locale‑specific news. 
• Alternatives for other data types : For web search, images, or videos, use other Bing connectors or the HTTP-with-Bing‑API actions (if available). 
• Monitor preview limitations : Expect future expansion in actions, triggers, and query parameters. 

Integration Patterns 

1. News Digest via Email and SharePoint 

Combine news search with storage: 

• Use “List news by query.” 
• Append new items to a SharePoint list or Dataverse table. 
• Send a daily digest email summarizing new entries. 
• Use adaptive cards for clickable content. 

2. Power Apps + Flow Live Search 

Create a Power Apps gallery where users type a search term: 

• The app triggers a flow. 
• Flow runs “List news by query” with the user input. 
• Results return to the app via Power Automate connector. 
• The app displays results dynamically. 

This builds a self‑service news lookup tool without writing back‑end code. 

3. Compliance & Media Watch 

Combine with governance tools: 

• Use Microsoft Purview or Compliance flows that trigger on keywords. 
• Run news query for compliance triggers (e.g. “cybersecurity incident”). 
• Automatically collect news, send alerts to compliance officers. 

This builds a compliance-ready news monitoring system entirely within Power Platform. 

Example Flow in Detail 

Let’s walk through a specific sample: 

1. Trigger : Recurrence – every 6 hours. 
2. Initialize variable : searchTerm = "Contoso merger". 
3. List news by query using searchTerm. 
4. Apply to Each result: 
5. After loop : 

This automates news monitoring end-to-end with one action and native connectors. 

Why Only One Action Today? 

Unlike fully featured Azure Cognitive Services connectors, Bing Search (Preview) is newly introduced and cautious in scope. Microsoft likely started with news searches to validate performance and popularity before expanding into web search, images, videos, or trend data. 

As of now, users have asked for: 

• Web search results 
• Image search 
• Video thumbnails 
• Entity/topic extraction 

Based on other connectors in preview (like Custom Search or Web Search), it’s reasonable to expect upcoming additions. 

Licensing, Limits, and Considerations 

Important notes: 

• Standard connector : No premium license required. 
• Throttling : 1,200 calls per minute per connection-Polling triggers capped at 1 per 900 seconds. 
• Preview caveats : Subject to change—names, parameters, outputs may evolve. 
• API key : Authentication handled by connector; no manual API calls required. 
• Regional availability : Follow standard connector guidelines. 

What’s Next? 

Since we’re exploring “Unknown Actions” daily, here’s what to watch for: 

• New actions in this connector : Web search, image search, trending topics. 
• Other Bing‑related connectors in preview. 
• Filters/parameters : Expect control over region, freshness, safe-w search settings. 
• Trigger support : Automatic triggers based on new search results. 

You can track updates via the Microsoft Connectors reference page and AI Foundry documentation 

Summary 

Today’s focus on the Bing Search (Preview) connector may seem minimal—just one action, “List news by query”—but think of it as a seed. That seed plugs real‑time news into your automations with zero code. Whether you build brand monitoring, event watchlists, competitor intelligence, or self‑service apps, this simple action scales across multiple use cases. 

Here are the key takeaways: 

• Action available : List news by query (Operation ID: GetNews) 
• Capabilities : Return news article arrays based on search terms 
• Scenarios : Alerts, digests, app integration, compliance watching 
• Implementation : Trigger + variable + Apply to Each + notifications or storage 
• Limitations : Beta mode, single action, subject to changes 
• Outlook : Expect evolution — web, image, video search actions in future 

Summary 

Automation is powerful precisely because tools like Bing Search (Preview) let you harness external real-time information without needing infrastructure or custom HTTP calls. Today, it’s all about news. Tomorrow, maybe it’s full-blown web, image, or social media insights—all within your familiar Power Automate canvas. 

Stay tuned. Tomorrow we’ll explore another hidden gem. But for now, start experimenting: spin up a flow with “List news by query” and make knowledge flow into your processes—with no PowerShell, no SDKs, no hassle. 

Source: Unknown Actions in Power Automate – Day 7: Bing Search (Preview)