How to Get Started with Copilot in Excel

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an AI-powered assistant integrated across popular Microsoft applications like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams. Excel leverages advanced language models, similar to ChatGPT, combined with your OneDrive or SharePoint data to simplify complex tasks. Whether you need to generate formulas, filter and sort data, or perform data analysis with actionable insights, Copilot in Excel handles these tasks seamlessly within the app.

What makes Copilot stand out is its ability to respond to natural language prompts directly in Excel — no need to switch between platforms.

With just a few queries, it suggests solutions and applies them directly to your workbook. This unique blend of AI and automation helps users save time and unlock powerful insights without leaving the familiar Excel environment. Below, I’ll go into more detail about why you should consider using Copilot in Excel, and how to get started.

How does Copilot enhance Excel?

One of its standout features is the ability to generate formula columns. By describing your desired formula in plain English, Copilot translates it into Excel’s formula language, eliminating the need to write formulas from scratch. This is particularly helpful for beginners or those looking to speed up repetitive tasks. Additionally, Copilot offers conditional formatting suggestions, helping users highlight key data points, such as top values or numbers exceeding certain thresholds.

Copilot also assists with sorting and filtering data, though experienced users may find these tasks easier to perform manually. For data analysis, it can generate insights through PivotTables and charts, offering a quick way to identify trends and patterns. While it simplifies light analyses, advanced users may prefer manual PivotTable creation for more complex tasks. 

Copilot can translate a desired formula from plain English into Excel’s formula language, eliminating the need to write formulas from scratch.

By enhancing Excel’s existing capabilities with AI-driven natural language input, Copilot unlocks new possibilities, making data management, problem-solving, and creativity seamless and efficient.

How to add Copilot to Excel

Getting started looks a bit different than it used to, since Microsoft folded the old standalone Copilot Pro subscription into broader plans. The right path depends on whether you’re an individual user or part of a business.

Step 1: Check which subscription path applies to you

Editing with Copilot in Excel requires one of the following:

• A Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription with an AI credits plan
• A Microsoft 365 Premium subscription ($19.99/month), which bundles Copilot into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for individual users
• A commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription (business/enterprise)
• A Copilot Chat-eligible Microsoft 365 or Office 365 business/enterprise subscription

If you’re on a business plan, Copilot is typically added as a licensed add-on to your existing Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise subscription rather than purchased separately. Check with your IT admin if you’re unsure which license your organization has.

Note: the standalone $20/month Copilot Pro plan is being phased out, with support for existing subscribers ending August 1, 2026. If you come across older guidance about buying “Copilot Pro” on its own, that path no longer applies to new users.

Step 2: Update your Microsoft 365 license

1. Open Excel and go to File > Account.
2. If you don’t see the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, select Update License.
3. Restart Excel if needed for the change to take effect.

Step 3: Set up OneDrive or SharePoint  

1. Copilot needs your file stored in OneDrive or SharePoint to function.
2. Turn on AutoSave. If prompted, save your workbook to OneDrive.

Step 4: Launch Copilot and pick a mode

Once enabled, select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of Excel. Copilot in Excel now works in three modes:

• Edit mode (default): Copilot edits your workbook directly based on your prompt.
• Plan mode: Copilot lays out a step-by-step plan first, so you can review before anything changes.
• Chat mode: Copilot analyzes your data and answers questions without touching the workbook.

For bigger, multi-step jobs, like restructuring a whole sheet or building a report with several parts, look for Agent Mode. It plans, executes, and checks its own work across several steps instead of handling one prompt at a time.

By following these steps, you can unlock the full potential of Copilot, gaining access to AI-driven tools that streamline workflows and improve productivity.

Benefits of using Copilot in Excel

By automating complex tasks, Copilot’s benefits are many. This tool saves time by allowing users to focus on higher-value work. Copilot acts as a personal Excel assistant, handling frequent, time-consuming processes like formatting, filtering, data visualization, and others, leading to increased productivity.

1. Formula automation

Copilot streamlines complex data tasks by automating formula creation. Instead of manually writing formulas or searching for functions online, users can describe their needs in plain language and Copilot will generate and apply the formula directly. From simple functions to advanced formulas like XLOOKUP or SUMIF, Copilot simplifies the process, eliminating errors and saving users hours of effort.

The more specific your prompt, the better the result. Naming the exact column, condition, and output format you want gives Copilot what it needs to produce a workable formula on the first try.

2. Smart formatting

In addition to formulas, Copilot assists with conditional formatting, making it easy to highlight key information, such as flagging spending that exceeds revenue. It offers recommendations for sorting, filtering, and visualizing data, suggesting the most effective chart types, like PivotTables, bar charts, or line graphs, so users can uncover trends without needing advanced Excel skills.

Copilot can now also fetch outside data to ground its answers. For example, you can ask it to add a column showing the current exchange rate for a set of currencies, and it will pull that data in and populate the column, with citations showing where the information came from.

3. Python integration

This is an area where Copilot’s capabilities have shifted over the past year, so it’s worth understanding how things currently work. Microsoft discontinued the earlier "App Skills" feature (which ran Python analysis directly inside the grid) in early 2026. In its place, there are now two distinct ways to work with Python in Excel:

• The PY() function: lets you write and run Python directly in a cell, using Microsoft’s cloud sandbox. No local Python install is required. This typically requires a separate Python in Excel license.
• The Analyst agent: for organizations with access, this is a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot agent built for deeper, Python-powered analysis across multiple files. You attach a file, describe what you want to understand, and it returns a written analysis with charts, without editing your original file.

So rather than one all-in-one “Copilot runs Python for you” feature, Python access in Excel is now split between in-cell functions and a dedicated analysis agent, depending on what you’re trying to do.

4. Text analysis

Copilot isn’t limited to numerical data, it also analyzes text-based information. This helps users transform raw textual data into actionable insights through sentiment analysis, keyword extraction, and summaries. Marketing managers, for example, can use Copilot to quickly review product feedback and identify trends, saving time and driving better decisions.

5. Productivity boost

By means of automation, Python capabilities, and natural language processing, Copilot empowers users to reduce errors, enhance data-driven decision-making, and maximize productivity, all from within Excel’s familiar environment.

6. Integrates with other Microsoft 365 services

Copilot’s full potential is realized through its seamless integration with other Microsoft 365 apps. For example:

• Teams and Outlook: Export and share reports directly through chat or email.
• OneDrive and SharePoint: Store and collaborate on workbooks in the cloud with real-time access and AutoSave functionality.
• PowerPoint: Convert Excel insights into presentations with Copilot-generated summaries, charts, and tables.

By integrating automation, advanced analytics, and natural language input, Copilot in Excel enables users to maximize efficiency, reduce manual effort, and focus on higher-value work. This makes it an indispensable tool for individuals and organizations alike.

Overview of Copilot for Microsoft 365 - new course by Microsoft MVP Deb Ashby

Limitations of Copilot in Excel

While this powerful tool can enhance productivity, it's important to understand its limitations to use it effectively. Below are some key drawbacks users should be aware of, along with practical notes on where things currently stand.

1. Limited to existing Excel capabilities

Copilot can only perform tasks that align with Excel’s predefined functionality. Although it automates many processes, it doesn’t introduce entirely new features beyond what Excel already offers. This one’s evolved somewhat: Copilot is no longer cut off from Python the way it once was, since Python is now available through the native PY() function or the Analyst agent. Power Query access still isn’t part of Copilot’s toolkit.

2. Cell limit for analysis

Larger datasets can slow down Copilot's performance, even though it can still edit documents or create formulas beyond a certain size. Processing times may increase significantly even with smaller files. (Note: check Microsoft’s current support documentation for the exact cell-limit figure before publishing, as this number has shifted with recent updates.)

3. Challenges with unstructured data

Copilot works best with structured data in Excel tables. It struggles with cell ranges that lack headers or contain mixed data types, blank rows, or subtotals. For optimal performance, data should follow best practices, with clear column headers and a consistent data type per column.

4. Risk of inaccurate or suboptimal solutions

As with any AI tool, Copilot may produce suboptimal or even incorrect outputs, and it cannot independently evaluate the accuracy of its results. Occasionally, it may provide misleading answers or misinterpret queries, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “AI hallucination.” 

Additionally, since Copilot was trained on predominantly English sources, its results may not work as well where prompts or data are not in English (source: Microsoft).

5. Feature churn

Copilot in Excel has changed noticeably over the past year alone, from the retirement of App Skills to the rollout of Agent Mode to changes in how subscriptions are packaged. Treat any specific feature name in this article (or any Copilot article) as a snapshot rather than a fixed target, and expect the interface and available tools to keep shifting.

Understanding the above limitations will help you navigate Copilot’s capabilities more effectively. By properly preparing data, managing expectations around performance, and validating outputs, you can maximize the tool’s benefits while minimizing drawbacks.

To sum up

Copilot in Excel offers a powerful way to automate tasks, simplify data analysis, and unlock new insights, saving users valuable time and effort. By leveraging natural language prompts and advanced automation, Copilot streamlines workflows, enabling users to focus on higher-value activities and make more informed decisions. Whether it's generating formulas, applying conditional formatting, or visualizing trends with PivotTables, Copilot transforms how users work with data.

To fully harness the potential of this tool and enhance your productivity, GoSkills offers Copilot for Microsoft 365 Apps training. This comprehensive course equips you with the skills needed to master Copilot and integrate it into your daily tasks, whether you are an individual professional or part of a team. From basic functionalities to advanced data management techniques, the course provides practical, step-by-step guidance tailored to users of all skill levels. Join Microsoft MVP Deb Ashby as she takes you from Copilot basics to brilliance.