Copilot in Microsoft Excel can break down spreadsheets and identify trends using AI

(Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

Microsoft announced Copilot today, an AI-powered tool that works across Microsoft 365 applications.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Viva, and Teams will all support Copilot.
Within Excel, Copilot can suggest formulas based on questions you ask it and create charts and visual aids.

Microsoft announced Copilot for a range of applications. Among those is Excel, which will let you ask questions with natural language rather than relying on formulas you know off hand. The AI-powered tool will also share correlations it finds in data, suggest what-if scenarios, and recommend formulas based on the questions that you ask.

Copilot will also be able to generate content, such as charts and other visual aids.

> Copilot unveiled for Microsoft 365
> Microsoft Word's Copilot will help you write documents and essays
> Copilot in Microsoft Outlook can reply to emails for you
> PowerPoint presentations can be created by Copilot

Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Viva and Teams will all support Copilot as well. In addition to the tool working within the apps, Copilot can gather information from one document and use it to create content in another. For example, Copilot can use a Word document to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Microsoft shared some examples of what Copilot can do in Excel:

Give a breakdown of the sales by type and channel. Insert a table.
Project the impact of [a variable change] and generate a chart to help visualize.
Model how a change to the growth rate for [variable] would impact my gross margin.

Copilot is in testing right now among 20 customers, including eight Fortune 500 companies. It will be available in preview for more users later this year.

Sean Endicott is a news writer and apps editor for Windows Central with 11+ years of experience. A Nottingham Trent journalism graduate, Sean has covered the industry’s arc from the Lumia era to the launch of Windows 11 and generative AI. Having started at Thrifter, he uses his expertise in price tracking to help readers find genuine hardware value.

Beyond tech news, Sean is a UK sports media pioneer. In 2017, he became one of the first to stream via smartphone and is an expert in AP Capture systems. A tech-forward coach, he was named 2024 BAFA Youth Coach of the Year. He is focused on using technology—from AI to Clipchamp—to gain a practical edge.