AI Agent & Copilot Podcast: Copilot Functions in Excel
In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, Shawn Dorward reviews the integration of Copilot functions in Microsoft Excel, what this means for organizations, and what users can expect.
Agents & Copilots are defining the future of Dynamics, CRM, Power Platform, Azure, Fabric, and more. Register for Community Summit NA 2025, running October 19-23 in Orlando, FL, to explore and discover what this means to you.
Key Takeaways
- Copilot + Excel: When Copilot was initially added to Excel, Microsoft required users to have data in a table for Copilot to work with the data. Lately, there have been improvements to this integration. At its core, Excel is a spreadsheet. And rather than using Copilot on the sidecar, like using Copilot chat to make the AI experience in Excel successful, someone came up with the idea to create a Copilot function.
- Copilot as a formula: There is a Copilot beta function for users to prompt Copilot in a cell and even nest in other functions, and reference other cells in the spreadsheet. The AI can also be used as a function in your spreadsheet to automatically drag and drop capabilities in the columns and rows.
- Organizational improvements: What does this mean for leaders, teams, and organizations? Your spreadsheets will get smarter. Teams need to be skilled up; this provides an opportunity to learn new ways of leveraging functions to build these autonomous spreadsheets. Copilot can build out everything else you need using one data point by having multiple formulas in your spreadsheet. Ultimately, organizations will be more powerful with data.
- Access: These features are still in beta, and they’re still limited. If you’re not subscribed to the insider track, then you won’t have access. It also won’t currently work on a personal account. It’s not natively functioning in Excel; it requires a Copilot license.
- Disclaimer: Microsoft’s main disclaimer on this integration is that it shouldn’t be used for accuracy-critical tasks. You should validate it.
- Summit NA: The timing of the introduction of Copilot functions in Excel is ideal with Community Summit North America approaching. The event takes place on October 19th to 23rd in Orlando, Florida. With over 600 sessions, attendees will learn across a variety of tracks covering Microsoft business applications. Shawn will even be doing a session called “Excel Life Hacks – Tips and Tricks for EVERY user! 2025 Edition!” on Wednesday, October 22nd.
- Practical use cases: Shawn walks through examples of practical use cases for the Copilot functions in Excel and demonstrates how some functions can work. One great factor is that you don’t have to figure out formulas, nest in multiple “if” statements, or use Power Query. It understands the language.
Stream the audio version of this episode here:
