Microsoft has taken another step towards fully integrating artificial intelligence into its office products: now Excel has the =COPILOT function, which works like a regular formula, but with the capabilities of generative AI.
Microsoft has taken another step towards fully integrating artificial intelligence into its office products: now Excel has the =COPILOT function, which works like a regular formula, but with the capabilities of generative AI.
As TechRadar reports, the feature is first available to members of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Insider Program and Beta Channel. Windows (version 2509+) and macOS (16.101+) users will be the first to test it, and the feature will eventually reach the web version.
The =COPILOT formula works on a simple principle: a query is entered into a cell in natural language, references to data ranges are added if necessary, and the system generates the result. Importantly, when the source data changes, the summary is automatically updated.
Microsoft Partner Director Catherine Pidgeon explained that Copilot can be combined with other Excel functions, such as IF, SWITCH, LAMBDA, and WRAPROWS. This allows you to quickly create complex formulas and expand your analytics. Examples of use cases include summarizing customer feedback, classifying data, working with external knowledge, and formatting.
However, Copilot in Cells is still in beta testing and has limitations: it only uses the data it was trained on, and it can’t yet work directly with corporate documents or search for new information on the web. Microsoft plans to add more sources and improve support for formats, including dates.
Copilot integration into Excel cells is a logical continuation of Microsoft’s course, which since 2024 has opened the possibility of updating not only UWP applications, but also Win32 programs via the Store, and also launched WinGet for convenient downloading and offline distribution of software.
Competition in the office analytics space is heating up. Google is actively developing AI features in Sheets, and Microsoft is betting on tight integration with Copilot. For businesses, this means accelerating data work and simplifying complex operations, albeit gradually losing control over their own workflows in favor of algorithms.
Previously, we also wrote about how the head of Microsoft in Ukraine, Leonid Polupan, told how Copilot is spreading among Ukrainian users and what solutions to expect in the near future.
