Copilot in Excel works through Microsoft 365 and appears as a button on the ribbon, letting you ask questions about your data and get formulas, charts, and summaries without typing them yourself

Copilot is available in Excel as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription with Copilot Pro or through Copilot in Microsoft 365 for enterprise accounts. The feature shows up as a button labeled "Copilot" on the Home tab of the ribbon once it is turned on. You describe what you want — "show me sales by region" or "create a formula that calculates the difference between these two columns" — and Copilot generates the result, explains what it did, and lets you accept or edit it.

The tool works best when your data is organized in a table format with headers, because Copilot reads the column names to understand what you are asking. It cannot see data outside your current workbook, and it does not change anything until you approve it.

Key Takeaways

  • Copilot in Excel requires a Microsoft 365 subscription and is not available in the free or one-time-purchase versions of Excel.
  • You turn on Copilot through the Copilot button on the Home tab, and it appears as a panel on the right side of your screen.
  • Copilot works with data organized in tables and can create formulas, pivot tables, charts, and text summaries based on what you ask.
  • Every suggestion Copilot makes appears in a preview before you insert it, so you can review or reject it.

Check Your Subscription and Excel Version

Copilot in Excel is only available if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription — not the free version of Excel online or the one-time-purchase versions like Excel 2021. You need either Copilot Pro (a paid add-on to your Microsoft account) or Copilot in Microsoft 365 (available to enterprise customers). Check which subscription you have by opening Excel and looking at the account menu in the top right corner.

If you use Excel through your workplace or school, your organization may have already turned on Copilot for all users, or it may not be available yet. Ask your IT department whether Copilot is enabled for your account. If you use Excel personally, you will need to purchase Copilot Pro separately through your Microsoft account settings.

Turn On Copilot in Your Workbook

Once you have the right subscription, open any workbook in Excel and look at the Home tab on the ribbon at the top. You should see a button labeled "Copilot" — it looks like a small icon with a sparkle or star. Click it to open the Copilot panel on the right side of your screen.

If you do not see the Copilot button, your subscription may not include it yet, or your organization has not enabled it. In that case, check your account settings or contact your IT department. The button will not appear if you are working in a file that is not saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, because Copilot needs cloud access to work.

Organize Your Data in a Table Format

Copilot works best when your data is in an Excel table with headers in the first row. To create a table, select your data (including headers) and press Ctrl+T on Windows or Cmd+T on Mac, then click OK. This tells Copilot what each column contains and makes it easier for the tool to understand your questions.

If your data is not in a table, Copilot can still work with it, but it may misunderstand what you are asking. For example, if you have sales numbers in column A but no header, Copilot might not know whether you want to sum them, average them, or do something else. Adding headers takes a few seconds and makes Copilot much more useful.

Ask Copilot What You Want to Do

Click in the text box at the bottom of the Copilot panel and type what you want. Be specific: instead of "analyze this data," try "show me total sales by product category" or "create a formula that calculates the percentage change from January to February." Copilot responds better to concrete requests than to vague ones.

You can ask Copilot to create formulas, build pivot tables, make charts, write summaries, or spot patterns in your data. If Copilot does not understand your first request, try rewording it or breaking it into smaller steps. You can also ask follow-up questions — "now add a filter for only 2024 data" — and Copilot will adjust.

Review and Accept Copilot's Suggestions

When Copilot finishes, it shows you a preview of what it created. Read through it carefully. If it is what you wanted, click the button to insert it into your workbook. If it is close but not quite right, you can edit it before accepting, or you can ask Copilot to try again with different wording.

Copilot never changes your workbook without your approval. Everything it suggests appears in a preview first, so you have a chance to catch mistakes or misunderstandings. If Copilot created a formula, you can click on it after inserting it to see the formula bar and edit it manually if needed.

Common Things Copilot Can Do

Copilot can create formulas for calculations, such as summing a column, finding the average, or calculating the difference between two cells. It can also build pivot tables to group and summarize data, create charts to visualize trends, and write text descriptions of what the data shows. You can ask it to filter data, find duplicates, or highlight cells that meet certain conditions.

Copilot works within the limits of what Excel can do — it cannot pull data from outside sources or access files you have not opened. It also cannot see data in other workbooks, so if you need to combine information from multiple files, you will need to bring that data into one workbook first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay extra for Copilot in Excel?

If you already have a Microsoft 365 subscription, Copilot may be included depending on your plan. If not, you can purchase Copilot Pro as an add-on through your Microsoft account. Enterprise customers should check with their IT department about whether Copilot is enabled for their organization.

Can Copilot see data in other workbooks or sheets?

No. Copilot only sees the data in the workbook you currently have open. If you need to combine data from multiple files, you will need to bring it into one workbook first, then ask Copilot to work with it.

What if Copilot creates a formula that is wrong?

You can edit the formula after inserting it, just like any other formula in Excel. Click on the cell, look at the formula bar, and change it manually. You can also ask Copilot to try again with clearer instructions about what you want.

Does Copilot work if my file is not saved to OneDrive?

No. Copilot requires your file to be saved to OneDrive or SharePoint because it needs cloud access to function. If your file is only on your local computer, save it to OneDrive first, then the Copilot button will appear.

Can I use Copilot in Excel on my phone or tablet?

Copilot in Excel is currently available on desktop versions of Excel for Windows and Mac. Mobile versions of Excel do not yet support Copilot, though this may change as the feature rolls out more widely.