Microsoft Excel is the backbone of many organizational requirements, ranging from data crunching needs, to data analysis, to data visualizations. Over the past few months, Microsoft has tried to integrate Copilot into its spreadsheet software, with a prominent example being the COPILOT() function which basically allows customers to define their requirement in natural language and just get the result. Now, the Redmond tech firm is trying another variation of this integration.
The latest addition to Excel is an on-grid Copilot tool that enables customers to describe what they need in natural language and then have Copilot generate the formula, along with a preview of the result. For example, you can just select the cell where you want the result, enter "=", and type "Calculate total profit" in the Copilot prompt UX, after which the AI assistant will suggest a formula and show you the result. If you like the output, you can select "Keep It", but if you believe the result is wrong, you can click on "Discard", and try the same process again.
This Copilot prompt bar is quite smart in some other ways too. It can modify existing formulas, combine and utilize data from different sheets, and refine the generated formula to comply with more granular requirements. All of this is done through the natural language interface.
Although Copilot can handle various complex use-cases, it is currently only limited to generating one formula that handles one range at a time, and is exclusive to Microsoft 365 Copilot customers using Excel for the web right now. Microsoft is considering adding support for multiple formulas in future updates, but the timeline for that is not known right now.
Microsoft hopes that this latest enhancement will make Excel easier to use for beginners and also help more advanced users as they will be able to focus on retrieving their required insights rather than spending unnecessary time on getting their formulas right.