Copilot in Excel: Excel Chat Helper

Hi everyone, this is part 12 in a series of posts to show you some of the things that are possible to do with Copilot in Excel. 

Starting with Excel can be challenging, especially when consolidating data from various sources like emails and meetings, or when you're unfamiliar with the required analysis. Remembering seldom used formulas or finding the right tool for a simple task can be frustrating, often leading you to search for tutorials online.

Think of Copilot as your Excel encyclopedia. If you need help or want to learn something new in Excel, just ask Copilot!

Here we have some fictional employee data for a chain of stores. I have 2 tables of employee information: one for region A, and one for region B. Some employees work for stores in multiple regions. Let’s ask how to find the employees that don’t work in both regions.

I didn’t follow Copilot’s answer, so let’s ask Copilot to simplify the concepts for me.

1. I have two datasets and one of them has duplicate rows of the other. How do I find the unique rows in the second dataset?
2. Explain it to me like I'm 5

I can also use Copilot to triage formula issues in my file that I don’t know how to fix, or edit an existing formula to do something different.

1. Can you suggest a fix for the #N/A error in this formula =XLOOKUP([@[Store ID]], Stores[Store ID], Stores[Manager Name]) ?
2. I would prefer it if the formula would show an empty cell instead of "Not Found". Can you help me modify it?

GIF showing how Copilot can help fix the formula's #N/A! error

I see a formula in the workbook that someone else must have written, and I’m unfamiliar with how it works. Let’s ask Copilot to explain it for me.

1. Explain this formula: =IF([@[Hours Worked per Week]]>AVERAGE([Hours Worked per Week]),"Yes","No")

GIF showing Copilot explaining the IF formula

Copilot is your go-to resource for mastering Excel, simplifying complex tasks, and enhancing your productivity and here to guide you every step of the way.