Write formulas with natural language using Copilot in Excel
Writing formulas can feel intimidating, especially when you’re unsure of the syntax or which function to use. We’ve already made formula writing easier with formula completion, which proactively suggests and autocompletes formulas as you type. Now, we’re introducing an additional on-grid Copilot tool that takes it a step further: With this new capability, you can simply describe what you need, and Copilot will create the formula for you. This means no more struggling to remember complex syntax, and faster and more natural interactions with your data, especially if you’re new to Excel – plus, a helpful alternative when formula completion doesn’t return the right suggestions or when you prefer typing in your own words. Together, these tools make formula writing faster, easier, and more intuitive, so you can focus on insights, not syntax. How it works In Excel for the Web, select the cell in which you want to enter a formula. Type = in the cell or the formula bar, and then click on the Ask Copilot for a formula option that appears. NOTE: You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + , to move the focus into the input box. Describe the kind of formula you want in natural language. For example: “Calculate total profit". Review the formula suggestion, the description, and the preview of the result on the grid. Then, select either Keep it if the suggestion works for you, or Discard, and then type = and run the Ask Copilot for a formula option again. Tips and tricks You can ask Copilot to modify existing formulas: In cases where you already have a formula but need to adjust it, simply describe the change you want, and Copilot will update the formula for you. For example, you can modify a return on assets calculation to include average assets for period. You can ask for formulas that require data from different sheets, such as calculating the asset turnover rate using values from separate Income Statements and Balance Sheets tabs. In cases where the formula completion doesn’t match your needs – for example, Copilot spells the month out but you want the format to be MMM – describe the exact format you need, and Copilot will generate the correct formula for you. Scenarios to try Copilot can generate formulas of varying complexity for different needs: Return a unique list of salespersons from the transactions table. Calculate the total units sold for each salesperson in the list. Calculate the total sales for each quarter - even when the sales table doesn't include the quarter, only the date. Extract the state out of the customer address. Compute profit for each transaction with a lookup function that uses data from another table. Known issues This feature currently supports one formula or one formula column or range at a time. Multiple formulas support is being considered for future updates. Availability This feature is currently rolling out to Excel for Web users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Feedback We appreciate your insights regarding formula suggestions using natural language! You can share your feedback with us in the result card using the thumbs up or down buttons, or by selecting the Feedback button in the upper right-hand corner of Excel for Web, and then selecting either Give a compliment, Report a problem, or Make a suggestion.Excel in 2025: A Year of Culture, Craft, and Copilot
As 2025 comes to a close, one thing feels clearer than ever: Excel is no longer just something you use. It’s something you belong to. This year brought major product innovations, many powered by AI, but it also delivered something just as meaningful: cultural moments that reminded us how deeply Excel is woven into work, learning, creativity, and even competition around the world. From celebrating a milestone birthday, to watching spreadsheets light up arenas and streaming platforms, to shipping some of our most ambitious product updates yet, 2025 was a year we’re incredibly proud of. And none of it would have happened without you. Let’s take a look back. A Cultural Year for Excel Excel Turns 40! In 2025, Excel celebrated its 40th birthday—four decades of helping people think, analyze, build, and decide more effectively. What began as a simple spreadsheet application in 1985 has evolved into a foundational tool used by hundreds of millions of people across industries, roles, and continents. Over the years, Excel has adapted to new technologies, new ways of working, and entirely new audiences, without losing the core flexibility that made it so powerful in the first place. We marked this milestone by reflecting on Excel’s past and, more importantly, its future: one where data literacy, accessibility, and creativity continue to expand. 👉 Read more in Excel Turns 40: Join the Celebration! The Excel World Championship Goes Mainstream If you needed proof that spreadsheets have officially entered pop culture, look no further than the Excel World Championship (EWC). In 2025, the competition reached new heights with larger audiences, more global participation, and unprecedented attention. What began as a niche idea has grown into a true esports-style event that proves how dynamic, fast-paced and thrilling Excel can be in expert hands. Watching competitors solve complex problems live under pressure and at speed was both entertaining and inspiring. It showed that Excel mastery is a real skill built through practice, creativity and deep understanding. 👉 Read more in Congrats to the Winners of the 2025 MECC & MEWC! Spreadsheet Champions Brings Excel to the Big Screen This year also saw the release of Spreadsheet Champions, a documentary that follows six students from different countries on their unique journeys to achieve excellence in competitive Excel. More than just a story about formulas and grids, the film is about community, curiosity, and the joy of solving problems together. It captured something we see every day across forums, classrooms, livestreams, and workplaces: Excel brings people together. For many of us on the Excel team, seeing these stories told so thoughtfully was deeply moving—and a powerful reminder of who we’re building for. 👉 Read more in Celebrating the Premiere of “Spreadsheet Champions” at the Melbourne International Film Festival A Breakthrough Year for the Product While Excel’s cultural presence grew, 2025 was also one of the most ambitious product years in recent memory. Agent Mode in Excel One of the biggest shifts came with Agent Mode in Excel—a new way to approach work that moves beyond asking for help, to delegating outcomes. Instead of manually building step-by-step solutions, users can now describe goals and let Excel reason through the steps: gathering data, applying transformations, and explaining results along the way. It’s a meaningful step toward making Excel not just reactive, but proactive. Agent Mode doesn’t replace expertise; it amplifies it. 👉 Read more in Building Agent Mode in Excel The COPILOT Function Arrives In 2025, Copilot became more deeply embedded directly into the Excel grid with the introduction of the COPILOT function. For the first time, users can call Copilot like a formula, bringing AI-powered reasoning directly into cells alongside traditional Excel functions. This bridges the gap between natural language requests and structured spreadsheet logic, unlocking entirely new workflows. It’s one of the clearest examples yet of how AI and spreadsheets can work together seamlessly. 👉 Read more in Bring AI to your formulas with the COPILOT function in Excel Formula Completion Gets Smarter Excel has always been about speed and precision, and in 2025 we made writing formulas easier than ever with improved formula completion. Smarter suggestions, better context awareness, and faster recommendations mean less time remembering syntax, and more time focusing on insights. Whether you’re learning Excel or pushing it to its limits, formula completion now meets you where you are. Small improvements like this matter. They add up to a smoother, more confident experience for everyone. 👉 Read more in Introducing formula completion - A new way to write formulas in Excel using Copilot Thank You for an Incredible Year 💚 If there’s one theme that defines Excel in 2025, it’s this: progress powered by community. Every feature we shipped and every moment we celebrated was shaped by customer feedback, creator experimentation, MVP insight, and everyday use in the real world. You pushed us, inspired us, and reminded us why Excel continues to matter—40 years on. As we head into 2026, we’re excited to keep building with you. Thank you for being part of the Excel story.New in Excel for the web: Power Query Refresh & Data Source Settings for authenticated data sources
We’ve reached yet another milestone in Excel for the web: Power Query Refresh is now generally available for queries sourcing data from selected authenticated data sources. As we released the ability to refresh Power Query data from anonymous data sources (link), it was only a matter of time until we added the ability to refresh Power Query data from authenticated data sources, which are the majority of data sources used, and require users to enter credentials. This milestone also enables us to release Import with Copilot to Excel for the Web (following Win32 and Mac), as it relies on Power Query for refreshing data. Getting started These new functionalities are available to all users on Excel for the Web. See this support article for more information on Power Query data sources in Excel versions. efresh a data source in Excel for the web using Power Query Refreshing Power Query queries You can now refresh the Power Query queries in your workbook that source data from a selection of authenticated data sources: Select the Data tab > then choose Refresh All Open the Queries Pane > then select Refresh When you refresh a query, if authentication is needed, you can select the relevant method – anonymous, user and password, or your organizational account. For example, to refresh organizational data, select the respective method: Your user will be automatically identified (you can also switch it, if needed), so you can easily click “Connect” to continue the refresh process. The list of supported connectors includes: SharePoint* files (Excel workbooks, TXT, CSV, XML, JSON, PDF) SharePoint* folders SharePoint Online List SharePoint List SQL Server Database OData Feed Web API IBM Db2 Database PostgreSQL Database Azure SQL Database Azure Synapse Analytics Azure HDInsight (HDFS) Azure Blob Azure Table Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 1 Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 2 Azure Data Explorer Dataflows Dataverse Microsoft Exchange Online Dynamics 365 (Online) Salesforce Objects Salesforce Reports *SharePoint/OneDrive for work or school The refresh happens behind the scenes so you can keep editing the workbook while refreshing. Note: There is a limit for 1000 data source credentials. For example, if you connect to the same data source with 2 different users, it counts as 2.. Managing queries using Data Source Settings You can now view and manage data source credentials for the Power Query queries in your workbook using Data Source Settings: Select the Data tab > then choose 'Data Source Settings’. Choose between ‘Current Workbook’ and ‘Global Permissions’ to view and manage data sources credentials in the current workbook or across all workbooks, respectively. To delete the credentials stored for a data source, click on the ‘Delete’ button. To edit the credentials stored for a data source, click on the ‘Edit credentials’ button. In addition, we’re introducing a new functionality in Data Source Settings – authenticating to a data source that exists in the workbook from within the dialog: Select the Data tab > then choose ‘Data Source Settings’. Navigate to ‘Current Workbook’. Click on the ‘Add credentials’ button: What’s next? Future plans include releasing the full Power Query Editor experience to Excel for the Web. Feedback We hope you like this new addition to Excel and we’d love to hear what you think about it! Let us know by using the Feedback button in the top right corner in Excel - add #PowerQuery in your feedback so that we can find it easily. Want to know more about Excel for the web? See What's new in Excel for the web and subscribe to our Excel Blog to get the latest updates. Stay connected with us and other Excel fans around the world – join our Excel Community and follow us on Twitter. Jonathan Kahati, Gal Zivoni ~ Excel TeamAgent Mode in Excel is now generally available on Excel for Web
We’re excited to announce that Agent Mode in Excel is now generally available on Excel for Web, rolling out to users with a commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot license or a Microsoft 365 Premium subscription. This launch marks a major shift in how you work with Copilot in Excel—moving from basic assistance to an agentic experience with capabilities to build multi-step workflows directly in your workbook. Agent Mode delivers: Multi-step workflows: Move beyond single-turn commands. Ask, refine, and build iteratively with Copilot. Direct workbook manipulation: Copilot applies changes directly inside your workbook, no clicks or copy/paste needed. Transparency and reasoning: See how Copilot interprets your request, the steps it takes along the way, and explanations of each output along with verification. Hear from Carlos Otero, a member of the Excel team, who recently chatted with Excel MVP Kevin Stratvert on why Agent Mode is a game-changer for Copilot users: What’s possible with Agent Mode Agent Mode unlocks scenarios that go far beyond traditional chatbots. Some examples now possible include: Create workbooks: Generate new content directly in Excel, grounded in both existing workbook data and web search results to bring in relevant context. Scenario modeling: Run what-if analyses for revenue, budgets, or forecasts and model advanced scenarios with adjustable assumptions. Data analysis: Generate analyses of large datasets, highlight anomalies, and surface trends with formula-driven analysis. Formula generation: Fix broken formulas or and generate dynamic formulas that connect across your workbook data, including explanations for complex calculations. Data visualization: Create pivot tables, charts, and dashboards—all through natural conversation. Generate native Excel artifacts that recalculate and update based on changes to the underlying data. What’s generally available in Agent Mode today Platform: Excel for Web. Coming in January to Excel for Windows and Mac. Language support: English (US), Spanish (Spain, Mexico, Japanese, French (France, Canada), German, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian and Chinese (Simplified).; additional languages to follow. Web search: Outputs are grounded in web data when needed. File grounding and Work IQ support are planned for early 2026 to enable richer work context. Licenses: Available for commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users and Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers. Coming in January to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. Ready to experience the future of Excel? Open Excel on the web with an eligible license and start using Agent Mode from the Tools menu. Learn more here.Congrats to the Winners of the 2025 MECC & MEWC!
The 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championship and Collegiate Challenge wrapped up their season in spectacular fashion at Las Vegas’ HyperX Arena, drawing competitors from nearly every continent and crowning new champions in the fast-growing world of Excel esports. What is Excel esports? It’s a phenomenon redefining competitive gaming. For a deeper dive, see “What is the fast-growing e-sport of competitive Microsoft Excel?” by Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley at the BBC. Watching these finalists was nothing short of riveting. From the Collegiate Challenge’s team and individual showdowns to the World Championship’s high-stakes semifinals and finals, their speed, precision, and sheer passion were unmatched. On behalf of the Excel product team, we extend our warmest congratulations to this year’s winners: Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge – Teams INSCAE University of Arizona University of Technology Sydney Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge – Individuals Pieter Pienaar, University of Pretoria, South Africa Matthew Beard, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Christian Mbolanatenaina, INSCAE, Madagascar Microsoft Excel World Championship Diarmuid Early Andrew Ngai Jean Wolleh Financial Modeling World Cup Michael Jarman Andrew Ngai Anup Agarwal This championship is more than a contest—it’s a celebration of a global community that welcomes anyone who has ever opened a spreadsheet. Here, talent meets collaboration, and knowledge flows freely across borders. Whether you’re a student, a seasoned professional, or an Excel enthusiast, there’s a place for you. Special thanks to the students, professionals, MVPs, and creators who made this season unforgettable—and to the Financial Modeling World Cup for orchestrating an event that continues to unite and inspire. Ready to join the next chapter? The new season awaits. Be part of this extraordinary community. play.excel-esports.com —Brian, VP, Excel
Introducing the new Get Data dialog in Excel for Windows
We are excited to announce a first step towards modernizing Power Query in Excel for Windows - a new way to connect to data that will make finding and using external data sources faster and more intuitive! The modern Get Data dialog gives you a clean, simple starting point for connecting to data. With built-in search and quick access to popular data sources, you can easily find the right source and start working on your data. How it works Select the Data tab on the ribbon, then select Get Data > Get Data (Preview) to open the new dialog. Browse through popular data sources on the Home tab or use the search bar to find a specific source. Select the New tab under the categories list on the left to browse through all available data sources. What it does When you open the modern Get Data dialog, you’ll be able to search for the connector you need or pick from recommended options—all in one clean view. When you select a source, Excel takes you straight into the familiar, current Power Query import flow and you’ll be able to see the same steps you know today. For more information, check out modern Get Data Dialog in Excel for Windows. Note: You can still import external data from the Get Data dropdown categories as well as from the new Get Data dialog. More to come The new dialog is the first step toward a modernized Power Query experience in Excel, paving the way for upcoming innovations like modern import flows and a modern Power Query editor. In addition, you’ll see more modules integrated into this dialog soon, making it easier than ever to discover, connect, and prepare your data. Availability This feature is gradually rolling out to M365 subscribers in Excel for Windows, with Version 2509 Build 16.0.19328.20000 or later. Feedback We’d love to hear about your experience with the modern Get Data dialog. Let us know: ✔️ Did the overall experience feel intuitive and helpful? ✔️ Which new additions would you like to see? Just click on the 🙂button in the upper right-hand side of the dialog to share your feedback. Your feedback helps us refine the experience and prioritize what’s next.What's New in Excel (November 2025)
Welcome to the November 2025 update. This month, we’re excited to share several enhancements across Excel. Announced at Ignite, Agent Mode in Excel now includes web search and Anthropic model support, and is available in Excel for Windows—via the Frontier program. Excel for Windows introduces a modernized Get Data dialog, providing a clean, simple starting point for connecting to data. Additionally, users on Windows, web, and iOS can preview comments on protected files directly in email notifications. For Insider users, Excel for iOS adds Liquid Glass styling and template filters, introducing a new, modern home experience. Excel for Windows: - Agent Mode in Excel enhancements (Frontier) - Get Data dialog Excel for Windows, web, and iOS: - Comment previews on protected files #FIA Excel for iOS: - Liquid Glass and template filters (Insiders) Excel for Windows Agent Mode in Excel enhancements (Frontier) 1. Web search. At Ignite last week, we introduced web search in Agent mode. Imagine pulling real-time information from the web straight into your spreadsheet workflows—market trends, historical stats, scientific figures—without juggling browser tabs or copy/pasting from a chat window. For example, you can ask Agent Mode to compile the latest GDP growth and CO₂ emissions data for G20 countries or create a table of this year's Nobel Prize winners with detailed attributes. Copilot can now pull this data from trusted sources into Agent mode's multi-step workflow and build directly in your spreadsheet, saving time and reducing manual effort. Plus, it supports citation links for transparency so you can have confidence in the output. This integration is perfect for analysts, researchers, and anyone who needs up-to-date external data to make informed decisions. 2. Anthropic model support. Choice matters, and we are committed to providing multi-model options in Microsoft 365. Building on Researcher agent and Copilot Studio, Agent mode now offers an option to choose Anthropic’s Claude models to power your experience. Just choose the "Try Claude" option to get started. For enterprise users: your admin must allow access to Anthropic AI models. Learn more about using Claude in Agent mode in Excel. Claude brings a different approach to spreadsheet generation offering a distinct experience from the default OpenAI models powering Agent Mode. While Claude streams its chain-of-thought and explanations differently, ongoing improvements aim to deliver a smooth experience in this early preview. This flexibility ensures you can pick the model that best fits your needs—whether it’s speed, accuracy, or style. 3. Now available in Excel for Windows. Last month, we introduced Agent mode in Copilot in Excel for Web through the Frontier program. At Ignite, we announced that Agent mode is now available in Excel for Windows too, making AI assistance available for users and professionals who rely on Excel in the desktop app for their work. While Mac support is planned for later, Windows users will benefit immediately from this rollout. Users must be in the Insiders Beta Channel on Windows. Get Data Dialog The modern Get Data dialog gives you a clean, simple starting point for connecting to data. With built-in search and quick access to popular data sources, you can easily find the right source and start working on your data. This feature is currently rolling out to Windows Current Channel users. Read more here > Excel for Windows, web, and iOS Comment previews on protected files #FIA Excel now lets you preview comments on protected files directly from your email notifications. When someone adds a comment, the email includes the comment text and its context within the file, so you can quickly review feedback without unlocking or opening the document. Excel for iOS Liquid Glass and template filters (Insiders) Your favorite Microsoft 365 apps on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro now feature Liquid Glass styling. We’ve also made the search experience available from the bottom of the screen, to align with iOS 26’s search patterns and make it easier to use with one hand. When searching for templates, you’ll now also see quick filter buttons at the top that let you browse by category – like Flyers, Resumes, or Invoices – instead of scrolling through a single long list, so finding the perfect template is faster and more intuitive. Read more here > Check if a specific feature is in your version of Excel Click here to open in a new browser tab Many of these features are the result of your feedback. THANK YOU! Your continued Feedback in Action (#FIA) helps improve Excel for everyone. Please let us know how you like a particular feature and what we can improve upon—"Give a compliment" or "Make a suggestion".. You can also submit new ideas or vote for other ideas via Microsoft Feedback. Subscribe to our Excel Blog and the Insiders Blog to get the latest updates. Stay connected with us and other Excel fans around the world – join our Excel Community and follow us on X, formerly Twitter. Special thanks to our Excel MVPs David Benaim, Bill Jelen, Alan Murray, and John Michaloudis for their contribution to this month's What's New in Excel article. David publishes weekly YouTube videos and regular LinkedIn posts about the latest innovations in Excel and more. Bill is the founder and host of MrExcel.com and the author of several books about Excel. Alan is an Excel trainer, author and speaker, best known for his blog computergaga.com and YouTube channel with the same name. John is the Founder & Chief Inspirational Officer at MyExcelOnline.com where he passionately teaches thousands of professionals how to use Excel to stand out from the crowd.A new way to debug formulas from Excel Labs
Have you ever found yourself tangled in a web of complex Excel formulas, desperately trying to pinpoint the source of an error? Fret no more! The latest experiment from Excel Labs is a new formula debugger, available within the Advanced Formula Environment (AFE). Getting started The debugging capabilities are activated using the new button on the Grid page in AFE. When the button is activated the debugger will be visible in the same editing pane, and you are ready to go! Key features Here are some of the key features to look out for: - Live debugging The debugger updates as you type, making it quick to explore how different variations of a formula are evaluated. - Evaluation steps Each evaluation step is shown, with highlights and underlines making it easy to see what changed at every step. - Range preview View a preview of the grid when hovering over a reference. Previews show the surrounding context to make it easier to navigate. - LAMBDA debugging Debug LAMBDA formulas, such as SalesForBestCategory, shown below. Every function call is contained in an expandable card. This lets you dive into the particular functions you are interested in, to see how they evaluate. Function support Not all functions are supported just yet. If a function or scenario is blocking your work, we would love to hear about it! In case you missed it: Sheet-defined functions Another experimental feature in the advanced formula environment is the ability to automatically convert a multi-cell calculation into a function, also known as sheet-defined functions. This capability has been part of AFE for a while, but in case you missed it – here is a brief overview. Often, we find ourselves spreading a complex calculation over many cells, like this one, that extracts an ID from a piece of text. After writing the calculation we are either faced with many intermediate cells, or we must roll the formulas into a single mega-formula. With AFE and the “Add function from grid” feature, we can automatically convert these formulas into a tidy function using three simple steps: First, select the range containing the formulas that will make up the function. Then click the “Add function from grid” button and provide the references that will define the inputs and outputs. Sometimes, AFE can automatically detect the inputs and outputs based on the dependencies. Finally, AFE will present you with the generated function that combines the formulas in the range. If you use labels adjacent to formulas, AFE can also use those to generate friendly parameter names, like Text or After. How to access The debugger will be pushed to Excel Labs automatically and there is no need to explicitly update the add-in. If you do not have Excel Labs, you can install the add-in from the Office store. Follow this link.
