App Skills is evolving with Copilot in Excel
We are continuing to streamline the ways people engage with Copilot in Excel, and we've heard your feedback that working across multiple Copilot entry points can feel fragmented. To address this, Copilot in Excel is transitioning toward a more unified experience so users can easily choose between conversational assistance and direct editing capabilities. As part of this effort, the editing capabilities that App Skills provided will be integrated into Copilot Chat and Agent Mode in Excel, which became generally available earlier this year. This update is part of our broader work to simplify the Copilot entry points and make it clearer how to interact with Copilot depending on the task. We know that when you find a workflow that works, change can feel disruptive. That's why we want to give you a clear picture of what's evolving in how you use Copilot in Excel and how these changes provide an even better experience. Why this change matters We've heard your feedback about wanting a more capable experience when working with Copilot inside the spreadsheet. The enhanced editing experience that Agent Mode introduced was built specifically to address this. It's designed to handle more complex requests, work across multiple steps, and give you greater control over how Copilot edits your workbooks. Rather than maintaining separate experiences that can feel fragmented, we're bringing everything together so you have: More power: Copilot with Agent Mode can now handle complex, multi-step reasoning tasks that go beyond what App Skills could do. Better clarity: You'll know exactly where to go depending on what you need—direct editing happens with Agent Mode; quick answers and simple actions work best in Copilot Chat. Continued innovation: By focusing on improvements toward a unified experience, we can deliver new capabilities faster. As part of this, we also plan to better integrate Agent Mode’s editing capabilities into the Copilot Chat experience in the coming months. What’s changing? App Skills entry points in Excel are going away. You will no longer find an App Skills button in the ribbon or be able to use App Skills from the context menu. Existing skills are consolidating into Copilot Chat and Agent Mode. When you want Copilot to make changes directly in your workbook, Agent Mode is designed to support many core editing tasks, such as creating or updating tables, applying formatting, or generating charts and PivotTables. Copilot Chat remains available for tasks that don’t require modifying content, such as interpretation or exploration of your data and using agents like Analyst. If you can open the App Skills chat pane and submit a prompt, you may receive an error message instead of a response. During this transition, some users may still see App Skills entry points for a short time. In some cases, opening the App Skills pane may result in an error message indicating that App Skills is no longer available. If this happens, you can continue your workflow using Agent Mode or Copilot Chat based on the type of assistance you need. When is it happening? This update is rolling out now. Depending on your Excel version, you may see the App Skills entry point up until the end of February. App Skill scenarios not yet available Certain scenarios that previously used App Skills—specifically the Advanced Analysis mode that used Python in Excel and advanced text analysis capabilities—are not yet available within Copilot Chat or Agent Mode. We are continuing to expand support for these capabilities in Copilot Chat and Agent Mode—watch for updates as these become available over time. Note: this was originally communicated to commercial customers via the M365 Message Center (MC1184407) on November 10, 2025.
Explain Formulas with Copilot—Now on the Grid
Understanding complex formulas in Excel just got a lot easier. The new Explain Formula feature turns Copilot into your inline assistant, delivering clear, step-by-step breakdowns directly on the grid, right next to your data, no need to switch context or open the chat pane. What makes this especially powerful is that the explanations are contextual, grounded in your actual data and workbook, not generic descriptions. By bringing the explanation to where you’re working, Copilot helps you stay in flow. It’s a seamless, in-the-moment experience that makes it easy to scan, understand, and act on formulas right where you need it most. How It Works Here’s how to get an explanation in just a few clicks: Select a cell with a valid formula A Copilot icon appears next to the cell Click “Explain this formula” from the dropdown Copilot shows a step-by-step explanation directly on the grid Need to dive deeper? Click “Chat with Copilot” to continue the conversation in the side pane Note: If the Copilot chat pane is already open, the explanation will be displayed there instead of on the grid. What It Does: Contextual Formula Explanations When you select a formula cell, Copilot can now explain what that formula does using a dedicated card shown in the grid. Helping you quickly understand what the formula does based on your actual data and context, not just a generic description. This makes it easy to: ✅ Understand the formula’s goal in your workbook ✅ Learn how it works, function by function ✅ Build confidence without ever leaving your sheet For example, given this formula: =I4 * XLOOKUP(H4, $L$4:$L$7, $M$4:$M$7) With just a click, Copilot will explain that: Because the explanation is tailored to your actual data and scenario, it’s faster to grasp, easier to verify, and more relevant to your work. Copilot provides the clarity you need right where you need it. Copilot Can Explain Any Excel formula No matter how simple or complex, Copilot can explain any Excel formula. Whether you're working with math, logic, references, arrays, or text manipulation, Copilot helps you understand what’s going on and why. Availability This feature is gradually rolling out to Excel for Windows and Excel for the web. Feedback We’d love to hear how this new experience is working for you. Let us know: ✔️ Was the explanation clear and easy to understand? ✔️ Was it easy to access the explanation when you needed it? ✔️ Did the overall experience feel intuitive and helpful? Just click the 👍 or 👎 at the bottom of the Copilot response to share your thoughts. Your feedback helps us refine the experience and prioritize what’s next.
