Agent Mode in Excel is now generally available on desktop
Agent Mode in Excel, part of Microsoft 365 Copilot, is now generally available on Windows, with Mac rolling out over the coming days — extending access beyond Excel for the web, which launched in December. Since our initial public preview, we’ve expanded availability, added web-grounded search, and introduced a new multi-model reasoning system that allows customers to choose between OpenAI and Anthropic models. Under the hood, we’ve significantly improved task success, performance, and reliability across core Excel scenarios, including workbook creation, formula repair, and chart and PivotTable generation. Evolving Copilot to become an active collaborator Excel is where people think with data. It’s where budgets, forecasts, and operating plans take shape, and where decisions get made. Agent Mode turns Copilot into a true partner in that work, able to take your goals, plan next steps, act directly in your workbook, iterate, and validate outcomes. With today’s release, that capability is now available in the desktop versions of Excel customers rely on every day. What’s improved during public preview We launched Agent Mode in public preview to validate the experience with real Excel customers working on real workloads. Our goal has always been to support the way Excel is actually used inside organizations — messy data, ambiguous goals, and multi-step workflows that need to be refreshable, auditable, and verifiable. Throughout the preview, we continued to invest in this by introducing: Expanded availability: Agent Mode now works across Excel for the web, Excel for Windows, and Excel for Mac, so you can leverage its power no matter where your access your work. It’s integrated directly into Copilot in Excel, and we’ll continue to improve the experience in the coming weeks and months. Integrated web search: Instantly get up-to-date information with source citations, perfect for “pull in the latest data” scenarios. Model choice: A new model switcher lets you choose between our OpenAI-powered experience and the latest Claude models from Anthropic, so you can try different AI approaches. Model choice We’ve learned — alongside our colleagues at GitHub — that different reasoning models excel at different kinds of work. Some are better suited for fast, structured problem-solving while others shine when tasks require explanation, iteration, or more open-ended reasoning. Our goal is to build an intelligent system that can make the right model choices on your behalf. At the same time, we believe customers should have visibility and control — so Agent Mode also gives you the ability to explicitly choose the model you’d like to apply to your task. new model switcher choices supported. When in the default Auto mode, Copilot will attempt to choose the best model for you. You can also choose one of the specific models before running a prompt. The latest models from OpenAI (GPT 5.2) and Anthropic (Claude Opus 4.5) are available today for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium licenses. Learn more here about using Claude with Agent Mode in Excel and Anthropic as a subprocessor. How to try it Open Excel on Web, Windows or Mac. Open Copilot and select Agent Mode from the Tools menu. Start with an outcome-based prompt, like “Build a loan calculator that computes monthly payments based on user inputs for loan amount, annual interest rate, and term in years. Generate a schedule showing month, payment, principal, interest, and remaining balance. Present the results in a clear, formatted table.” Availability Agent Mode in Excel is generally available today across Excel for web, Windows, and Mac for commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium subscribers. Note that Personal and Family subscriptions use an AI credit model and Agent Mode in Excel is not yet available to customers in the EU or UK. For more on availability and access, check out Agent Mode in Excel.Excel as a Literate Computation Surface for AI
[This article was originally published by Sumit Chauhan on LinkedIn.] AI systems perform robust computation, but their outputs are typically dissociated from the structure of the computation itself. Answers are delivered as fluent summaries, scripts, or static artifacts. Explanations may accompany results, but the execution path remains opaque and nonexecutable. This separation constrains inspection, audit, and collaborative verification. Excel bridges this separation through a longstanding but underappreciated design property: computation and explanation coexist in the grid. Values persist as first class objects, accessed and connected through a network of formulas and calculation objects. The dependency structure is explicit and intermediate results remain live within the model. Assumptions remain live inputs rather than fixed premises embedded in prose. A spreadsheet is therefore a runnable representation of reasoning. The Excel Agent extends this property to AI-driven analysis. Instead of returning an answer, it writes computation directly into spreadsheet primitives: cells, formulas, tables, and references. Analytical intent is encoded structurally—not narratively—resulting in computational instantiation that is inspectable, addressable, and mechanically verifiable. Respecting established analytical practice This distinction becomes explicit when updating real analytical models. In one internal evaluation, the Excel Agent was prompted to update an existing public company financial model following newly released quarterly results. The spreadsheet contained a structured income statement, linked calculations, margin rows, and derived percentage outputs sourced exclusively from GAAP financial statements. We observed that the Excel Agent pulled precise reported figures from the GAAP filings and updated only the newly available quarterly actuals, leaving guidance untouched. The agent preserved the existing model structure, row ordering, and dependency relationships. Calculated fields—totals, margins, growth rates—were not overwritten. Instead, they recalculated mechanically from updated inputs. Number formatting remained intact, preserving distinctions between dollar values and percentages. Changes were immediately auditable by inspection: updated cells represented inputs, while formulas remained unchanged. The contrast to general purpose AI tools is instructive. In parallel tests, a comparable update performed through a chat based model relied on headline summaries rather than reported figures, conflated guidance with actuals, overwrote calculated fields with inferred values, and introduced silent formatting errors. The resulting spreadsheet appeared plausible but was structurally compromised. The result was incomplete and not auditable. Inspectability and error localization Because Excel externalizes reasoning as explicit dependency graphs, errors localize narrowly. A disagreement targets a specific cell, formula, or source assumption rather than an opaque explanation. Review is incremental. Validators can inspect references, confirm lineage, and trace downstream effects mechanically. Excel Agent inherits these affordances. Its output is not sealed; it invites modification. Alternative scenarios become addressable inputs rather than regenerated answers. This changes the cost structure of verification. Inspection becomes cheaper than regeneration. Corrections are edits, not prompts. Trust derives from structure rather than narrative coherence. Durability through artifact-centered collaboration Spreadsheets are durable analytical objects. They are shared, versioned, reviewed, audited, and revisited independent of their origin. The Excel Agent produces artifacts that persist beyond the original interaction. The analysis remains runnable months later without replaying a model, and knowledge accumulates as structured computation rather than transient output. This reframes AI’s role in analytical work. Excel Agent does not replace analytical judgment. It relocates reasoning into a medium designed for inspection, modification, and reuse. AI output becomes a starting point rather than an endpoint, expressed as runnable structure rather than fluency. The value is not in producing convincing answers, but in creating durable, collaborative, inspectable computation that can be reviewed, extended, and trusted over time. The shift is from answers to artifacts, and opaque intelligence to shared reasoning. Sumit Chauhan Corporate Vice President, Office Product GroupNew in Excel for the web: The full Power Query experience
We’ve reached yet another milestone in Excel for the web: The full Power Query user experience is now generally available, including the import wizard and Power Query Editor. After we released the ability to refresh Power Query data from authenticated data sources, we were able to unlock the ability to complete the full user journey of importing data and editing it using Power Query. Getting started Learn all about Power Query in Excel for the web here > See this support article for more information on Power Query data sources in Excel versions. Note: Viewing and refreshing queries is available to all Microsoft 365 Subscribers. The full Power Query experience is available to all Microsoft 365 Subscribers with Business or Enterprise plans. Importing data You can import data into Excel using Power Query from a wide variety of data sources, for example: Excel Workbook, Text/CSV, XML, JSON, SQL Server Database, SharePoint Online List, OData, Blank Table, and Blank Query. Select Data > Get Data: In the Choose data source dialog box, select one of the available data sources: Connect to the data source. After you select the source, the authentication kind will be auto-populated, according to the relevant source (you can still change it, if you like). Press Next, and choose the table you wish to import: Press Transform data to open the table in the Power Query editor, where you can perform many powerful transformations. Note: You can open the editor whenever you need it, by using Data > Get Data > Launch Power Query Editor. When you are done, load the table – press Close & Load to load to the Excel grid: Or Close & Load to - to either load to the Excel grid, or create a connection-only query: See the query was created in the Queries & Connections pane: If you loaded to a table, you can see it on the Excel grid: You can refresh the created query from the Queries & Connections pane, or by using Data > Refresh/Refresh All. You can also perform operations, such as editing the query (with the Power Query Editor), renaming it, and more: What’s next? Future plans include adding data sources and advanced features. 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 Horowitz ~ Excel TeamNew 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 TeamWrite 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.Agent 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.
