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Can Copilot analyse Excel data?
Short answer
Yes. Copilot in Excel can summarise your data, spot trends, write formulas, build charts and PivotTables, and edit the workbook directly when you describe what you want. You need Microsoft 365 Premium, Personal or Family with an AI credits plan, or an eligible business plan. Microsoft warns that results can be wrong, so check its numbers.
Which plans include it
Microsoft lists any of these:
- Microsoft 365 Personal or Family with an AI credits plan
- Microsoft 365 Premium (£18.99 a month in the UK App Store)
- A commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription
- A Microsoft 365 business plan eligible for Copilot Chat
Business users without the Copilot add-on get standard access; the add-on gives priority access. See which Copilot is best for business?
What it's good for in a small business
- Sales and jobs: "Which customers spent most this year?" or "Show monthly income as a chart."
- Cleaning up data: splitting names, fixing dates, removing duplicates.
- Formulas: "Add a column with VAT at 20%" or "Flag invoices over 30 days old."
- Planning: plan mode suggests the steps before changing anything.
Getting reliable results
- Put your data in a proper table with one header row, and no merged cells or blank rows.
- Save the file as .xlsx and keep calculation set to Automatic.
- Ask Copilot to explain each formula it adds, then spot-check a few rows by hand.
- Microsoft advises against relying on it for sensitive financial, legal or medical decisions without review. Your VAT return and accounts need a human check.
- Remember that changes it saves are visible to everyone who shares the file. Undo or version history can roll them back.
Related questions
Can the free Copilot analyse spreadsheets?
You can upload a file to Copilot Chat and ask about it, within upload limits. Editing inside Excel needs one of the plans above.
Can ChatGPT analyse Excel files instead?
Yes. ChatGPT can analyse uploaded spreadsheets, and its pricing page lists Excel and Google Sheets extensions, limited on the free plan.
Is my spreadsheet data used to train Copilot?
Microsoft says business prompts and responses aren't used to train its models. See are Microsoft Copilot chats private?
Sources
- Microsoft Support: frequently asked questions about Copilot in Excel
- Microsoft Support: format data for Copilot in Excel
- Microsoft: Copilot for business (UK)
Checked 17 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
More on money, quotes and admin
- Can AI do my bookkeeping?
- Can AI help with invoicing?
- Can ChatGPT make and read Excel spreadsheets?
- Can I add ChatGPT to Outlook?
- Does Copilot work in OneNote and Visio?
- How do I get an invoice for my ChatGPT subscription?
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