Generate single-cell formulas with Copilot in Excel

Warning: This feature is being deprecated. App Skills will be removed from Excel by late-February 2026. You can use Agent Mode in Excel to generate formulas and edit your workbook, Copilot Chat to ask basic questions, or explore with Analyst for deep reasoning data analysis.

Copilot makes it easier than ever to perform precise calculations based on your data by generating single-cell formulas. Whether you need to calculate the percentage increase between two cells or extract specific text, Copilot streamlines the process so you don’t need to enter calculations for each cell.

Note: This feature is being gradually rolled out to all customers and may not be available to you yet. Check back for updates as it will be available to everyone soon.

Generate a single-cell formula

Open Excel.
Check that your workbook's sensitivity level isn't set to Confidential or Highly Confidential.
Add some data to your sheet. For best results, format your data in a table or supported range to make sure that it works for Copilot.
From the Home tab, select the Copilot icon in the ribbon.
In the Copilot pane, prompt "Suggest a formula" or "Show suggestions for formulas".
You can copy and paste an example prompt or type something in your own words.
Copilot will suggest formulas and explain how each one works.
To see the explanation, select Show explanation.
When you're ready, select Insert formula to add the formula to your cell.