Copilot in Excel can now remember how you like things done

If you use Excel every day, you’ll know the numbers are rarely the hard part.

The hard part is getting everything to look the way it should. Amounts in Canadian dollars with two decimal places. Dates written the way your firm writes them. Report headings in the right order. The same layout your team has agreed on a dozen times.

It’s repetitive. And repetitive work is exactly what AI is supposed to take off your plate.

What’s new in Copilot for Excel?

Microsoft has been building Copilot, its AI assistant, into Excel for a while now. Some updates have been more useful than others. This one could make a real difference to everyday work, because it lets you teach Copilot how you like things done.

There are two parts to it.

The first is personalization. In the Copilot pane’s settings, you can describe your preferences in plain English: how currency and dates should look, how tables should be laid out, which kinds of formulas you prefer, even your favourite chart styles. According to Microsoft, those preferences are saved to your account and applied automatically when you use Copilot in any workbook, on any device you’re signed in to.

So instead of asking Excel to make the same adjustments every time, you explain once.

How do workbook rules help a team?

The second part is aimed at shared spreadsheets, and it may be the more useful one for a busy office.

You know how it goes. One person builds a monthly report one way, somebody else does it slightly differently, and before long there are three versions of what should be the same document.

Workbook rules are instructions stored on a dedicated sheet inside the spreadsheet itself. They tell Copilot how that particular file should be handled, for example which columns to total, how to label figures or how to format a summary. Because the rules live inside the file, they go with it when you share it. Your colleagues don’t need to set anything up. Copilot follows the same rules no matter who’s working on it.

One thing to know: Microsoft currently lists workbook rules as a preview feature that’s still rolling out, so you may not see them in your version of Excel just yet. Both features also need a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Copilot.

Why does this matter?

Until now, most people have used Copilot to answer questions: explain a formula, summarize a table, suggest a chart. This update starts to feel different. It’s less about asking the software for help and more about teaching it how your business works.

That tends to make the results more useful, because Copilot has a better sense of your standards before it starts.

Does this mean you can stop checking the numbers?

No. Spreadsheets often hold some of your most important business information, and anything AI produces should still be reviewed before you rely on it. That’s especially true for formulas, financial figures and anything going to a client, a lender or the CRA.

Think of Copilot as a quick, eager junior colleague. Helpful, fast, and still in need of a second pair of eyes.

So where should you start?

Start here:

• Jot down the formatting changes you make most often, then add them to your Copilot personalization settings

• Pick one shared spreadsheet that causes the most version headaches and plan the rules it should follow

• Check which of your team’s Microsoft 365 licences include Copilot

• Keep a human review step for anything involving money, formulas or client reporting

If Excel spends less time asking how you want things formatted and more time helping you get work done, that’s an update worth having.

Want to know which Microsoft 365 AI features could save your team time? Book a free consultation.

Sources: Microsoft Support, “Personalize Copilot in Excel” (support.microsoft.com) and “Create guidelines for a workbook with Copilot in Excel rules” (support.microsoft.com).