With the rollout of Agent Mode in Excel, users can now collaborate side by side with Copilot to tackle complex data tasks, streamline workflows, and unlock new levels of productivity.
Agent Mode is a new feature in Excel that lets you build and edit workbooks directly with Copilot. Instead of juggling formulas, charts, and PivotTables manually, you can describe what you need, and Agent Mode will generate a step-by-step plan to make it happen.
Think of it as having a data-savvy teammate who can:
- Reshape and merge sheets
- Build multi-element reports
- Apply advanced formatting and visualization tools
- Keep everything editable and synced with Excel’s built-in features
Traditional Copilot chat is great for conversational help, but Agent Mode shines when you are working on multi-step, complex tasks. Whether you are preparing a financial close report, designing a household budget tracker, or building a loan calculator, Agent Mode can handle the heavy lifting while you stay in control.
For simpler one-off tasks, like inserting a chart, Excel’s Recommended Charts or PivotTables may still be faster. But when complexity rises, Agent Mode is the smarter choice.
How to Access Agent Mode
Currently, Agent Mode is available in:
- Excel for the web (with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license or Premium subscription)
- Excel for Windows (Insiders Beta Channel, branded as Agent Mode Frontier)
It supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. Rollouts for Mac and additional languages are coming soon.
Quick tip: Head to excel.new to instantly create a workbook and try Agent Mode.
What to Expect
When you submit a prompt, Agent Mode:
- Analyzes your request
- Creates a plan
- Executes changes directly in your workbook
- Shows its reasoning live in the pane
You can pause, stop, or undo changes anytime, ensuring you remain in full control.
For early adopters in the Frontier program, Agent Mode offers experimental capabilities like model switching between OpenAI and Anthropic. These preview features are designed for feedback and may evolve over time.
