Excel is one of those tools that businesses rely on every day.
Whether you're preparing financial reports, analysing sales figures, managing budgets, or building spreadsheets for internal teams, there's often a particular way your organisation likes things to be done.
The challenge isn't always the spreadsheet itself. It's getting the information into the right format.
Specific headings, number formats, formulas, layouts, and naming conventions can all be important. When those requirements have to be applied repeatedly, they can also take up a surprising amount of time.
Microsoft is now making Copilot in Excel more useful by allowing it to follow these kinds of preferences.
Teaching Copilot How You Work
Microsoft Copilot has already become part of the wider Microsoft 365 experience, helping users with tasks such as analysing information, creating content, and working with data.
The latest improvements take the idea a step further.
Instead of simply asking Copilot to complete an individual task, users can provide instructions about how they want certain work carried out.
For example, you might specify:
- How currency values should be displayed
- Which headings should be used in reports
- How particular types of information should be formatted
- Preferred layouts and structures
- Specific conventions your business follows
Once these preferences have been established, Copilot can use them when working on future tasks.
That means less time repeating the same instructions and more time focusing on the information itself.
Why This Could Be Useful for Businesses
Consistency is particularly important when spreadsheets are shared between teams.
Imagine several employees creating similar reports. One uses one format, another changes the headings, and someone else structures the information differently.
The information might all be correct, but comparing and combining those files becomes unnecessarily difficult.
Standardising how spreadsheets are created can help reduce this problem.
Microsoft is introducing workbook-level rules that can stay with a spreadsheet. These instructions give Copilot additional context about how that particular file should be handled.
When the workbook is shared with colleagues, those instructions can travel with it. For teams that regularly work from shared spreadsheets, this could make it easier to maintain a consistent approach.
From Answering Questions to Understanding Processes
One of the more interesting aspects of this development is the changing role of AI within everyday software.
Initially, many people used Copilot for relatively straightforward tasks. They might ask it to summarise information, explain a formula, generate text, or help analyse data.
Now, AI is becoming more capable of working within established processes. Rather than simply asking, "Can you do this?", users can start giving AI more context about how the work should be completed.
For businesses, that could make AI assistance considerably more practical. The more clearly a tool understands your requirements, the less time your team may need to spend correcting or refining its output.
Human Oversight Still Matters
Greater automation doesn't mean businesses should stop checking the results.
Excel spreadsheets can contain important financial, operational, and customer information. AI-generated formulas, calculations, formatting, and analysis should always be reviewed before they are used to support important business decisions.
This is particularly important when spreadsheets contain financial figures or information that could affect customers, employees, or compliance.
Copilot can help reduce repetitive work, but responsibility for the final result still sits with the person using it.
A Practical Step Forward for Excel Users
Not every AI feature needs to completely transform the way you work to be useful.
Sometimes, the biggest benefit comes from removing small frustrations that employees encounter repeatedly.
If your team spends time correcting spreadsheet formatting, rebuilding reports, or reminding colleagues about the same workbook conventions, giving Copilot clearer instructions could help reduce that workload.
It's another example of how AI is moving beyond simply generating content and towards supporting the way businesses actually work.
Could Microsoft 365 AI Improve Your Team's Productivity?
AI features are becoming increasingly common across the Microsoft 365 applications businesses already use.
The challenge is knowing which features are genuinely useful for your organisation and how to introduce them without creating unnecessary risk or complexity.
If you'd like to explore how Microsoft Copilot and other Microsoft 365 tools could help your team save time and work more consistently, Affinity IT can help.
Get in touch to discuss where AI could make a practical difference to your business.
