Certain Windows 365 Copilot users now have access to a new feature in Excel that lets you use Microsoft’s Copilot AI to generate formulas, but you might want to be careful how you use it. Microsoft is already warning users that the AI might not always be accurate.
The new “COPILOT” function allows you to skip writing Excel formulas yourself by telling Copilot what you want to do and the cells you want to use. For instance, you could type in “=COPILOT(“Summarize this feedback”, A2:A20)” to have Copilot generate a formula that summarizes the content in a column of cells. The examples Microsoft suggests in the support page for the COPILOT function focus on classifying, summarizing, and generating content.
However, Microsoft specifically warns not to use it for “any task requiring accuracy or reproducibility,” like numerical calculations. Microsoft also advises against using the feature for “financial reporting, legal documents, or other high-stakes scenarios,” so basically most of the things people turn to Excel for.