AI for Excel: speeding up reports and formulas

Introduction — Setting the Intrigue

Remember those three hours you wrestled with VLOOKUP and it stubbornly showed #N/A? Imagine having a “smart assistant” next to you that understands natural language, gets formula logic, and never gets tired. Sounds like a fairytale? Spoiler: Starting 2025, this will be the everyday reality with Copilot and other AI assistants for Excel.

Easter egg #1: If you spot “VLOOKUP, rest in peace” somewhere in the text — give a nod, it’s our signature meme.

1. Why does Excel need a brain?

•
Speed. Find anomalies, build pivot tables, and clean data in minutes instead of hours.
•
Accuracy. No more “human” typos a cell off.
•
Creativity. Generate formulas using plain language: “Calculate the average check for clients from Saint Petersburg in May and build a chart.”

(Yes, Excel now understands your native tongue — no more IF+INDEX+MATCH spells needed.)

2. Which AI Features Are Available Right Now

Feature	What It Does	How It Helps
Natural Language → Formula	Type “total quarterly sales” — get the formula instantly	Saves time and nerves
Explain Formula	Explains what’s going on with a monstrous bracket salad	Decode your ex-colleague’s legacy
Auto Query Suggestions	Excel offers ideas for further analysis	Spot blind zones in your data
Chart Generation	Instantly builds meaningful charts, not just by cells	Beautiful reports without designers

All these perks keep growing: in June 2025, Microsoft rolled out more Copilot upgrades, including “agents” with preloaded office skills, and better auto-formula building.

3. Real Case: How a Small Business Saved Dozens of Hours

An Australian invoicing team was tired of cleaning company names by hand from 100-page price lists. Their fix: a small AI plugin that scans the sheet in one click, finds all the LLCs, and wipes out the noise. Result — several hours of routine gone each week and a happy accountant.

4. Want This Too? Here’s a Quick-Start Route

1.
Check your 365 license. Copilot and similar assistants only live there.
2.
Update to the latest version of Excel (see date in help menu).
3.
Enable Copilot preview in settings.
4.
Load test data — use a copy, not your live reports.
5.
Try a simple command in Russian: “Sort by declining revenue and add a % change column.”
6.
Save your activity history — in case you want to roll back.

Easter egg #2: If you ask Copilot to “make it look pretty,” it’ll… actually try.

5. Five Life Hacks So AI Excel Doesn’t Go Off the Rails

1.
Talk to it like a person, not a manual. Less legalese, better results.
2.
Break tasks down. First “find deviations,” then “build a graph.”
3.
Double-check auto-generated formulas. Sometimes Copilot is too creative.
4.
Feed it structured data. Dirty table → messy output.
5.
Take snapshots. Ctrl + S is still the analyst’s best friend.

6. Q&A: “Does This Really Work?”

— What if my data’s in Russian — will it get it?
It will. Copilot now supports multilingual input.

— Is it safe to give data to AI?
Files stay in your OneDrive; Copilot processes them inside Microsoft’s cloud.

— Will AI replace macros?
Not yet, but 90% of everyday macros can already be written in plain language.

Conclusion: Get Started, Get Results

AI assistants in Excel aren’t trendy gadgets, they’re power excavators versus hand shovels. The sooner you grab the controls, the faster you’ll ditch the routine and make time for ideas.

Three-Line Summary

•
Excel + AI = speed, accuracy, new insights.
•
Copilot can already write and explain formulas, create visualizations, and spot anomalies.
•
Start small: update, enable Copilot, experiment on a table copy.

Action Checklist

•
Update Microsoft 365 to the latest version
•
Enable Copilot in Excel
•
Copy your work table for experiments
•
Test 3–5 queries using plain language
•
Review results, save successful formulas
•
Share your experience with coworkers (and tell them about “VLOOKUP, rest in peace”)

Easter egg #3: Ask Copilot “is there life after the pivot table?” — and see what it says.

Introduction — Setting the Intrigue

Easter egg #1: If you spot “VLOOKUP, rest in peace” somewhere in the text — give a nod, it’s our signature meme.

1. Why does Excel need a brain?

•
Speed. Find anomalies, build pivot tables, and clean data in minutes instead of hours.
•
Accuracy. No more “human” typos a cell off.
•
Creativity. Generate formulas using plain language: “Calculate the average check for clients from Saint Petersburg in May and build a chart.”

(Yes, Excel now understands your native tongue — no more IF+INDEX+MATCH spells needed.)

2. Which AI Features Are Available Right Now

Feature	What It Does	How It Helps
Natural Language → Formula	Type “total quarterly sales” — get the formula instantly	Saves time and nerves
Explain Formula	Explains what’s going on with a monstrous bracket salad	Decode your ex-colleague’s legacy
Auto Query Suggestions	Excel offers ideas for further analysis	Spot blind zones in your data
Chart Generation	Instantly builds meaningful charts, not just by cells	Beautiful reports without designers

All these perks keep growing: in June 2025, Microsoft rolled out more Copilot upgrades, including “agents” with preloaded office skills, and better auto-formula building.

3. Real Case: How a Small Business Saved Dozens of Hours

4. Want This Too? Here’s a Quick-Start Route

1.
Check your 365 license. Copilot and similar assistants only live there.
2.
Update to the latest version of Excel (see date in help menu).
3.
Enable Copilot preview in settings.
4.
Load test data — use a copy, not your live reports.
5.
Try a simple command in Russian: “Sort by declining revenue and add a % change column.”
6.
Save your activity history — in case you want to roll back.

Easter egg #2: If you ask Copilot to “make it look pretty,” it’ll… actually try.

5. Five Life Hacks So AI Excel Doesn’t Go Off the Rails

1.
Talk to it like a person, not a manual. Less legalese, better results.
2.
Break tasks down. First “find deviations,” then “build a graph.”
3.
Double-check auto-generated formulas. Sometimes Copilot is too creative.
4.
Feed it structured data. Dirty table → messy output.
5.
Take snapshots. Ctrl + S is still the analyst’s best friend.

6. Q&A: “Does This Really Work?”

— What if my data’s in Russian — will it get it?
It will. Copilot now supports multilingual input.

— Is it safe to give data to AI?
Files stay in your OneDrive; Copilot processes them inside Microsoft’s cloud.

— Will AI replace macros?
Not yet, but 90% of everyday macros can already be written in plain language.

Conclusion: Get Started, Get Results

AI assistants in Excel aren’t trendy gadgets, they’re power excavators versus hand shovels. The sooner you grab the controls, the faster you’ll ditch the routine and make time for ideas.

Three-Line Summary

•
Excel + AI = speed, accuracy, new insights.
•
Copilot can already write and explain formulas, create visualizations, and spot anomalies.
•
Start small: update, enable Copilot, experiment on a table copy.

Action Checklist

•
Update Microsoft 365 to the latest version
•
Enable Copilot in Excel
•
Copy your work table for experiments
•
Test 3–5 queries using plain language
•
Review results, save successful formulas
•
Share your experience with coworkers (and tell them about “VLOOKUP, rest in peace”)

Easter egg #3: Ask Copilot “is there life after the pivot table?” — and see what it says.

Introduction — Setting the Intrigue

1. Why does Excel need a brain?

2. Which AI Features Are Available Right Now

3. Real Case: How a Small Business Saved Dozens of Hours

4. Want This Too? Here’s a Quick-Start Route

5. Five Life Hacks So AI Excel Doesn’t Go Off the Rails

6. Q&A: “Does This Really Work?”

Conclusion: Get Started, Get Results

Three-Line Summary

Action Checklist

Introduction — Setting the Intrigue

1. Why does Excel need a brain?

2. Which AI Features Are Available Right Now

3. Real Case: How a Small Business Saved Dozens of Hours

4. Want This Too? Here’s a Quick-Start Route

5. Five Life Hacks So AI Excel Doesn’t Go Off the Rails

6. Q&A: “Does This Really Work?”

Conclusion: Get Started, Get Results

Three-Line Summary

Action Checklist

Stop wasting your time!