Analyze and transform data with Copilot in Excel

Completed

In Excel, Copilot for Microsoft 365 is your data analysis companion, making complex datasets easy to understand. You no longer need to master complicated formulas, just talk to Copilot like you would a colleague. Copilot can help you find patterns, explore 'what-if' scenarios, or get new formula suggestions. Explore your data without changing it, spot trends, create visuals, or get recommendations.

Analyze your data

With Copilot in Excel, analyzing business data becomes a seamless experience. As soon as you input your datasets into Excel, Copilot stands ready to transform these complex figures into comprehensible insights.

To get started:

  1. Open the Copilot pane within Excel.
  2. In the prompt window, enter your analysis query. In turn, Copilot in Excel processes your request to uncover insights from your dataset.

Beyond standard data analysis, Copilot crafts a coherent narrative from the patterns it identifies, ensuring a smooth transition from raw data to meaningful understanding. This process allows your key findings to become powerful drivers in making informed business decisions.

Some other prompts to try include:

  • "Are there any outliers in my data."
  • "Find and plot the correlation between marketing spend and sales revenue."
  • "Help me forecast next quarter’s sales based on current trends."

Transform your data

With Copilot in Excel, taking control of your data visualization and management is straightforward and intuitive. Copilot empowers you to not only clean and organize your data but also to enhance it through various stylistic and structural modifications. From applying styles, fonts, and colors to extend your data’s capabilities through pivot tables and graphs, Copilot helps in every step. Easily command Copilot to create new columns, define conditions for data representation, and to formulate graphs for a comprehensive view.

Explore various data transformation options as you try out different commands, such as:

  • "Sort data by launch date."
  • "Change the table style to light gray."
  • "Create a pivot table where the row is category, the column is supplier, and the values represent the sum of the minimum reorder quantity."
  • "Add data bars to the 'List Price' column to visualize data range and distribution."
  • "Plot 'Inventory Cost' and 'Proposed Inventory Cost' as bars for each category."

The following image shows how Copilot can simplify adding a new column for 'Engagement Rate.' This example exemplifies the simplicity of transforming your data with Copilot in Excel. Use Copilot to craft data representations that are both clear and precise, facilitating informed decision-making.

Screenshot of Copilot in Excel inserting a column for engagement rate.