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.
This is still a beta feature, so Microsoft is still refining it with the help of user feedback and it isn't widely available yet. Right now, it's only available to Microsoft 365 Copilot Beta Channel users. Functionality is also somewhat limited even beyond the accuracy concerns—the COPILOT function is currently maxed out at 100 calls per 10 minutes or 300 calls per hour. It can't access "live web data or internal business documents," either.