If you use Excel regularly, you already know the hard part isn't the data. It's getting that data into the format you want. Maybe you always present figures a certain way, reports need specific headings, or your team follows particular formulas, naming conventions, and layouts. It's all repetitive, and repetition is exactly what AI is supposed to help with.

Microsoft has been steadily building Copilot into Excel over the past couple of years. Some updates have landed better than others, but this one feels like it could actually make a difference: you can now teach Copilot how you like things done.

You can tell it how you want currency displayed, how reports should be structured, or how certain data types should be formatted. Once you've explained your preferences, Copilot remembers and applies them automatically going forward. If you've ever found yourself asking Excel to make the same adjustment over and over, this one's for you.

There's a team benefit here too. Shared spreadsheets often run into the same issue: one person builds a report one way, someone else does it differently, and before long there are three versions of what should be a single document. Microsoft is introducing workbook rules that travel with the spreadsheet itself, giving Copilot instructions for how that specific file should be handled. Share it with a colleague, and the rules go with it, creating consistency across a team without anyone having to explain the process every time.

This update moves AI beyond simply answering questions. Up to now, tools like Copilot have mostly generated content, summarized information, or explained formulas. This starts to feel more like teaching the software how your business actually operates, which tends to produce more useful results because the AI understands your preferences and processes from the start.

That said, human oversight still matters. Spreadsheets often hold important business information, and AI-generated output should always be checked before you rely on it, especially when formulas, financial figures, or reporting are involved.

For the everyday tasks that quietly eat away at your time, though, this looks like a sensible step forward. If Excel spends less time asking how you'd like something formatted and more time helping you finish the work, that's a change worth having.

Curious which AI tools inside Microsoft 365 could actually move the needle for your team? Let's connect.