Copilot Tips: Time Savers in Excel – Tech Tip for July 31, 2025

In this week’s tech tip, we explore how Microsoft Copilot can help you save time across your day—especially when working in Excel. Whether you’re analyzing data, building reports, or trying to find insights faster, Copilot can automate many of the tasks that used to take hours. With just a few prompts, you can turn raw data into action without needing advanced Excel skills. Let’s dive in!

Analyze and Summarize Data Instantly

One of the biggest time savers Copilot offers in Excel is instant analysis. Instead of sorting, filtering, or building custom formulas, you can simply ask Copilot what you want to know. It works with your existing data to surface trends, outliers, and summaries.

Start from Excel:

• Browse to open your Excel file and ensure your data is in a table or clear layout.
• Click the Copilot icon in the ribbon menu to open the Copilot pane.
• Enter a prompt, like, “Summarize this table,” or “What are the top-performing products by region?”
• Review the output and adjust or refine the prompt if needed.

TIP: Use prompts like “Highlight anything unusual in the data” to spot issues quickly. Ask Copilot, “What changed from last quarter?” to get a fast comparison from existing columns.

Automate Routine Calculations and Reports

Building reports manually takes time, but Copilot can help you create repeatable summaries or custom calculations with natural language prompts. If you’re regularly building pivot tables, or tracking KPIs, Copilot can help to automate the process.

From Excel:

• Select the data range or open your working spreadsheet.
• Ask Copilot, “Create a pivot table showing sales by quarter and category.”
• Or request, “Add a formula to calculate profit margin using columns C and D.”
• Let Copilot generate the structure or calculation, and review before finalizing.

TIP: If your report includes new data each month, ask Copilot to “update this chart with the latest entries.” Use simple language. Copilot can understand requests like, “Break this down by salesperson and total revenue.”

Get Answers Without Searching for Formulas

Instead of searching online or digging through help menus for the right Excel formula, Copilot allows you to describe what you need in plain language. This not only saves time but can also help build your confidence when working with more complex functions.

From Excel:

• Open your Excel spreadsheet and click into a cell where you want to enter a formula.
• Use Copilot to ask a question like, “How do I calculate the average of column F, but only for values over 1,000?”
• Copilot will provide a formula or insert it directly into the spreadsheet.
• You can also ask for explanations of how the formula works.

TIP: Use Copilot to explain formulas you’ve inherited—just ask “What does this formula do?” If a formula isn’t working, try “Fix this formula” and paste the one you are troubleshooting into the Copilot prompt area.

Copilot is designed to make working in Excel faster and easier—no advanced skills required. From summarizing your data to automating routine reports and simplifying formulas, Copilot helps you spend less time clicking and more time getting things done. Try using these features in your next Excel session and see where you can save time and reduce manual effort.

Reach Out to TechWise Group

Interested in learning more about Microsoft Copilot and Excel? Reach out to TechWise Group. We’ll help you make the most of your Microsoft tools.

Important Microsoft Announcements:

• Put a plan in place to upgrade to Windows 11:
  • Windows 10 reaches End of Support (EOS) on October 14, 2025.
• Maximize your organization’s Security with Secure Score and MFA:
  • Get to know your Secure Score—your essential tool for proactive threat management.
  • Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is the best way to prevent cyberthreats.
• Give your business a productivity boost with Microsoft Copilot:
  • Get started with Copilot consulting services to organize and secure your data, while also training you and your team.
• Contact TechWise Group to get started or to put a plan in place.