Copilot in Excel will be enhanced with a chat helper that responds to a wider variety of prompts
This could be the missing link in making Copilot more accessible to Excel users.
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As we have guessed, it seems that Copilot in all Microsoft 365 apps is to be enhanced with the newer and more versatile GPT-4o, as Copilot in Excel will soon feature a chat helper that will accept a wider and less restricted variety of prompts.
According to the latest entry in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, this chat helper will turn Copilot into a more conversational AI model within Excel, providing users with more ways to get their point across.
That means it will accept natural language, and will use natural language to explain complex Excel formulas, and it will even come out with comprehensive guides on how to use them.
Customers can get more conversational answers to a broader range of Excel-related questions and prompts from Copilot. For example, the customer can ask how to accomplish a task and Copilot will respond with helpful steps that may include formulas to copy and use. In some cases, Copilot may explain a formula error and supply the corrected formula plus additional guidance to ensure the formula works properly.
Microsoft
It’s not entirely fair to assume this could be the GPT-4o-based Copilot, but Microsoft did mention that it will update Copilot with the newer model, eventually, so we’re inclined to believe the new chat helper in Excel is exactly that.
However, we’ll see if this is true in June when the new enhancement is set to be released. Either way, having a more conversational AI is nothing but beneficial for adopting Copilot at work.
Microsoft seems to know it too: the Redmond-based tech giant announced it will release the Curated by Microsoft section within its Viva platform, which is a place where users learn how to talk to Copilot. The new panel will offer courses, webinars, and prompts for users to help them interact with the AI model better.
But if Microsoft enhances Copilot in Microsoft 365, including Excel, with GPT-4o, such a platform might not even be needed, as the AI will be capable of understanding and processing prompts made using natural language.
