Microsoft is Removing Excel Copilot App Skills After User Feedback

Microsoft is removing the standalone App Skills feature in Excel as it continues to streamline Copilot across Microsoft 365. The move follows broader changes to Data Loss Prevention (DLP) after Copilot was able to access sensitive emails.

According to Neowin, Microsoft is consolidating Excel’s App Skills into a more unified Copilot experience, centered around Copilot Chat and Agent Mode.

App Skills Being Phased Out in Excel

App Skills allowed users to trigger Excel actions using conversational prompts powered by Copilot. Users could create charts, generate formulas, and manipulate data using natural language commands.

The feature appeared inside the Copilot drop-down menu in the Excel ribbon. Microsoft has now removed that standalone entry point as part of a broader UX redesign.

The company says customer feedback highlighted confusion caused by multiple Copilot access points within Excel. The consolidation aims to simplify the interface and reduce fragmentation.

Copilot Chat and Agent Mode Take Over

Microsoft is merging App Skills functionality into Copilot Chat and Agent Mode.

Copilot Chat focuses on analysis, insights, and data exploration. It helps users understand spreadsheets rather than directly modifying content.

Agent Mode acts as the more powerful interface. It handles task execution and deeper interactions inside Excel, positioning itself as the long-term replacement for App Skills.

The redesign was first shared with enterprise customers in November 2025. Rollout began late last year and should now reach most users.

Some users may still see the App Skills option temporarily. If selected, it may return an error as Microsoft finalizes the removal.

Advanced Features Still Missing

Agent Mode does not yet fully replicate every App Skills capability.

Advanced Analysis tools powered by Python in Excel remain unavailable in both Agent Mode and Copilot Chat. Deeper text analysis features have also not migrated yet.

Microsoft plans to integrate these advanced capabilities into the unified Copilot experience in future updates.

Part of Broader Copilot Changes

The Excel change arrives alongside other Microsoft 365 Copilot updates.

The company is also introducing AI watermarking for generated content and allowing organizations to add corporate logos to Copilot environments.

Additionally, Copilot will now open automatically in Edge when triggered from Outlook emails, further embedding the AI assistant across Microsoft 365 workflows.

With Excel’s App Skills nearly gone, Microsoft continues to reshape Copilot into a centralized, policy-driven AI system that balances automation with enterprise governance.