What is the best AI for Excel?

It depends on the job. For general spreadsheet work, Copilot in Excel is built in and covered by Microsoft 365 work-account data protections. For audit workpapers, tools such as DataSnipper work inside Excel; for budgeting and forecasting, FP&A tools such as Vena, Datarails and Cube connect Excel to governed data. Compare them on AI FP&A software and AI audit software.

How much does Copilot in Excel cost?

Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprise at $30.00 per user per month, paid yearly, and the Copilot Business add-on at $21.00 per user per month paid yearly ($18.00 under a first-year promotion running July 1 to December 31, 2026) or $25.20 paid monthly. Both require a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Checked October 15, 2026.

Is Copilot in Excel free?

It depends on the plan. Microsoft lists four routes to it: a Personal or Family plan with an AI credits plan, Microsoft 365 Premium, a commercial Copilot subscription, or a Copilot Chat-eligible business or enterprise plan. In business accounts, users labeled Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic) have standard access without the paid add-on, users labeled Copilot Chat (Basic) don't have Copilot in Excel, and the paid add-on gives priority access to the full experience.

Does Copilot in Excel train on my data?

For work and school accounts, Microsoft says prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, and Copilot only surfaces data the user has permission to view.

Why don't I see Copilot in Excel?

Microsoft says Copilot might not be included with your Microsoft 365 subscription or might be unavailable because of your organization's settings. If Copilot appears but won't edit, check that Calculation Options are set to Automatic, and whether the file is on a SharePoint site that requires check-out.

What happened to the COPILOT function in Excel?

Microsoft discontinued it. Starting September 14, 2026, the COPILOT function is no longer available in Excel, so workbooks that used =COPILOT() formulas need another approach, such as Copilot's chat or edit modes.

Can Copilot in Excel do reconciliations?

It can help build one: matching two lists with formulas, flagging differences, and summarizing unmatched items. Microsoft's capability list covers the open workbook, other workbooks and the web, so the ledger and bank data have to be in a workbook first, and someone still has to review the result. Dedicated reconciliation software connects to ledgers and bank feeds.

AI for Excel: Copilot in Excel and the AI tools accountants use in spreadsheets

Much accounting work runs through Excel. This guide covers Microsoft's own Copilot in Excel (what it does, who gets it, what it costs and how it handles client data, all from Microsoft's documentation) and the accounting, audit and FP&A tools in the directory that work in or with Excel.

Guide. Updated October 15, 2026. By AI Accounting Vendors. 9-minute read.

Key points

What Copilot in Excel does: Writes formulas across sheets, builds charts and PivotTables, sorts, filters and formats, summarizes data and points out trends and outliers. It can also pull data from other workbooks and the web, with citations.
Three modes: Edit changes the workbook directly, plan proposes steps for you to confirm first, and chat analyzes without changing anything.
Who gets it: Microsoft lists four routes, from a Personal or Family plan with AI credits to a business plan. Business list prices are $30 per user per month (enterprise) and $21 (Copilot Business), paid yearly.
Client data: For work accounts, Microsoft says prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation models, and Copilot only shows data the user already has permission to view.

Three ways to use AI with Excel

Where AI meets the spreadsheet
Route	What it is	Best fit
Copilot in Excel	Microsoft's assistant, built into Excel for Windows, Mac, the web and mobile, and licensed through Microsoft 365.	General spreadsheet work: formulas, PivotTables, charts, cleanup and analysis of data already in the workbook
Accounting tools that work in Excel	Add-ins and platforms such as DataSnipper and Vena that put audit or planning workflows inside Excel.	Audit workpapers, document matching, budgets and forecasts on governed data
General AI assistants	Chat tools where you upload a workbook or paste data. Data terms depend on the plan; see ChatGPT for accounting.	One-off questions and drafting, on data your firm's policy allows you to share

The routes overlap. Several of the accounting tools below can also connect to Copilot or other assistants, and Copilot can read workbooks saved elsewhere. What changes between them is where your data goes, what the tool is connected to, and how its work is checked.

What Copilot in Excel can do

Microsoft's Get started with Copilot in Excel (opens in a new tab) page lists these capabilities:

Generate data, perform calculations and apply formulas across multiple sheets, and summarize data.
Create and edit charts, PivotTables and shapes with editable links to the source data.
Build dashboards, planning tools and templates from scratch.
Answer questions about your data, showing insights as charts, PivotTables, summaries, trends or outliers.
Apply sorting, filtering and conditional formatting.
Fetch information from the web to ground answers, with citations to the sources used.
Retrieve data from other Excel workbooks saved to OneDrive, SharePoint or your computer.
Use custom skills that define how Copilot should complete common, repeatable tasks.

For accountants, the useful jobs tend to be the mechanical ones: building a PivotTable of expenses by vendor and month, writing a lookup between a trial balance and a mapping table, flagging unusual amounts in a transaction export, or reshaping a bank download into the layout your reconciliation template expects. The output is still a spreadsheet you have to review.

Edit, plan and chat modes

Microsoft's Copilot in Excel FAQ (opens in a new tab) says Copilot "offers three modes: edit, plan, or chat."

Edit: Copilot edits the workbook directly. Microsoft says this mode supports multi-step tasks such as reshaping data, merging sheets or building reports with several elements. It's the default.
Plan: Copilot writes a plan first so you can review and confirm the approach before it changes anything. Use it for multi-step changes to files that matter.
Chat: Copilot analyzes the workbook and answers questions without making changes. The safest mode for reviewing a client file.

Copilot in Excel modes by platform, per Microsoft's Get started page
Excel for	Modes available
Windows, Mac and the web	Edit, plan and chat
iPad	Chat and plan (edit rolling out)
iPhone	Chat (edit rolling out)
Android	Chat

Microsoft notes two requirements that catch finance teams out: Copilot editing works only when Calculation Options are set to Automatic, and if a SharePoint site requires files to be checked out for editing, Copilot in Excel on Windows or Mac won't work for files from that site (FAQ (opens in a new tab)).

Agent Mode and the models behind it

On April 22, 2026, Microsoft announced that Copilot's agentic capabilities in Word, Excel and PowerPoint were generally available and the default experience for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers, and also available on Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans. In Excel, Microsoft describes this as helping you explore data, build and explain analysis, and make changes directly in the workbook.

For business users, Microsoft's article on Copilot Chat in Microsoft 365 apps says a Microsoft Copilot license adds advanced AI features in Excel, reached by selecting Agent Mode from the Tools menu. Microsoft's Agent Mode article (opens in a new tab) states that "Office Agent runs on Anthropic models," and its Copilot privacy page (opens in a new tab) says models provided by Anthropic as a subprocessor are currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary. Firms with EU data residency commitments should check how their tenant is configured before using it on client files.

Who gets Copilot in Excel, and what it costs

Microsoft's FAQ (opens in a new tab) lists four ways to have Copilot in Excel:

A Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription with an AI credits plan.
A Microsoft 365 Premium subscription.
A commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription.
A Copilot Chat-eligible Microsoft 365 or Office 365 business or enterprise subscription.

In business accounts, Microsoft's overview (opens in a new tab) labels users by access level:

Microsoft 365 business access levels for Copilot in Excel
Label	What Microsoft says it means
Copilot Chat (Basic)	No Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license and no access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic)	No add-on license, but standard access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium)	The add-on license, with priority access to the full experience. Uses web and organizational data via Microsoft Graph and Work IQ.

If Copilot doesn't appear in Excel, Microsoft says it might not be included with your subscription or might be turned off by your organization's settings.

Microsoft 365 Copilot list prices for business, checked October 15, 2026 (USD, per user per month)
Plan	Paid yearly	Paid monthly	Notes
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on)	$21.00, promotional $18.00	$25.20	For up to 300 users; requires an eligible Microsoft 365 Business plan. The $18.00 offer runs July 1 to December 31, 2026, for the first year only, with an annual commitment (pricing (opens in a new tab)).
Microsoft 365 Copilot (enterprise)	$30.00	Not listed	Requires a separate license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan (pricing (opens in a new tab)).

Microsoft's enterprise pricing page says the prices shown are for marketing purposes only and may not reflect the actual list price. Microsoft also says Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost with eligible Microsoft 365 plans, but users labeled Copilot Chat (Basic) don't have access to Copilot in Excel.

What happens to client data in Copilot

For work and school accounts, Microsoft's privacy documentation (opens in a new tab) makes these commitments:

Prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, including those used by Microsoft Copilot.
Copilot only surfaces organizational data that the individual user has at least view permission for.
Microsoft Copilot services have opted out of Azure OpenAI abuse monitoring, which includes human review of content.
Enterprise data protection covers Copilot and Copilot Chat under Microsoft's Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms.

Two practical consequences. First, permissions matter more than before: Copilot works within existing access, and Copilot (Premium) draws on organizational data through Microsoft Graph, so a folder of client files a staff member can open is in scope. Review SharePoint and OneDrive access before rolling it out. Second, these commitments apply to work accounts; a personal Microsoft 365 plan used for client work is a different arrangement, and your firm's AI policy should say whether it's allowed.

Retired: the COPILOT function and Python with Copilot

Older articles describe two features that are gone. Microsoft's COPILOT function page (opens in a new tab) says that starting September 14, 2026, the COPILOT function is no longer available in Excel, so workbooks built on =COPILOT() formulas need replacing. Microsoft's support article on advanced data analysis with Copilot in Excel with Python is marked as retired. Use the chat and edit modes above instead.

Accounting, audit and FP&A tools that work with Excel

These tools in the directory document Excel as part of how they work. Each listing has its SOC 2 status, data-use terms and sources.

Directory tools that work in or with Excel, from each vendor's documentation
Tool	How it works with Excel
DataSnipper	Automation platform that works inside Excel for audit and finance teams. Extracts data from documents such as bank statements into workpapers with links back to the evidence, with Excel-based agents for procedures like revenue testing and tests of details.
Vena	Planning, budgeting and reporting inside Excel and other Microsoft 365 apps. Its Planning Agent drafts driver-based budgets and forecasts in Excel from plain-language requests.
Datarails	FP&A platform that consolidates data from accounting, CRM and payroll systems; finance teams work with it through Excel and a web app.
Cube	FP&A platform that centralizes ERP, CRM and HR data and pushes figures into Excel, Google Sheets and other tools.
Drivetrain	FP&A platform whose Modeling Agent can rebuild logic from an uploaded Excel model.
CoCounsel Audit & Accounting	Thomson Reuters assistant that helps draft workpapers, memos and disclosure checklists, working with Excel and PDF files.
Validis	Read-only, audit-logged connector that brings standardized ledger data into Excel, Copilot and other AI tools.
Black Ore	Prepares federal and state 1040 returns with supporting workpapers and Excel tie-out packages.

More planning tools are compared in AI FP&A software and audit tools in AI audit software.

Reviewing AI work in a spreadsheet

AI in Excel produces formulas, tables and charts that look finished. Treat them like a new staff member's first draft:

Before you rely on an AI-built workbook

Save a copy, or confirm version history is on, before using edit mode on a file that matters.
Use plan mode for multi-step changes, and read the plan before confirming.
Open the formulas Copilot wrote. Check ranges, absolute and relative references, and lookups against the right key.
Use Trace Precedents on key totals to see what feeds them.
Tie totals back to the trial balance, bank statement or source report.
Check PivotTable filters and the source range, so no rows were left out.
Record what the AI did and who reviewed it, in the workpaper or a notes tab.
Confirm the data you shared is allowed under your firm's AI policy and the client's engagement terms.

AI for Excel: questions

What is the best AI for Excel?: It depends on the job. For general spreadsheet work, Copilot in Excel is built in and covered by Microsoft 365 work-account data protections. For audit workpapers, tools such as DataSnipper work inside Excel; for budgeting and forecasting, FP&A tools such as Vena, Datarails and Cube connect Excel to governed data. Compare them on AI FP&A software and AI audit software.
How much does Copilot in Excel cost?: Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprise at $30.00 per user per month, paid yearly, and the Copilot Business add-on at $21.00 per user per month paid yearly ($18.00 under a first-year promotion running July 1 to December 31, 2026) or $25.20 paid monthly. Both require a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Checked October 15, 2026.
Is Copilot in Excel free?: It depends on the plan. Microsoft lists four routes to it: a Personal or Family plan with an AI credits plan, Microsoft 365 Premium, a commercial Copilot subscription, or a Copilot Chat-eligible business or enterprise plan. In business accounts, users labeled Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic) have standard access without the paid add-on, users labeled Copilot Chat (Basic) don't have Copilot in Excel, and the paid add-on gives priority access to the full experience.
Does Copilot in Excel train on my data?: For work and school accounts, Microsoft says prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, and Copilot only surfaces data the user has permission to view.
Why don't I see Copilot in Excel?: Microsoft says Copilot might not be included with your Microsoft 365 subscription or might be unavailable because of your organization's settings. If Copilot appears but won't edit, check that Calculation Options are set to Automatic, and whether the file is on a SharePoint site that requires check-out.
What happened to the COPILOT function in Excel?: Microsoft discontinued it. Starting September 14, 2026, the COPILOT function is no longer available in Excel, so workbooks that used =COPILOT() formulas need another approach, such as Copilot's chat or edit modes.
Can Copilot in Excel do reconciliations?: It can help build one: matching two lists with formulas, flagging differences, and summarizing unmatched items. Microsoft's capability list covers the open workbook, other workbooks and the web, so the ledger and bank data have to be in a workbook first, and someone still has to review the result. Dedicated reconciliation software connects to ledgers and bank feeds.

Sources

Official documents read on October 15, 2026. Vendor facts are sourced on each listing.