AI features in Excel and Google Sheets: what the makers say

Which AI features does Excel document?

Microsoft's feature is called Copilot, and it sits in a side panel. You open it from the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of Excel.¹

Microsoft's own list of what it does includes these:

• Edit worksheets, such as adding or renaming sheets and applying conditional formatting.
• Generate data and formulas, and summarise data.
• Create charts, PivotTables and shapes.
• Search the web to ground its answers, with citations to the sources used.
• Import data from other workbooks.

¹

Which AI features does Google Sheets document?

Google's feature is Gemini in Sheets. Its help page covers creating tables and formulas, analysing data and building charts.²

There's also an AI function you type into a cell, written as =AI() or =Gemini(). Google lists these limits. Responses are limited to text, and only the first 350 selected cells with AI functions will be generated at a time.³

Which plan do I need?

Google says Gemini in Sheets needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan.² It says the same for the AI function.³ Google's page doesn't give a price, so check your own account.

Microsoft says that if you don't see Copilot, it might not be included with your Microsoft 365 subscription, or it might not be available because of your organisation's settings.¹ Licence details sit in Microsoft's Copilot in Excel FAQ, which this page hasn't saved. We don't quote prices here, since they change and differ by country. Look at the maker's own plan page for your country and note the date.

Does it work on my phone?

Partly. Microsoft's table, checked on 11 November 2026, shows Excel on Windows, Mac and the web with edit, chat and plan modes. Excel on iPad lists chat and plan modes. Android is chat mode.¹

What has been retired?

Excel's COPILOT worksheet function. Microsoft says that starting September 14, 2026, it's no longer available in Excel.⁴

If an old workbook used it, the results already calculated stay as stored values. When a cell with the function recalculates, it returns a #NAME? error.⁴ Microsoft points people to the Copilot pane for the same sort of jobs.

Can I use the AI without being in Excel's pane?

Google's AI function is the nearest thing to a built-in formula. You type it into a cell with a prompt and an optional range of cells, and it writes text back.³ The range matters, because Google says the function can't see the rest of your sheet.

Excel's version of this idea was the COPILOT function, now retired as above. So for Excel, the pane is the way in.

What should I check before relying on any of these?

Features move between plans, languages and devices, so a tutorial from last year can be out of date. Google's page for Gemini in Sheets adds a warning about inaccurate suggestions.²

Read the maker's page for the exact feature, note its date, and try it on a copy of your file. The wider habits are in What AI in a spreadsheet actually does.