Short Version
Agent Mode is coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot for Excel. Due mid-January to early March 2026.
Details
Agent Mode in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Excel (Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac) will give you a new way to work with Copilot by using natural language to build and edit your workbooks.
Microsoft will enable Agent Mode to search the web so you can pull in trusted, current information to complement your Excel data, answer questions and provide context, without leaving your workbook.
If permitted by your organisation, you can also use Anthropic’s Claude AI models to build workbooks directly in Excel.
To access Agent Mode, open Copilot chat in Excel > select the Tools menu > choose Agent mode.
After you submit a prompt, Agent Mode analyses your task and creates a step-by-step plan. It may take a few minutes before completing. While it’s running, you’ll see its reasoning in the pane.
Microsoft try to clarify the naming of this feature by stating: “Agent Mode in Excel is a method for using M365 Copilot Chat to interact with your active workbook and is not a Microsoft 365 Copilot agent”.
Read more about Agent mode in Excel on Microsoft Support.
Availability
Due mid-January to early March 2026.
Source, related links, and references
MC1202968.
365 Roadmap ID 542182.
Image(s): Microsoft.
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Page originally published
4th January 2026, and kept up to date.
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