Short Version
App Skills in Excel will be retired; use Agent Mode instead. Due from December 2025.
Details
App Skills in Excel is being retired. Its capabilities are being consolidated into Agent Mode in Excel.

Microsoft hope this change will simplify the user experience. At first glance, I agree that Agent Mode is a better experience.
Availability
Retirement due early December 2025 to late February 2026.
Source, related links, and references
MC1184407.
Related: Copilot Agent mode comes to Microsoft Excel – Super Simple 365.
Image(s): Microsoft.
Discover what else is new in Copilot and Excel.
Page originally published
11th November 2025, and kept up to date.
Are you an Update Insider yet? Get early access to the What’s new in Microsoft 365 and Copilot? roundup, have every full update (like this one) delivered to your inbox and gain exclusive rights to share your questions and views on updates across the site. Sign up for a free trial, then just £5 per month. Slide Deck members can also receive the latest Evergreen slides to use and present at work.
Would you (and your colleagues) like to attend a live webinar covering this month’s updates? Monthly, free, just 55 minutes and more fun than it sounds! Sign up for the sessions I deliver with The Inform Team: Microsoft 365 Evergreen.
🎬 Are you, or your colleagues, struggling to get the most out of Copilot? On The Inform Team’s webinar You switched on Microsoft 365 Copilot. Now what? I discuss and demo no-prompt, easy ways that Copilot can help you without typing a single prompt. Watch and share here.




































