Microsoft Excel remains a staple for data analysis, reporting, and decision-making. However, with the introduction of the powerful AI-driven assistant, Copilot, Excel has taken a quantum leap in usability.
Australian office workers report spending 47% of their time on tasks that are low-value, repetitive, or lack meaningful contribution to their core job functions. This highlights a significant opportunity for AI and automation tools to redirect their focus towards more high-value activities, minimising time spent on the ‘work of work'.
Whether you’re a seasoned Excel user or just getting started, these five Copilot prompts can help you unlock new levels of productivity and insight.
Before We Start: How to Access Copilot in Microsoft Excel
To access Copilot in Excel, you do need a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. Copilot is integrated directly within the Excel interface, typically as an icon or button on the toolbar. You can activate it by clicking on the Copilot icon or accessing it through the "Home" or "Data" tabs, depending on your setup.
5 Prompts to Unlock New Levels of Productivity and Insight
Prompt 1. “Summarise this Data”
Dealing with large datasets can be overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to identify trends or key insights. Instead of manually sifting through rows and columns, ask Copilot to “Summarise this data.” This prompt will help you quickly understand the most significant patterns, outliers, or trends without the need for complex formulas.
As an example, if you have a sales dataset, Copilot can provide a summary that highlights top-performing products, peak sales periods, or regions with the highest revenue. This feature is particularly useful when preparing reports or presentations, as it saves time and ensures you don’t miss critical insights.
Prompt 2. “Create a Chart for this Data”
Visualisation is key to making data comprehensible and actionable. By asking Copilot to “Create a chart for this data,” you can instantly transform raw numbers into clear, visually appealing charts. Whether it’s a bar chart, line graph, or pie chart, Copilot will recommend the most appropriate format based on your data.
This prompt is ideal for those who might not be familiar with Excel’s charting options or those looking to save time on manual chart creation. You can also further customise the charts by asking Copilot to refine the visualisation, ensuring it aligns perfectly with your needs.
Prompt 3. “Find Correlations in this Data”
Understanding relationships between variables can be critical in making informed business decisions. If you’re working with multiple datasets, simply prompt Copilot to “Find correlations in this data.” Copilot will analyse the data and identify potential correlations, making it easier for you to spot trends and make data-driven decisions.
For example, if you’re analysing marketing spend versus sales performance, Copilot can quickly highlight whether increased investment in a particular channel correlates with higher sales. This kind of analysis, which could take hours manually, is completed in seconds with Copilot.
Prompt 4. “Generate a Forecast”
Predicting future trends is essential for planning and strategy. With the prompt “Generate a forecast,” Copilot can use historical data to project future outcomes. This is especially useful for budgeting, sales forecasting, or inventory management.
Copilot’s forecasting abilities are not just limited to linear projections. It can consider seasonality trends, and other factors to provide a more accurate and tailored forecast. This feature allows business leaders to make more informed decisions based on predictive analytics, reducing the risk of unexpected surprises.
Prompt 5. “Automate this task”
Routine tasks in Excel, such as data entry, formatting, or calculations, can be time-consuming. By using the prompt “Automate this task,” Copilot can help you streamline these processes. Copilot can create or suggest macros, automate repetitive actions, and even recommend more efficient ways to handle specific tasks.
For instance, if you regularly consolidate data from multiple sheets, Copilot can automate this process, saving you significant time and reducing the chance of errors. Automation is a game-changer for businesses, allowing teams to focus on more strategic activities rather than getting bogged down in manual work.
Whether you’re managing finances, analysing sales, or preparing reports, Copilot acts as a powerful ally in navigating Excel’s capabilities. By leveraging AI, business leaders can ensure they’re not just keeping up but staying ahead in an increasingly data-driven world.
How Can Diamond IT Help?
At Diamond IT, we understand that embracing AI is not just about implementing technology; it's about transforming your business to thrive in the digital era. Our deep expertise as a Microsoft Partner ensures that we not only provide the tools but also the strategic guidance and support needed for your success.
Diamond IT's Business Technology Managers and Business Technology Consulting teams can work with you to analyse and review the current state of your Microsoft environment and provide recommendations on your permissions structure and content management practices.
This will include:
- Privacy Impact Assessments – helping you to understand how this information enters, moves around and potentially exits your organisation
- Permissions and Privilege Management – helping you identify/review/establish these to ensure they are architected to support your current and emerging needs
- Content Management – helping you structure SharePoint or establish a SharePoint architecture to manage your information repositories
- Information and Cyber Security – from policies to architecture, risk management to the delivery of business and technical controls – we are a single destination to help with security solutions
- Copilot Adoption - Deployment and Training Programs to ensure your team can obtain the best from your financial investment.
- Licensing Structure - we can guide pre-requisites and the best Copilot license for your organisation and provide your Copilot licensing.
