Excel Agent Mode is the part of Copilot in Excel that plans, runs and checks multi-step changes directly in your workbook. Microsoft now presents it as one of three modes, edit, plan and chat, inside Copilot in Excel. It works on Windows, Mac and the web, and needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence or a Personal, Family or Premium subscription.
If you're looking for an Agent Mode button and can't find it, you're not imagining things. Microsoft's Agent Mode FAQ now opens as the FAQ for Copilot in Excel, which describes the same idea under edit mode. Here's how it works today, from Microsoft's own pages.
How Agent Mode got here
Microsoft launched Agent Mode in public preview, released it on Excel for the web first, then made it generally available on Windows with Mac following. At that point it was for commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot licences plus Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium subscribers, and you opened it by selecting Agent Mode from the Tools menu in Copilot. Along the way Microsoft added web search with source citations and the choice of model. Today the same behaviour is simply how Copilot in Excel edits your workbook.
Edit, plan and chat
| Mode | What it does | Where it works |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | Changes your workbook directly based on your request | Windows, Mac and web; rolling out to iPad and iPhone |
| Plan | Comes up with a plan before editing | Windows, Mac, web and iPad |
| Chat | Keeps Copilot's answers in the chat, without touching the sheet | Every platform, including iPhone and Android |
Microsoft says Copilot in Excel is best for complex, multi-step tasks that go beyond simple formulas, a single PivotTable or a basic chart. It can edit cells, generate and transform data, sort and filter, build charts and PivotTables, fetch information from the web and search your work files for context.
Which licence you need
- 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.
You'll see a label in the app: M365 Copilot (Premium) means you have the Copilot add-on licence with priority access, and M365 Copilot (Basic) means standard access without it. If the Copilot button is missing altogether, my guide to using Copilot in Excel covers the common fixes.
Choosing Claude or GPT
This is the detail most people don't know. Copilot in Excel can edit your workbook with Claude models from Anthropic or GPT models from OpenAI. You pick one from the model switcher or choose Auto. Three rules apply:
- The switcher needs a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription or Microsoft 365 Premium.
- In a company, your admin must enable Anthropic as a Microsoft sub-processor before Claude appears.
- Your choice only lasts for the session. Close Excel and Copilot goes back to the default model.
For big, messy restructuring jobs it's worth running the same request on both and comparing.
Using it on files saved on your computer
Microsoft added support for local files in modern formats, .xlsx, .xlsb and .xlsm, on Windows and Mac. You need Windows Version 2601 (Build 19628.20204) or later, or Mac Version 16.105 (Build 26011018) or later. Microsoft says it's still working on showing the changes the agent makes, restoring from a backup copy and supporting new unsaved workbooks and older formats like .csv and .xls.
The limits Microsoft spells out
- Copilot editing only works when Calculation Options are set to Automatic.
- Changes you save are visible to anyone with access to the file, including people co-authoring with you. Use undo or version history to roll back.
- Microsoft says to avoid using it for decisions in sensitive areas such as finance, legal or medical topics, and to check everything it creates.
- A file checked out in SharePoint can show an Unsupported file state message; check it back in or use Excel for the web.
- Strict Open XML Spreadsheet files aren't supported; save as a normal .xlsx workbook.
Your conversation history
If you have chat history switched on, the menu icon at the top left of the Copilot pane opens your previous Copilot in Excel conversations, newest first. You can delete your whole Copilot activity history, but Microsoft says you can't delete individual conversations yet. It also notes Copilot was trained mostly on English sources, so prompts and data in other languages may give weaker results.
To keep your work together, try using Copilot Pages.
A first job to try
Open a copy of a sales or bookings export and give it a job with several steps, in plan mode first:
Copy this prompt
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Clean this sheet: remove duplicate rows, split the full name column into first and last name, add a month column from the order date, then build a PivotTable of total orders by month with a simple chart on a new sheet.
Read the plan, then switch to edit mode to let it run. Check the totals against the original before you trust it. If you want the agents Microsoft calls Analyst or Researcher, those live in Copilot Chat rather than inside Excel; see Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
My verdict
Agent Mode is the most useful thing Copilot does in Excel, because it handles the tedious, multi-step clean-ups that eat an afternoon. Always work on a copy, use plan mode for anything big, and treat its numbers as a draft until you've checked them.
If you'd like help choosing which AI tools your team should use and setting them up around the way you work, here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
What is Agent Mode in Excel?
Agent Mode is Copilot in Excel planning, running and verifying multi-step changes directly in your workbook. Microsoft now describes it as edit mode, one of three modes alongside plan and chat.
How do I turn on Agent Mode in Excel?
Open Copilot in Excel on Windows, Mac or the web and choose edit mode. When it launched, Microsoft said to select Agent Mode from the Tools menu in the Copilot pane.
Which Microsoft 365 plans include Excel Agent Mode?
Microsoft 365 Personal or Family with an AI credits plan, Microsoft 365 Premium, a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription, or a Copilot Chat-eligible business or enterprise subscription.
Can Excel Agent Mode use Claude?
Yes. Copilot in Excel supports Claude models from Anthropic and GPT models from OpenAI. The model switcher needs a commercial Copilot subscription or Microsoft 365 Premium, and company admins must enable Anthropic first.
Does Excel Agent Mode work on local files?
Yes, for .xlsx, .xlsb and .xlsm files on Windows Version 2601 or later and Mac Version 16.105 or later.
