Microsoft Excel + AI: From Beginner to Advanced with Copilot

Open a new or existing Excel sheet, navigate through files, recent, or pinned locations, and learn the save versus save as workflow, including naming and saving to a location.

Create a new Excel workbook, save as, and build a monthly expenses table with bills as rows and months as columns, then add a totals column.

Adjust column widths to fit titles, enter monthly expenses in a sample budget, and learn how Excel aligns text left, numbers right, and dates right for clean, readable sheets.

Learn how Excel handles data types, convert text and numbers to dates with custom formats, and use format cells and format painter to display dates, numbers, and alphanumeric data.

Learn how to sum monthly expenses in Excel using cell references (for example B4, B5, B6) and understand relative copying across rows and columns to create scalable totals.

Learn how to create basic formulas in Excel to calculate total expenses, determine percentage of the total, and apply absolute and relative cell references when copying across rows and columns.

Discover how to use the sum function in Excel to add cells B4 to B8, and copy and paste the formula to other cells (with ChatGPT guidance).

Learn how to use Copilot to sum monthly expenses in an Excel table, insert a total column, format as a table, and note limitations for adding rows.

Learn to use the Excel average function to compute the mean of monthly expenses from January to April, using ranges like V4 to V8.

Prompt Copilot to add a column for average expenses and it inserts the average column for January to April accurately, showcasing Copilot's ability to compute averages without manual formulas.

Learn to use the min and max functions in Excel to identify the smallest and largest expenses across categories, applying ranges like B4 to B8 for quick results.

Explore how Copilot generates min and max functions in Excel by inserting columns with one-line prompts, making calculations easy and formatting automatic for beginners and beyond.

Learn to use auto sum and auto fill in Excel to quickly total ranges, using Alt+= and the drag fill handle to copy formulas across cells.

Explore expanding autosum and autofill in excel, using autosum options for average, max, and min, and learn how to apply them across cells, including handling empty cells.

Learn how Copilot adds formula columns in Excel, extracts names, calculates total revenue and date components, and inserts suggested columns to automate analysis.

Explore how Excel Copilot simplifies data merging with the concatenate function, creating full names and emails from first and last names using plain text prompts instead of formulas.

Learn how to cut, copy, and paste in Excel, including differences between moving and copying data, keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl X, Ctrl C, Ctrl V), and drag and drop across sheets.

Adjust column width and row height in Excel by dragging to resize, using column width and row height options, or auto-fitting with a double click to fit content.

Master hiding and unhiding rows and columns in Excel by selecting the column or row, using the right click menu, and unhide between adjacent columns or rows, including multiple selections.

Master inserting and deleting rows and columns in Excel using keyboard shortcuts. Select a column with control+shift and down arrow, then press plus to insert or minus to delete.

Format your Excel sheet to enhance presentation by adjusting font, size, and style; bold headings, choose a distinct font, and underline titles for a clear, monthly expenses view.

Explore how to customize spreadsheets by adjusting font colors, cell background colors, and color palettes, including more colors and hex codes for a cohesive, professional look.

Select cells to add borders, choose bottom, top, left, right, or all borders, then customize line styles and colors, including thick outer borders and double borders.

Apply conditional formatting in Excel to highlight expenses greater than 500 in red and color values less than or equal to 500 in green, using formulas and ChatGPT guidance.

Combine ChatGPT with Excel to create and practice data tables, applying sum, auto sum, average, percentage, and currency formatting, then refine formulas and styling.

Identify and structure lists with headers labeling columns such as product name, category, quantity, unit price, suppliers, restocking date, and ensure no blank rows or columns.

Sort lists in Excel using data > sort and filter, applying quick sort from A to Z or Z to A by name, category, quantities, prices, and dates.

Learn to apply multi level sorting in Excel, sorting by restock date, on sale values, and product name or category, with text to columns for first and last names.

Convert a raw list into a formatted table in Excel to preserve colors and formatting during sorting and filtering. Apply table styles, headers, and filters for a presentable, easy-to-use dataset.

Sort Excel data with Copilot, covering A-to-Z product sorting and a January to December custom order, and rely on traditional data sort for complex cases.

Sort, highlight, and filter with Copilot; apply a custom sort on the category column in the sales data, and display ascending A-to-Z results with a red yellow green color scale.

Master filtering data in Excel with the data tab and header arrows to view July month data or category data, using single-column and multi-level filters.

Apply advanced multi-level filtering in Excel by combining filters and a text filter that contains the word apple to isolate data, such as Apple computers sold in August.

Learn to use Excel subtotals to automatically total sales by category. Apply outline subtotal for each category, toggle grand, subtotal, and expanded views, and analyze monthly subtotals.

Learn how text to columns in Excel splits full names into first and last names using delimited or fixed width options, and how Copilot can automate the process.

Explore how Copilot handles subtotals in Excel, showing the pivot table method to calculate subtotals by category and quantity total, and noting that Copilot cannot directly create subtotals.

Learn to use left, right, and mid functions to extract supplier IDs, part numbers, and product codes in Excel, and populate columns automatically with formulas.

Use Copilot to perform left, right, and mid string extractions in Excel and create columns for supplier ID, product code, and part number to streamline data manipulation.

Learn how data validation in Excel enforces consistent entries for fields like status and priority, preventing variations and enabling reliable filtering and pivot table analysis.

Apply data validation in Excel using a list to constrain inputs in status, lead source, and priority columns. Create source lists, enable drop-downs, and copy validation across cells.

Learn how to enforce data integrity in Excel by applying various data validation options—dates, times, numbers, decimals, lists, and custom rules—ensuring inputs stay within defined ranges.

Learn how to tailor custom error and input messages for Excel data validation, showing exact reasons for invalid entries—from drop-down and date rules to number formats—through practical examples.

Apply data validation in Excel to create a category drop-down (travel, supplies, meals, utilities) and use dsum and dcount with a database to build a dynamic, tabbed dashboard.

Explore advanced data validation in Excel with Copilot by building a custom rule that enforces a seven-character student id: three alphabets then four digits, applied across rows.

Create a custom data validation for current date in Excel using the today function, with Copilot guidance to ensure entries equal today are accepted.