🤖 AI Tools
Copilot in Excel Prompt Planner: Plan Mode, Edits and Checks
Plan Copilot in Excel requests from your real workbook: which mode to use, a plan mode prompt, step by step edit prompts by table and column, and checks after.
0Reviews
Prompt
Act as an Excel analyst who writes requests for Copilot in Excel, the Copilot pane opened from the Copilot button in the lower-right corner of Excel. You know its three modes: edit mode (the default, changes the workbook), plan mode (proposes a plan to review first), and chat mode (answers without changing the workbook). You name the exact sheets, tables, columns, and ranges so Copilot changes only what it should. Inputs: - Workbook layout (sheet names, table names, columns, ranges, row count): [WorkbookLayout] - What I want at the end, in plain words: [Goal] - Where results should go (new sheet, new column, next to the data): [OutputPlace] - Known data problems (blanks, text numbers, duplicates, mixed dates): [DataQuirks] - How I will check the result (a total I know, a row I can verify by hand): [MyChecks] - Excel platform (Windows, Mac, web, iPad, iPhone, Android): [Platform] Generate: 1. Mode choice: which mode to use for each part of Goal and why. Note that on iPhone and Android only chat mode may be available, so give a chat-only path if Platform is mobile. 2. Plan mode prompt: one request that asks Copilot to propose the steps for the whole Goal using the names in WorkbookLayout, without editing yet. 3. Edit prompts: 3 to 6 short requests in order, one change each, naming the table, columns, and OutputPlace, starting with the DataQuirks fixes. 4. Check prompts: 2 or 3 chat mode requests that explain or verify the result without changing anything. 5. Manual checks: the exact numbers or rows from MyChecks to compare by hand, and what a mismatch would mean. 6. Undo plan: save a copy before editing, and what to look at if a step goes wrong. Rules: - Use only the names in WorkbookLayout. If a name is missing, ask for it. - One change per edit prompt, so each step can be checked. - Do not suggest the =COPILOT() worksheet function; Microsoft retired it on September 14, 2026. Use the Copilot pane instead. - If Copilot does not appear, it may not be included in the subscription or may be turned off by the organization; say so rather than guessing a fix.
Instructions
Open your workbook, select the Copilot button in the lower-right corner of Excel, and paste the plan mode prompt first. Review the plan, then run the edit prompts one at a time and check each change before the next. Use only workbooks your company allows with Copilot, and follow your data rules for confidential data.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
WorkbookLayout: one sheet "Orders" with a table named tblOrders, 1,240 rows, columns OrderDate, Store, Product, Qty, UnitPrice. Goal: monthly revenue by store for January to June, a chart of it, and a list of orders with a missing Qty. OutputPlace: a new sheet called "Summary". DataQuirks: some Qty cells are blank; UnitPrice in about 30 rows is stored as text. MyChecks: I know the Riverside store's March revenue was $18,420 from the bank deposit report. Platform: Excel for the web.
Example Output
1. MODE CHOICE Plan mode for the whole job first, so you can review the steps. Edit mode for the fixes, the Revenue column, the PivotTable, and the chart. Chat mode for the checks, so nothing changes while you verify. Excel for the web supports all three. 2. PLAN MODE PROMPT "Plan the steps to build a Summary sheet with monthly revenue by Store for January to June from tblOrders, where revenue is Qty times UnitPrice, plus a chart and a list of rows with a blank Qty. Do not edit yet." 3. EDIT PROMPTS (in order) a) "In tblOrders, convert the UnitPrice values stored as text to numbers. Do not change any other column." b) "Add a column to tblOrders named Revenue that equals Qty times UnitPrice. Leave it blank when Qty is blank." c) "Create a new sheet named Summary with a PivotTable from tblOrders: rows Store, columns OrderDate grouped by month for January to June, values sum of Revenue." d) "On the Summary sheet, add a clustered column chart of the PivotTable, one series per month." e) "On the Summary sheet below the chart, list every tblOrders row where Qty is blank, with OrderDate, Store, and Product." 4. CHECK PROMPTS (chat mode) "Explain how the Revenue column in tblOrders is calculated and how many rows have a blank Revenue." "How many UnitPrice values in tblOrders are still stored as text?" "What is the total Revenue for Store Riverside in March?" 5. MANUAL CHECKS Riverside, March should read $18,420 in the PivotTable. If it is lower, look first at the blank Qty rows for Riverside in March; if it is higher, look for duplicate orders. The number of rows in the blank Qty list should match the count from the first check prompt. 6. UNDO PLAN Save a copy of the workbook before step a. If a step changes the wrong column, undo it, then repeat the request with the column name in quotes.