Agent Mode in Excel and Copilot Studio
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Work conversationally with intelligent agents to automate analysis, reporting, and data management
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Integrate and execute Agent Mode in Excel to build analytical and reporting tools and workflows.
- Design and deploy lightweight agents in Copilot Studio to perform repetitive data analysis tasks.
- Demonstrate how agentic AI can extend across Microsoft 365 tools such as Power BI and Teams.
- Apply best practices for guiding and supervising AI agents to ensure data accuracy and compliance.
Agent Mode in Excel represents a major shift in how users work with data, transforming Excel into an intelligent, goal-driven environment rather than a collection of static formulas and prompts. This hands-on course focuses on Agent Mode as a standalone feature in Excel that allows users to work conversationally with intelligent agents to automate analysis, reporting, and data management.
Participants will learn how to use Agent Mode to define objectives, guide analysis, and collaborate with Microsoft’s built-in Analyst and Researcher agents directly inside Excel. The course also explores how to extend this capability using Copilot Studio to create and deploy custom agents that perform specialized analytical or business tasks across Microsoft 365. Learners will practice building their own automated Excel workflows, connect them to Copilot Studio agents, and apply best practices for designing, testing, and managing agentic automation in real business scenarios.
By the end of this session, participants will understand how Agent Mode fits into the modern Excel ecosystem, how it connects with Copilot and Copilot Studio, and how to use it to accelerate analysis, improve productivity, and eliminate repetitive manual work.
This live event is for you because...
You’re an Excel power user or analyst looking to stay ahead of the curve as AI reshapes how data work gets done. You work with Excel, Power BI, or Microsoft 365 tools and want to automate repetitive analysis and reporting tasks. You want to become an early adopter of agentic AI, capable of building and guiding intelligent workflows with Agent Mode and Copilot Studio.
Prerequisites
- You’re an intermediate Excel user familiar with formulas, PivotTables, and basic data analysis.
- You’ve used automation tools like Power Query, Power Automate, Zapier, or IFTTT to streamline tasks.
- You may have tried AI assistants like Copilot or ChatGPT and want to apply similar ideas in Excel.
- You’re not a coder but want to see how AI agents can automate and enhance your workflows.
- Access to Excel with Agent Mode (via the Microsoft Frontier Program)
- Access to Microsoft Copilot Studio (check eligibility and setup details here)
Recommended follow-up:
- Read Microsoft Copilot Studio Quick Start (book)
- Read Learning Generative AI Tools for Excel (book)
- Take Copilot in Microsoft 365: A Practical Introduction to Working with Generative AI in Microsoft 365 (on-demand course)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Section 1: Agent Mode and Pre-Built Agents (30 minutes)
- Presentation: Introduction to Agentic AI in Excel
- Overview of Agent Mode and how it differs from Copilot
- Introduction to Microsoft’s Researcher and Analyst agents and their capabilities
- Discussion: What are some repetitive Excel tasks that could benefit from autonomous assistance?
- Exercise: Use Agent Mode and the Analyst agent to clean and chart regional sales from a sample dataset
- Q&A
Section 2: Build an Excel Chatbot in Copilot Studio (45 minutes)
- Presentation: From Copilot chat to building your own agent
- Overview of Copilot Studio, topics, intents, actions, and data connections
- How custom Excel chatbots extend Copilot’s capabilities
- Discussion: How could a custom Excel chatbot help you save time or reduce errors in your workflow?
- Exercise: Create a basic Excel chatbot that answers questions about workbook data, then modify it to handle a new question such as “Show average order size by region”
- Q&A
Break (10 minutes)
Section 3: Building and Deploying an Agent Flow (50 minutes)
- Presentation: Advancing from chatbot to workflow automation
- Introduction to Agent Flows in Copilot Studio
- Comparison between Agent Flows and Power Automate
- Discussion: How does conversational logic in an Agent Flow compare to step-based design in Power Automate?
- Exercise: Build a simple Agent Flow that appends new data to an Excel table and confirms completion. Adapt it for another use case such as logging expenses or project updates. Deploy the finished agent to Microsoft Teams for testing
- Q&A
Break (10 minutes)
Section 4: Real-World Use Case and Wrap-Up (35 minutes)
- Presentation: Bringing it all together with a practical workflow
- Demonstrate an end-to-end agent that collects structured input and generates an Excel summary
- Emphasize how this builds from the chatbot and flow created earlier
- Discussion: What steps would you take to test and deploy an agent like this in your organization?
- Exercise: Sketch your own agent workflow idea that could automate a task in your role
- Q&A
Your Instructor
George Mount
George Mount is the founder and CEO of Stringfest Analytics, a consulting firm specializing in analytics education and upskilling. He has worked with leading bootcamps, learning platforms and practice organizations to help individuals excel at analytics.
George regularly blogs and speaks on data analysis, data education and workforce development and is the author of Advancing into Analytics: From Excel to Python and R (O'Reilly Media, 2021) and _Modern Data Analytics in Excel: Using Power Query, Power Pivot and More for Enhanced Data Analytics _(O'Reilly Media, 2024). He is a recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for exceptional technical expertise and community advocacy in the field of Excel.
George holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hillsdale College and master’s degrees in finance and information systems from Case Western Reserve University. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio.