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Generative AI for Excel

Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Beginner content levelBeginner

Using Claude, Copilot, and other AI tools to save time and work more efficiently

Course outcomes

  • Understand which generative AI tools are available for Excel and their purposes
  • Learn how to use AI to analyze data and gain insights
  • Explore Analyze Data and Copilot in Excel 365 and understand their benefits and limitations
  • Learn how to use browser-based tools such as Claude or ChatGPT to get guidance, create and troubleshoot formulas, and more
  • Explore the Claude for Excel add-in and learn how to create and use custom skills
  • Understand how to use generative AI for data cleansing, categorization, and sentiment analysis

Course description

Using generative AI with Excel can help you save time and work more efficiently, regardless of your level of experience.

Join expert Dawn Griffiths to explore the available options and their different capabilities. You’ll learn how to use Copilot to interact with workbooks, including updating tables, creating charts and PivotTables, and inserting formulas; and you’ll find out how this differs from the built-in Analyze Data tool. You'll use Claude (or similar browser-based tools, such as ChatGPT) to learn about Excel features, create cell formulas, clean and categorize data, perform data analysis, and more. You’ll find out how to use the Claude for Excel add-in to interact with your worksheets and create custom skills. Finally, you’ll learn how add-ins and Excel’s COPILOT function can let you write generative AI prompts directly in Excel cell formulas. By the end of the course, you’ll have the skills needed to use generative AI with Excel in multiple ways.

What you’ll learn and how you can apply it

  • Use Analyze Data and Copilot to interact with Excel tables
  • Use Claude and similar browser-based tools to analyze data, create formulas, and more
  • Use the Claude for Excel add-in to create and use custom skills
  • Use add-ins and the COPILOT function to add generative AI formulas to Excel cells

This live event is for you because...

  • You have basic knowledge of Excel and want to gain insights into your data.
  • You want to use AI to help you write Excel cell formulas.
  • You're an Excel power user or developer who wants to know how AI can help develop your skills.
  • You need to clean and transform data and want to know how AI can help you.
  • You're interested to know what the possibilities are for using generative AI with Excel.
  • You're thinking of getting an AI subscription--for example, Copilot or Claude--and want to know how it might benefit you.

Prerequisites

  • Basic knowledge of Excel, ideally with knowledge of tables and cell formulas

Following along with the course demos and taking part in the exercises is completely optional. However, to get the most out of the course, we suggest the following:

  • For the Copilot section, you’ll ideally need an Excel 365 subscription that includes Copilot
  • For the Claude and browser-based tools section you’ll need to be signed in to Claude, or a similar tool
  • For the Claude for Excel add-in section, you’ll ideally need a paid subscription to Claude and to have enabled the Claude for Excel add-in.
  • You can still attend the course without having access to these tools because the course content will help you ascertain their usefulness

Recommended follow-up:

Schedule

The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.

Claude and browser-based tools (45 minutes)

  • Demonstration: Using browser-based tools such as Claude to learn about Excel features, get insights, and make changes to Excel files
  • Hands-on exercise: Get results with Claude and other browser-based tools
  • Q&A

Analyze Data in Excel 365 (30 minutes)

  • Demonstration: Using the Analyze Data tools to get insights, generating PivotTables and charts
  • Hands-on exercise: Using Analyze Data
  • Q&A

Break

Copilot in Excel 365 (60 minutes)

  • Demonstration: Using Copilot, updating tables, creating PivotTables and charts, and inserting calculations
  • Hands-on exercise: Using Copilot
  • Q&A

Break

Using generative AI with formulas (20 minutes)

  • Demonstration: Using generative AI tools to create, troubleshoot, and understand formulas
  • Hands-on exercise: Writing formulas
  • Q&A

Generative AI for data analysis (20 minutes)

  • Demonstration: Using generative AI tools to clean data, categorize data, perform sentiment analysis, and calculate statistics
  • Hands-on exercise: Analyzing data
  • Q&A

Claude for Excel add-in (45 minutes) Demonstration: About Claude for Excel, comparing it with Copilot, and creating and using custom skills Hands-on exercise: Using Claude for Excel Q&A

Break

Using generative AI functions (20 minutes) Presentation: Using Excel add-ins and the COPILOT function to write generative AI cell formulas Q&A

Your Instructor

  • Dawn Griffiths

    Dawn Griffiths is an author and trainer with over 20 years of experience using Excel. Her most recent book is Excel Cookbook, and she’s also written several books in the Head First series, including Head First Statistics, _Head First Android Development, and Head First Kotlin. Dawn also developed the animated video course The Agile Sketchpad with her husband, David, to teach key concepts and techniques in a way that keeps your brain active and engaged.

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Skills covered

  • Generative AI
  • Microsoft Excel