How to enable Copilot on Microsoft Excel

To enable the new Copilot on Microsoft Excel, you need a Microsoft 365 and Copilot Pro subscription associated with the Microsoft account.
On Excel, if the “Copilot” feature is still missing, open Excel > File > Account and click the “Update License” button.
If you don’t have a pro subscription, you won’t be able to access the chatbot AI on any of the apps.

On Microsoft Excel, Copilot Pro should enable automatically, but if it’s still missing, in this guide, I will show you how. Copilot Pro is the $20 subscription of the AI that’s based on Copilot (free) but has a bunch of new features, such as priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, enhanced AI image creation, the ability to create customs GPTs (coming soon), and access to chatbot from Microsoft 365 apps.

The Copilot features will depend on the application. In the case of Excel, you can ask the chatbot to make more sense of the information by allowing you to analyze and explore the data in the spreadsheet. In addition, you can ask virtually anything using natural language. The chatbot is also smart enough to suggest formulas based on your queries, predict “what if” scenarios, and find data correlations. In addition, you will be able to instantly create a SWOT analysis or a PivotTable based on data.

If you’re currently subscribed to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, it’s crucial to know that Copilot isn’t included in these plans. Instead, it’s an independent product, requiring a separate “Copilot Pro” subscription priced at $20 per month per user. To ensure access to the AI assistant in Excel, confirm that your Microsoft 365 and Copilot Pro subscriptions are linked to the Microsoft account used for signing into apps on Windows 11, 10, or macOS.

In my case, I have both subscriptions, but Microsoft Excel was still missing the “Copilot” feature. If this is also your case, you have to make sure to update the license of the applications. If the option isn’t available, then you may need to reinstall the Microsoft 365 apps to make it all work.

In this guide, I will outline the two methods you can use to enable Copilot Pro on Microsoft Excel on Windows 11. (You may also need to follow the steps to update the license on OneNote and Word.)

Enable Copilot Pro in Excel (with license option)
Enable Copilot Pro in Excel (missing license option)

Enable Copilot Pro in Excel (with license option)

To enable Copilot Pro in Excel, use these steps:

Open Excel on Windows 11.
Click on File and choose the Account option.
Click the Update License button.

Quick tip: You may need to click the button twice to get it to work.
Click the Sign in button.
Confirm the Microsoft account associated with the Microsoft 365 and Copilot Pro subscription.
Click the Close button.
Close all the instances of the Microsoft 365 apps.
Reopen Excel to access Copilot Pro.

Once you complete the steps, the product license will update, and Copilot Pro should now appear on Microsoft Excel. The AI assistant should now be available from the “Home” tab, next to the Microsoft Editor button.

Enable Copilot Pro in Excel (missing license option)

If the “Update License” option is missing, you’re likely not using the correct version of the suite of apps that allows you to access Copilot in Excel. In this case, you will need to completely uninstall the Microsoft 365 (Office) apps and install a fresh copy by downloading the installer from your Microsoft account.

1. Uninstall Microsoft 365

To completely uninstall the Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 11, use these steps:

Download Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool.
Double-click the executable to launch the setup.
Click the Install button.
Click the Agree button to confirm the terms.
Select the version of the product – for example, Office 2021, 2019, or 365.
Click the Next button.
Confirm the Office uninstall by checking the option that you have saved your work.
Click the Next button.
Click the Restart button.

After you complete the steps, the apps will be uninstalled from the computer, and you can proceed with the installation of the latest version of the Microsoft 365 apps.

2. Reinstall Microsoft 365 apps

To download and install the Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Microsoft account.
Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account.
Click on the Account tab.
Click the Manage option for the “Microsoft 365” subscription.
Click the Install button in the “Microsoft 365 apps for your devices” setting.
Choose the installation language.
Select the “Microsoft 365 64-bit” option.

Quick note: You should be able to choose any option, but this is the option that worked for me.
Click the Install button to download the installer on your computer.
Double-click the OfficeSetup.exe to install the apps.
Click the Finish button.

Once you complete the steps, the supported version of the apps will install on the computer. You can now check if Copilot Pro is now available, but if it’s not, you should now be able to update the license with the steps below.

3. Enable Copilot in Excel

To enable Copilot Pro in Excel, use these steps:

Open Excel.
Click on File and choose the Account option.
Click the Update License button.

Quick tip: You may need to click the button twice to get it to work.
Click the Sign in button.
Confirm the Microsoft account associated with the Microsoft 365 and Copilot Pro subscription.
Click the Close button.
Close all the instances of the Microsoft 365 apps.
Reopen Excel to access Copilot Pro.

After you complete the steps, Copilot Pro will be available in Excel and from any of the other apps from the “Home” tab.

Here’s the process of getting Copilot Pro, an overview of the product, and how to cancel the service:

Update January 19, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process to enable the AI feature on Excel.