Module 08: Copilot in Excel Advanced + Analyst
Lesson 08.5: Getting Started with Analyst
Lesson Promise
Use the Microsoft 365 Copilot Analyst agent where available for deeper data-analysis reports while keeping governance and verification visible.
Real-World Scenario
A team has multiple data files and wants an easy-to-read report comparing performance across regions and quarters.
Core Concept
Microsoft describes Analyst as an AI-powered assistant for data analysis that can calculate statistics, identify trends, show outliers, and return reports with visuals such as charts and tables.
Analyst is found under Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot where enabled. If it is not available, an administrator may need to enable it, and the experience may depend on license and tenant settings.
Analyst can help consolidate analysis across attached content, but it is still not a replacement for data ownership, privacy review, source validation, or business judgment.
Step-By-Step Workflow
- Confirm Analyst is available in your Microsoft 365 Copilot app.
- Choose approved files and verify they are safe to attach or upload.
- Ask one precise question about the analysis you need.
- Request methods, assumptions, visuals, and caveats.
- Review the generated report against the source files.
- Convert the result into an executive summary with open questions for the data owner.
Prompt Lab
Bad Prompt
Analyze these files.
Better Prompt
Compare sales performance across regions and quarters. Highlight trends, outliers, assumptions, and recommended follow-up questions.
Expert Prompt
Use Analyst to create a data-analysis report from the approved files attached. Compare performance by region, quarter, product, and channel. Include key trends, outliers, charts or tables, assumptions, methods used, confidence level, data quality concerns, and questions for the data owner. Do not make decisions or invent missing data.
Hands-On Exercise
If Analyst is available, run a safe sample-file analysis. If it is not available, document the equivalent Excel Copilot workflow.
Deliverable
An Analyst report review note with sources attached, findings, visuals, assumptions, caveats, and data-owner questions.
Executive Analysis Review Checklist
Common Mistakes
- Turning one spreadsheet question into a confident executive recommendation without checking the data.
- Asking for forecasts without naming assumptions, time horizon, inputs, and uncertainty.
- Using charts or PivotTables that look polished but do not answer the decision question.
- Treating Analyst, Python, file upload, or advanced editing features as universally available.
- Sharing analysis that does not separate observed facts, assumptions, hypotheses, and recommendations.
Quiz / Checkpoint
What should you do if Analyst is not available?
Record it as an availability note and use an equivalent Excel Copilot or manual analysis workflow rather than promising the feature.
Official Sources To Verify
- Get started with Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Get started with Copilot in Excel
- Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Excel
- Get insights about numerical data with Copilot in Excel
- Get insights from text-based data with Copilot in Excel
- Create PivotTables with Copilot in Excel
- Create charts with Copilot in Excel
- Edit with Copilot in Excel
- File formats supported by Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Copilot Chat licensing explanation
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