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If this tool had ever seen the light of day, it could've saved you quite a bit of time

Microsoft Excel is losing a helpful tool that it promised to roll out to Office users worldwide. The US technology firm has pulled the plug on its Copilot function in Excel, with the feature set to disappear on September 14, 2026.

For those who don't know, Microsoft Copilot is aimed at everyday personal tasks, like planning weekends, dreaming up itineraries for holidays, answering general knowledge queries, editing personal photographs, and more with AI. It's similar to ChatGPT, and in fact, it's been built on top of the same model after a $13 billion cash investment in parent company OpenAI from Microsoft dating as far back as 2019.

With the specific Excel functionality, Copilot let you type a prompt directly into an Excel cell — such as a question about a formula — and you'll get an AI-generated answer right there in your spreadsheet, no extra windows needed.

If you've ever had trouble drumming up your own formulas to produce the results you need in a spreadsheet, this tool would've been quite the timesaver.

Although it turns out this AI tool never actually made it beyond the testing phase. First unveiled in August last year, it was only ever available to beta testers in preview. The original plan had been to roll it out to everyone by January 2027, but Microsoft has now scrapped that entirely.

It proved quite popular when testers needed to summarise customer feedback, sort data into categories, generate content, and even pull information from the web.

However, the function came with some pretty hefty limitations. Microsoft itself warned people not to use it for number crunching, which is arguably what most people open Excel for in the first place.

On top of that, the company said it shouldn't be relied upon for finding information already sitting elsewhere in a workbook, or for anything involving legal or regulatory compliance.

Given how many users depend on Excel for exactly those kinds of tasks, those restrictions were quite the dealbreaker. So what happens now for users who've been relying on it? Microsoft says the existing Copilot side pane and the floating Dynamic Action Button already offer the same AI-powered features, from summarising text to classifying data and fetching web results.

The floating button has had several users divided, so there's a good chance you may have toggled off this function if you don't see it on your PC.

The company said in a statement: "This change helps streamline the Copilot experience within Excel while continuing to provide AI assistance through a supported interface."

The change comes just as Microsoft is streamlining the setup of Copilot, combining two separate applications into a single package. Until now, the Redmond-based firm offered Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Microsoft 365 Copilot was built for enterprise and education, with AI features tightly integrated into productivity apps like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. In these apps, Copilot could see what you're working on and take action, suggesting formulas, infographics, or adjusting the tone of your text.

With the latest update, Microsoft is bringing both experiences together under just one app called Copilot. Instead of choosing between two versions, you'll have one place to use Copilot for both personal and work-related tasks, whether you want a quick answer, create an image, or work on a document.

A Microsoft support page said: "We're updating Copilot to create a simpler, more cohesive experience for everyone. Depending on the account and device you use, you will see changes to the Copilot app, including changes to appearance and functionality, such as navigation, feature availability, or sign-in experience."

Rollouts for the mobile update have already started, and the broader desktop rollout is pencilled in for mid-September for everyone.