It’s probably happened to you: you open Excel, you see that infinite grid of blank cells and you feel a little chill. We’ve been using spreadsheets for decades, and while they’re an incredible tool, sometimes fighting with formulas or cleaning up data can be a real pain.
But, be careful! Because we are in the midst of a revolution. If you thought that Artificial Intelligence was only for chatting or creating images, get ready: AI has arrived in Excel to make our lives much easier. It is no longer just about adding cells, but about having a “co-pilot” who understands what you want to do and does it for you.
In this article we are going to see how you can integrate these assistants into your daily life, what options you have and which one is best for you depending on what you need.
Microsoft Copilot: The star “signing” of the house
If you already use Microsoft 365, the first name that should ring a bell is Copilot. It’s native integration and honestly, it’s like having an Excel expert sitting next to you.
What does it do for you?
The best thing is that you can talk to him “in Christian.” Instead of going crazy with parentheses in a formula, you can use the COPILOT function. For example:
- Classify data: You can tell him =COPILOT(“Classify these comments”, D4:D18) and he will only do the dirty work.
- Summarize: “Can you give me a summary of this feedback?” and you get the key ideas in a second.
- Agent Mode: One of the new features at the end of 2025 is that you can now carry out multi-step flows, extracting data from trusted sources and setting up Excel almost from scratch.
The good: It integrates perfectly with Windows and Mac, and most importantly: your data is private. Microsoft ensures that it does not use your information to train AI. The bad: You need a specific subscription (about $30 per month per user) and it has certain speed limits (100 calculations every 10 minutes).
Claude for Excel: The “pro” option for finances
If you work in the financial world or need surgeon-like precision, you need to check out Claude from Anthropic. The integration with Excel was launched at the end of 2025 and has come in very strong.
Unlike Copilot, Claude works as a sidebar where you can ask it to modify entire books, fix complex formulas, or even generate new sheets from scratch.
Claude’s strong point
What makes it special is its connection to real-time financial data sources, such as Moody’s or LSEG. Imagine being in your Excel and being able to bring in market data or credit reports without leaving the sheet.
In fact, institutions like AIG have seen their productivity increase fivefold when using it.
In performance tests, Claude has proven to be more accurate than many of its competitors in complex tasks and error detection.
Add-ins: AI for all budgets
Not everyone needs (or can afford) Microsoft or Anthropic licenses. And this is where third-party plugins come in. They are small tools that you install in your Excel and that give it “superpowers.”
Here are some of the most interesting ones we have found in the last year:
- ChatGPT for Excel: Ideal for manipulating data, translating cells or cleaning formats quickly. It is very versatile and usually has free or low-cost options.
- TwistlyCells: It is known as the “ChatGPT for Excel”. It’s great for instantly generating formulas and translating entire sheets. It has a very neat free version.
- GPTExcel: If you are a beginner, this is your tool. It helps you create formulas and scripts easily and at no cost.
- Excelmatic: It is an “all-in-one” tool that even helps you predict trends (forecasting) and detect errors before it is too late.
And what about Google Sheets?
If you are one of those who prefers to work in the Google cloud, don’t worry, you are not left behind. Gemini in Google Sheets has also matured a lot this year.
Gemini allows you to automatically create tables, generate formulas and, best of all, analyze data as a team in a very fluid way. Plus, if you later need to transfer that work to Excel, the export to .xlsx is increasingly cleaner. It’s a great option if you’re looking for real-time collaboration and already use the Google ecosystem.
A touch of reality: Not everything is perfect
As we always say at Comunicagenia, technology is an ally, but it doesn’t work miracles (yet). There are three things you should keep in mind before diving in headfirst:
- Hallucinations: Sometimes, the AI invents formulas or data. You should always, always, always check the result.
- Privacy: Although tools like Copilot are secure, be careful with free add-ons. Read carefully where your data goes.
- The learning curve: At first it may be a little lazy to learn how to give “prompts” (instructions) to the AI, but the time gain (up to 20%) more than compensates.
Where to start?
The era of writing infinite formulas by hand is coming to an end. If you use Excel daily, our advice is to start by trying a free add-on or, if your company already has Microsoft 365, ask to try Copilot.
In the end, the best tool is not the most expensive, but rather the one that takes away that boring work so that you can dedicate yourself to what really matters: making decisions with that data.
And you? Have you dared to let an AI touch your spreadsheets or do you still have some respect?
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