Microsoft Kills Excel's COPILOT() Function

Microsoft has announced that it will be retiring its COPILOT() function in Excel, effective September 14, 2026. The function allowed users to send instructions directly from a worksheet cell to the company's AI assistant.

The decision comes just over a year after the function was first introduced in August 2025 for Beta Channel users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and later expanded to Excel for web users through the Frontier program.

According to Microsoft, customers can continue using Copilot in Excel through the side pane, which provides many of the same AI-powered capabilities as the COPILOT() function.