Use Excel Copilot to Analyze Program Performance Data

What This Does

Excel Copilot lets you ask questions about your spreadsheet data in plain English and get instant analysis, charts, and summaries, without writing complex formulas or pivot tables by hand. For a program analyst tracking performance metrics, grant disbursements, or contract data in Excel, this turns hours of manual analysis into minutes.

Before You Start

• Your organization has Microsoft 365 with Copilot enabled
• You have Microsoft Excel desktop app (version 16.0+) or Excel on the web
• Your data has one clear header row with no merged cells, blank rows, or subtotals (a formatted table works too, but is no longer required)
• Column headers are clear and labeled (e.g., "Grantee Name," "Obligation Amount," "Status")
• You are logged into your Microsoft 365 work account

Steps

1. Give your data clean headers

Copilot now reads ordinary ranges as well as formatted tables, so a table is no longer required. What matters is one header row with clear, unique labels ("Grantee Name," not "Col_D"), consistent formatting, and no merged cells, blank rows, or subtotals. Formatting the range as a table (Ctrl+T) is still worth doing because it keeps references stable as rows are added.

2. Open the Copilot panel

Click the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of the Excel window; Microsoft moved it off the Home ribbon in 2026. Press F6 to jump to it, or right-click the corner button and choose Move to ribbon if you prefer the old placement. The Copilot panel opens on the right side of the screen.

Troubleshooting: If you don't see the corner Copilot icon, your account may not have a Copilot license or Office may need updating. Check with your IT help desk.

3. Ask a question about your data in plain English

Type what you want to know. Be specific about what you're analyzing.

Examples for program management work:

• "How many grantees are past their reporting deadline? Show me the count and their names."
• "What is the total obligation amount by region? Show as a bar chart."
• "Which performance indicators are below 80%? List them with their current values."
• "Summarize the status distribution: how many grants are active, closed, and in corrective action?"
• "What percentage of total budget has been obligated vs. what remains unobligated?"

What you should see: Copilot returns an answer in the panel, often with a button to insert a chart or formula into the spreadsheet.

4. Insert the result into your spreadsheet

If Copilot offers to add a chart, summary table, or formula, click "Add to sheet" or "Insert." The result appears as a new element in your workbook, leave your source data intact.

5. Ask follow-up questions

Copilot maintains context within the session. Ask follow-up questions to dig deeper:

• "Now break that down by grant type instead of region."
• "Highlight the rows where status is 'At Risk' in red."
• "Create a formula that flags any row where obligation rate is below 85%."

Real Example

Scenario: You have 47 active grants in a tracking spreadsheet. Your division chief wants a summary for the quarterly review: how many are on track, how many are at risk, total disbursements to date, and which regions have the most grant activity.

What you type in Copilot: "Summarize the grant portfolio. How many grants are in each status category? What is the total disbursement amount to date? Which region has the most active grants? Insert a chart showing grants by status."

What you get: A text summary showing status counts (e.g., 38 On Track, 6 At Risk, 3 In Corrective Action), total disbursement amount, and a bar chart of grants by region, all inserted into the spreadsheet, ready to copy into a PowerPoint or Word report.

Tips

• Clean your data first: Copilot handles inconsistent values poorly (e.g., "On track" vs. "on track" vs. "Active" all counted separately). Standardize your status categories before asking analysis questions
• Ask it to "create a formula that..." when you want something reusable in the column, not just a one-time answer
• Use "Highlight rows where [condition]" for quick visual identification of at-risk items, useful for meeting prep
• Avoid putting PII or SBU data into Copilot prompts unless your agency has confirmed M365 Copilot meets your data handling requirements

Tool interfaces change, if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.