By Richard Speed
Publication Date: 2026-08-17 10:55:00
AI and Ml
Microsoft realizes the side pane should be enough for anyone
Microsoft will retire Excel’s COPILOT() function on September 14, barely a year after its preview debut.
Introduced in August 2025, initially for Beta Channel users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and later for Excel for the web users through the Frontier program, the COPILOT() function let users send instructions to the company’s AI assistant directly from a worksheet cell.
Microsoft has now decided the Copilot side pane should be enough for anyone. Beginning September 14, 2026, the COPILOT() function will no longer be available.
Microsoft had planned to make the function generally available in 2027. It has now updated the Microsoft 365 roadmap to say: “We have decided not to move forward with this feature. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
According to a Microsoft 365 Message Center post, “this change helps streamline the Copilot…