Use AI Like a PRO in Excel with Plan Mode

Good day,

This week I'll talk about how to use the new Plan Mode in Excel to make it a lot easier to work with Copilot, and to perform complex tasks that you might not have known about previously.

I made a new YouTube channel that focuses only on AI related news, updates, and how to's. If you're interested in AI, check it out here.

(This is separate from our main TeachExcel channel and will be commentary heavy.)

Can’t see the thumbnail? Click here to watch on YouTube

Last Week's Video: Excel's New Personalization & Rules Feature

Copilot in Excel has different modes, and each one is useful for a different type of task.

Use Plan Mode when you have a larger task and want Copilot to think through the steps before changing your workbook.

This is best for things like:

This is the mode that allows you to have a 'conversation' with your data and it helps you work through what you'd like to get out of your data.

Use Edit Mode when you already know what you want Copilot to do.

This mode is for making direct changes to the workbook, such as:

Use this mode with prompts that you have already verified work. You can build those prompts using Plan mode, like we show in this week's tutorial.

Use Chat Mode when you want help, explanations, or ideas without immediately changing the workbook.

This is useful when you want to:

This is more like a regular AI chat interface.

For bigger projects, start with Plan Mode. Let Copilot create the step-by-step approach first, then use Edit Mode to apply changes and Chat Mode to ask follow-up questions.

We talk more about this in this week's tutorial on YouTube.

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Cheers and see you next week!

Don