TL;DR
What did @ZA_TheRealMe use Microsoft Copilot for?
An entry-level AI user had Copilot help with a simple Excel spreadsheet and says it did the job very well, but warns they couldn't explain the formula it produced, a risk in any important setting. They say they know what it did and it did it very well, but they can't explain the formula, and they expect AI to make someone look silly in an important setting for exactly that reason.
What they did
Describing themselves as a late adopter and entry-level user, they used Copilot to help with a simple Excel spreadsheet.
How it went
They say they know what it did and it did it very well, but they can't explain the formula, and they expect AI to make someone look silly in an important setting for exactly that reason.
Worth knowing
- This is the catch: if you can't explain a formula, you can't defend or fix it. Ask Copilot to break the formula down step by step and check it on a few rows you can work out by hand.
- Price check: Microsoft Copilot: free plan; Microsoft 365 Personal: US$9.99/month, or US$8.33/month on a yearly plan (US$99.99/year) (checked Oct 30, 2026).
Try it yourself
Paste this into a chatbot, then add your own details underneath.
Explain this Excel formula to me like I'm new to spreadsheets: [paste formula]. Break it down piece by piece, tell me what each part does in plain words, show a worked example on one row of my data, and tell me one way it could give a wrong answer.
More people who did this
- @varadmehta (X, Sep 12, 2026): First time using Copilot in Office, on an Excel sheet of CPU temperature readings; calls it very handy.
Original post
See @ZA_TheRealMe's original post on X → (Jul 2, 2026)
Sources
- @ZA_TheRealMe on X, Jul 2, 2026 — the original post
- Microsoft Copilot pricing — checked Oct 30, 2026