Build a Dashboard in Excel with Agent Mode (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Quick Overview

Microsoft Excel's new Agent Mode, accessible via the Excel Labs add-in and requiring a Microsoft 365 subscription and Copilot license, builds a fully interactive, dynamic dashboard from raw data simply by describing the desired output in a prompt, as demonstrated by generating a "Cookie Sales Dashboard" that automatically updates when underlying data changes.

Key Points: Excel Agent Mode is accessed through the Excel Labs add-in and requires a Microsoft 365 subscription and a Copilot license to function. The user initiates the dashboard creation by typing a descriptive prompt into the Agent Mode chat box, such as asking to "Build a dashboard to help me understand this data." Agent Mode automatically creates a new sheet named "Dashboard" containing KPI summaries (Total Revenue: $4,690,319, Total Profit: $2,763,364.45), tables, and multiple interactive charts, including bar charts for revenue by cookie type and line charts for units sold over time. The generated dashboard is fully dynamic; for example, when the user manually changes the revenue for a Chocolate Chip order from $8,625.00 to $1,000,000.00, all related KPIs, tables, and charts update instantly. Agent Mode also provides a breakdown of the formulas used, such as helper columns for Year and Month Start, and SUMIFS formulas for data aggregation. The agent suggests optional interactive controls, like adding a slicer for filtering by 'Cookie Type', which dynamically updates the entire dashboard upon selection (e.g., filtering for only 'Chocolate Chip' updates all visuals).

Context: This video tutorial demonstrates the features of the new "Agent Mode" within Microsoft Excel, which is part of the ongoing integration of AI capabilities, specifically Microsoft Copilot, into the productivity suite. The presenter uses a sample raw dataset containing cookie sales records (Product, Units Sold, Revenue, Cost, Profit, Date) to show how this AI-powered feature can automatically convert structured data into a comprehensive, interactive dashboard simply by receiving a natural language instruction.