Part 1
Where you meet Copilot
Three doors into the same assistant. The difference is what each one can see, and whether it can change your file.
Copilot Chat
A browser tab
Like a notepad you type into. It knows only what you paste.
Sees only what you paste. Good for drafting and thinking.
TellIt cannot see your workbook
Copilot in Excel
A panel inside Excel
Like a colleague sitting next to you who can see your screen.
Sees your open workbook. Good for asking about your data.
TellIt reads. It does not write.
Agent Mode
Multi-step work inside Excel
Like a colleague with edit rights: Plan → Execute → Check → Repeat.
Plans, edits, and checks its own work. Good for building something.
TellIt writes to your sheet. Read the plan first.
Chat = what you paste · Excel = your workbook · Agent Mode = builds and edits
With editing off, Copilot reads. With editing on, it writes to the sheet.
With editing off, Copilot reads. With editing on, it writes to the sheet.
Part 2
CTFT — what the model cannot guess
Most disappointing output is not a tool problem. It is a missing-information problem. These are the four things you must supply.
Context
C
Like introducing yourself before you ask.
Who you are, what the data is, why it matters.
TellMissing → a paragraph that describes the columns
Task
T
Like one clear instruction, not a wish.
The one action you want.
Tell"Give me insights" is not a task
Format
F
Like naming the container you want it in.
Table, bullets, one paragraph, a formula.
TellSay "table" or "formula", or you get prose
Tone
T
Like naming who will read it.
Formal, plain, for a board, for a colleague.
TellThe smallest letter. Adjectives add no facts.
I am a [role]. This file contains [what the data is]. [One task.] Return [format]. Use [tone].
If a value is missing, say so — do not estimate.
If a value is missing, say so — do not estimate.
Part 3
Before you trust a number
The three-step check. Same three words every time, on every number that leaves your desk.
Spot-check
Step 1
Like counting the cash once yourself.
Recalculate one number by hand.
TellOne client, four rows, the same money four times
Ask where
Step 2
Like asking for the receipt.
Ask Copilot which rows and which column it used.
Tell"All 506 rows" means four quarters, not one
Change one input
Step 3
Like pressing the brake before you drive.
Edit one value. Confirm the answer moves the way it should.
TellA year-end figure should not react to a January number
A number you cannot audit is not an answer.
Part 4
Before Copilot can read a file
The four conditions. Copilot reads structure, not decoration. If the panel says it cannot read your file, come back here.
OneDrive
Condition 1
The file is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, not a local folder.
AutoSave
Condition 2
AutoSave is on.
Row 1
Condition 3
Headers sit in row 1, with no merged cells and no blank rows.
Table
Condition 4
The range is formatted as an Excel table.
⚠
The file must live in OneDrive. This is the most common support question in the room. Check the title bar shows OneDrive before you ask the panel anything.
Part 5
Is a finding worth a slide?
Three tests. A finding needs all three. Write it as one sentence with the number in it.
Surprising
Test 1
Would somebody raise an eyebrow?
If everyone in the room already knows it, it is not a finding.
Tell"Kuwait has the most assets" fails here
Checkable
Test 2
Can you point at the rows that prove it?
Run the three-step check on it. If it fails, replace it.
Tell"Some clients have no fee" — how many, worth what?
So-what
Test 3
Could somebody act on it this month?
A true, checkable, boring finding fails this test.
Tell"Equity Fund is the most common product" — nobody can act on it
Surprising · Checkable · So-what
"KWD 177 million, 35% of Saudi assets, sits dormant" is a finding. "Dormancy is a concern" is not.
"KWD 177 million, 35% of Saudi assets, sits dormant" is a finding. "Dormancy is a concern" is not.
Quick reference
Prompts that worked today
When you want to … ask for …
Understand the data
"List every distinct value in [column], with a count for each."
Find a problem
"Which rows have no value in [column]? Return [columns]."
Get an auditable answer
"Write a formula that calculates [X]. Explain which columns it uses."
Check Copilot’s work
"Which rows and columns did you use for that answer?"
Stop it from guessing
"If a value is missing, say so. Do not estimate."
Build something
"Create a PivotTable on a new sheet. Group by [X]. Show [Y]."