Excel Copilot Skills: Save Your Prompts, Save Your Time

You type the same Copilot request into Excel every week. Clean this data. Format this chart. Match our style. It works, but it's slow, and the results change a little each time.

That's the problem skills solve.

Why skills matter

A skill is a saved set of instructions that Copilot in Excel can follow. You write the steps once, and Copilot applies them the same way later. That gives you three things: less retyping, more consistent results, and a way to turn your own routines into something Copilot repeats.

One note on names. Microsoft is renaming Microsoft 365 Copilot to "Microsoft Copilot," and both names are in use. I'll use the current names you'll see in the apps.

Licensing note: Skills in Excel are part of Copilot in Excel. Plan on the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license. If the label under your name in Copilot says "Copilot Chat (Basic)," you don't have Copilot inside Excel. Look for a label ending in (Basic) or (Premium) and check which one you have.

6 tips for using skills in Excel

1. Try the built-in skills first. Microsoft manages a few for you: clean-data finds and fixes data problems, chart-design creates or edits charts, brandkit follows brand guidelines, and theme-design applies Excel themes. Microsoft says theme-design is still rolling out and may not be available for everyone.

2. Turn a request you repeat into a custom skill. If you ask Copilot for the same thing often, that request is your first skill. Custom skills are saved in a folder in your OneDrive, so you need OneDrive too.

   [Your story here: one or two sentences about a task you repeat in Excel that would make a good first skill. Delete this line if you don't have one.]

3. Let @skill-builder write it for you. It can build a skill from your instructions, earlier prompts, examples of finished work, or a workflow you just did with Copilot. You preview and refine the skill before it's saved to OneDrive. Microsoft says it's rolling out and may not be available for all customers.

4. Write the instructions like a checklist. Custom skills are markdown files named SKILL.md. Each skill gets its own folder. In Excel, the setup starts under Settings → Manage skills → Custom skills, where you create the OneDrive folder. If a skill doesn't load, check the folder name and the file name. One outside author found errors until the folder name used hyphens and SKILL was in capitals.

   💡 Pro tip: Be specific. "Remove blank rows, trim spaces, and flag duplicates in column A" beats "clean this up."

5. Choose how the skill gets used. You can pick a skill from the menu or type an @mention. You can also enable it in the Manage skills dialog so Copilot uses it automatically when it's relevant. You can edit, enable or disable your skills anytime.

6. Pair skills with workbook rules and Personalization. Personalization holds your preferences, set once. Workbook rules capture structure, naming and formula conventions on a sheet that travels with the file. Skills handle the "how to do the task" part. Together they cover a lot of repeat work.

   💡 Pro tip: Always review what Copilot changed. Copilot attribution in Show Changes helps you trace its edits.

One thing to check first

Custom skills have had a confusing rollout. Microsoft's June 2026 announcement said they were Insiders-only, and the current support page shows no preview label. Availability also depends on your update channel, rollout timing and admin settings. Check your own tenant before you plan a team workflow around them.

Copilot Chat also has its own skills, which are reusable instructions Copilot can apply automatically. Microsoft is rolling those out from October to mid-November 2026. Licensing hasn't been stated.

Quick Takeaway

• A skill is a saved instruction Copilot can reuse, so you stop retyping prompts.
• Start with the built-in skills, then turn your most repeated request into a custom one.
• Write steps like a checklist, and review Copilot's changes.
• Plan on the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and verify custom skills in your own tenant.

Practice This in a Live Class

You'll practice writing clear, specific Copilot Chat prompts that spell out the steps, format and rules you'd otherwise retype each time.

Copilot Chat: Write Prompts That Get Usable Answers (Live, Hands-On)

• Thu Jan 7, 11:00 AM Central

Copilot in Excel Workshop: Workbook Rules, Skills and Variance Analysis

• Fri Jan 22, 1:00 PM Central

Want it for your whole team instead? Contact me about a private session.

💡 Test your knowledge: Try one of the free scenario-based Knowledge Reviews covering Power BI, Copilot, Power Automate, SharePoint, Microsoft Project and more. No login required.