Excel Labs, a Microsoft Garage project

Explore new ideas in Excel—before anyone else.

Excel Labs lets you try out experimental features from the Excel team and share your feedback. It is designed for curious users who love to explore what's next. Please note that these features are Previews—they may change, be discontinued, or eventually become part of Excel as built-in capabilities. Currently, Excel Labs includes:

Agent Mode (Frontier)

Agent Mode helps you build and edit your workbooks side by side with Copilot. As you're working on tasks like updating budgets, creating financial models, or analyzing data, Agent Mode uses Excel's most powerful tools like tables, charts, PivotTables, and formulas to quickly help you with what you need. Agent Mode is part of Microsoft's Frontier program, offering early access to cutting-edge AI capabilities. Learn more on our support page.

Note:

1. Access to Agent mode requires a supported Microsoft 365 license. Learn more.
2. Be mindful of sensitive or shared files you use while working with Agent Mode, since it makes direct changes. Note that at any point you can easily view prior versions of your workbook.
3. For users with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan, your use of this preview feature is governed by the Microsoft Services Agreement and the Microsoft Privacy Statement. If you use the feature under a work or school account provided by an organization you are affiliated with, your use is governed by the Product Terms.

Advanced formula environment

The advanced formula environment makes it easy to create, edit, and reuse formulas and named LAMBDA functions. Key features include:

1. Advanced formula authoring capabilities such as syntax highlighting, inline errors, formatting, and comments.
2. View, format, and edit formulas defined in the grid with an advanced formula bar.
3. Define and edit named functions, ranges, and formulas that can be synchronized with the Excel Name Manager.

LABS.GENERATIVEAI function

This feature creates a custom function called LABS.GENERATIVEAI that you can use to send prompts from the Excel grid to a generative AI model. LABS.GENERATIVEAI returns the results from the model back to your worksheet. Note: Excel now has an in-the-box function (=COPILOT) that brings the power of large language models directly into the grid and makes it easier than ever to analyze text, generate content, and work faster. See this for details.

Python editor

The Python editor makes it easy to view and edit multiple Python cells in Excel. Anyone can get Excel Labs today; however, you need to have access to Python in Excel to make use of the Python editor. Key features include viewing Python cells in their execution order to follow the flow of calculation, and editing Python using Monaco, the code editor behind Visual Studio Code. Note: The Python Editor is now an in-the-box offering. See this for details.

Some of the projects within Excel Labs were created as part of Microsoft Garage, an outlet for experimental projects for you to try. Learn more at https://garage.microsoft.com.