Microsoft has expanded Copilot in Excel with a change history that has been available since September 2026 for customers with a Copilot license. On command, the AI summarizes who edited a shared spreadsheet and when, and can undo individual changes. A paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required.
The AI summarizes changes in shared spreadsheets
Many Excel spreadsheets in the office are not edited by just one person: A team collaboratively maintains budgets, forecasts, or project lists in the same file. Until now, it was often unclear who last changed which number without checking each cell individually or asking colleagues one by one. This is now taken over by the new change history of Copilot in Excel.
Anyone asking in the Copilot chat window, “Who changed the values in the Forecast sheet?” or “Summarize the changes from the last seven days,” receives an answer in complete sentences instead of a technical list. Copilot assigns each change to a person and a time and can highlight edits from different colleagues in different colors if desired. According to Microsoft’s announcement on its own tech blog, changes made by Copilot itself as part of other functions can also be identified. This way, it remains clear whether an adjustment was made by a human or by the AI. The function does not replace the classic change tracking in Excel but complements it with an understandable summary in everyday language.
Accounting and administration save search work
A practical example: An administrator opens the shared sales spreadsheet on Monday morning and finds a formula in the profit column suddenly broken. Instead of going through each cell individually, she asks Copilot which change triggered the error. The AI shows the responsible edit, explains the error in simple terms, and restores the last working version if desired.
Copilot in Excel can now also automate the month-end closing – the change history adds transparency about who last touched which number. For accounting, this means: fewer inquiries within the team, less time spent reconciling copies, and a traceable record during internal audits or at year-end. The overview also helps in project work: A team leader can see in seconds on Monday what has changed in the shared task list over the weekend instead of comparing each line themselves. Excel stores supported changes for up to 365 days. Those who previously worked with color-coded copies or email inquiries to colleagues can often skip this intermediate step now.
Available worldwide – the Copilot add-on license is required
The change history has been generally available since early September 2026, without a separate sign-up for a trial phase. The function runs in Excel for the web, for Windows, and for Mac, worldwide and explicitly also in Germany and Austria. However, a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license for businesses is required, which Microsoft currently offers from €15.60 per user per month in an annual subscription – the promotional price is valid until the end of December 2026. There is no free private version of the change history, so a pure Microsoft 365 subscription without the Copilot add-on is not sufficient. The quickest way to find out if the license is already booked in one’s own company is to ask the IT department or check the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Here’s how to find the function:
- Open an Excel file that is shared with other people.
- In the Copilot chat window, ask a question about changes, such as “Who changed the values in the Sales sheet?”.
- Alternatively, open the “Review” tab and click the “Show Changes” button.
- Check the responses and color markings before reusing or sending results.
It will be crucial whether teams actually use the change history instead of continuing to compare individual cells manually. It remains to be seen how reliable the summaries will be for very large, heavily nested workbooks; Microsoft itself recommends checking AI responses before further use. Anyone maintaining customer or company data in shared spreadsheets should observe the internal guidelines for data handling in the company before releasing to Copilot.
