Category: Data Analysis

From Cells to Chat – Excel Agent vs. M365 Analyst Agent (Same Boston Crime Stats, Two Very Different Conversations)

Last week I explored the Boston Crime Statistics dataset (~260,000 rows) using Excel Agent Mode, which lives within Excel. This week I revisited the same dataset with the same question using Microsoft’s M365 Analyst Agent – it is a completely different experience.

Both tools analyze data and generate insights, but they differ in how you interact with them and how they talk, and show their work. One keeps you grounded in the familiar grid of Excel; the other lifts you into a conversational workspace (real Conversational Data Analytics) that feels more like working with a colleague than a formula bar.

Boston Crime Stats Revisited – Excel Labs Agent Mode Does The Job.

Earlier this year I compared Google Colab and Excel Copilot for analyzing Boston Crime Statistics (Google Colab vs Excel Copilot). This time I tried the same data set with Excel Labs Agent Mode and it was a completely different experience in Excel.

With the same dataset – 260,000 records of Boston crime incidents – and the difference is night and day. Where Copilot stumbled and failed, while Agent Mode delivered a complete analysis with explanations and recommendations, all while staying comfortably within Excel.

From Formulas to Conversations: How Excel’s Agent Mode Will Redefine Data Analytics

It used to be great to find others that ‘spoke Excel’ – understood the intricacies of the various lookup formulas or when to use index…match. I have spent some time working with Excel Labs Agent Mode and the ‘old’ Excel world is about to change dramatically.

Excel Agent Mode has arrived as part of Microsoft’s Frontier preview program, and after testing it myself to create survey data for my training courses, I can see this isn’t just another incremental update (spreadsheet link included in Further Reading section below). It might make those ribbon menus obsolete.

GenAI Data Analysis: Google Colab’s Gemini vs. Excel Copilot — Which One Should You Use for Conversational Data Analytics?

AI assistants are now integrated into the data tools you use daily, helping to reveal the stories and patterns in your data with natural language commands. Two of the tools I have been working with lately are Google’s ‘Analyse with Gemini’ in their Colab Notebooks and Microsoft’s Copilot in Excel with it’s ‘Advanced Analysis’ prompt. These tools, while on the surface appear similar, do have differences that make them suitable for different types of users.