Training course · Microsoft 365 Copilot · Data Analysis & Excel

Microsoft 365 Copilot for Data Analysis and Excel

Use Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams productively, securely and in line with permissions.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Microsoft 365 Copilot with the everyday processes of Data Analysis & Excel. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI right into the applications where your daily work happens: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. What sets it apart from publicly available chatbots is its grounding in your organisation's data via Microsoft Graph – Copilot can draw on the emails, meetings, chats and documents you already have access to. In this practical day you learn to use that connection deliberately: drafting content from existing files, summarising inboxes and long threads, following up on meetings and generating presentations from Word documents.

You also learn how the licensed Copilot differs from Copilot Chat, when web-grounded and when work-grounded answers make sense, and how to use both prebuilt and your own agents. A central topic is the permission model: Copilot only surfaces what you are allowed to see, so sharing settings in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams directly determine the quality and security of results. You leave with tested prompts for every Office application and a clear understanding of responsible use within your tenant.

In almost every department, decisions are made on the basis of spreadsheets, exports and reports – and much working time goes into cleaning, combining and analysing that data. Generative AI dramatically lowers the barrier to sophisticated analysis. It explains and writes Excel formulas, builds Power Query steps and macros, suggests pivot analyses and charts, generates Python or SQL code for larger datasets and drafts commentary on KPIs. AI agents can prepare recurring reports automatically. This empowers business users to answer questions themselves that once meant waiting for IT or an analytics team. What remains essential is checking results rigorously and keeping an eye on data quality.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Business users who work regularly with Excel and reports
  • Controllers and finance staff
  • Sales and marketing analysts
  • Business analysts and reporting teams
  • Team leads responsible for KPIs

Typical challenges we address

  • Time-consuming manual data cleaning and copy-and-paste processes
  • Complex formulas and macros that only a few people understand
  • Data from different systems in inconsistent formats
  • Error-prone spreadsheets without traceable calculation logic

What you will be able to do

  • You use Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams for your recurring tasks.
  • You write prompts that draw on existing files, emails and meetings as context.
  • You distinguish between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat and choose the right mode.
  • You use prebuilt agents and create a simple agent of your own for your team.
  • Create and understand complex Excel formulas, Power Query steps and macros with AI.
  • Clean, analyse and visualise data faster and more transparently with AI support.
  • Automate recurring reports and check AI results methodically for accuracy.

Course outline

Module 1 Copilot fundamentals and Microsoft Graph
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat: capabilities and licensing
  • Grounding in organisational data through Microsoft Graph
  • Switching between web and work context and referencing specific files
  • Prompt structure with goal, context, source and expectations
Module 2 Word and PowerPoint
  • Drafting from existing documents, notes and emails
  • Rewriting, shortening, adjusting tone and summarising text
  • Generating presentations from Word documents or outlines
  • Refining slides, adding speaker notes and sharpening key messages
Module 3 Excel and data analysis
  • Querying tables, spotting trends and highlighting outliers
  • Getting suggestions for formulas, calculated columns and conditional formatting
  • Creating charts and pivot analyses from natural language
  • Sanity-checking results and ensuring data quality
Module 4 Outlook, Teams and agents
  • Summarising long email threads and drafting replies
  • Summarising Teams meetings and extracting action items and open questions
  • Using Copilot Pages and Notebooks for collaborative work
  • Using prebuilt agents and creating your own with Agent Builder
Module 5 Permissions, data protection and governance
  • The permission model: Copilot only shows what you can access
  • Identifying oversharing in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams
  • Sensitivity labels, data boundaries and GDPR considerations
  • Usage policies, team adoption and measuring impact
Module 6 Practice lab: Data Analysis & Excel
  • Writing and explaining formulas
  • Cleaning and combining data
  • Analyses and charts
  • Python and SQL for large datasets
  • Commenting on KPIs
  • Automating reports
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Spreadsheets often contain personal data about customers or employees as well as confidential business figures, which may only be processed in approved AI environments and ideally anonymised or aggregated. Analyses relating to employees may be subject to works council rights, and responsibility for the accuracy of reports remains with the business unit.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Writing and explaining formulas

AI creates formulas such as XLOOKUP, SUMIFS or dynamic arrays from a plain-language description and explains existing nested formulas step by step. Common pitfalls are pointed out as well.

Cleaning and combining data

For inconsistent exports, AI suggests cleaning steps, builds Power Query queries or scripts for merging, de-duplicating and normalising, and documents the transformations. The steps can be repeated with one click next time.

Analyses and charts

From a business question, AI derives suitable pivot tables, metrics and chart types and helps present results clearly and accurately. Misleading displays such as truncated axes are avoided.

Python and SQL for large datasets

When Excel reaches its limits, AI generates Python or SQL code for analysing larger datasets, which business users run, understand and adapt step by step.

Commenting on KPIs

Variances, trends and anomalies in reports are translated into clear written commentary for management and departments; hypotheses about causes are checked by experts. Reports become self-explanatory in meetings.

Automating reports

Recurring monthly or weekly reports are automated with macros, scripts or AI agents so that data is retrieved, prepared and distributed as a report. Manual steps and transfer errors largely disappear.

Prerequisites

Confident everyday use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams; no prior AI knowledge is required. Confident everyday use of Excel; no programming skills required.

Technical requirements

A laptop with access to Microsoft 365 via your work account; a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is ideal for all exercises, while Copilot Chat covers part of the content.

Data protection & compliance

Spreadsheets often contain personal data about customers or employees as well as confidential business figures, which may only be processed in approved AI environments and ideally anonymised or aggregated. Analyses relating to employees may be subject to works council rights, and responsibility for the accuracy of reports remains with the business unit.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 30 November 2026 Augsburg Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 20 January 2027 Online Request
  • Tue, 26 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Fri, 12 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat?

Copilot Chat is available to many work accounts without an additional licence and answers mainly from web content and uploaded files. The licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot also reaches your emails, meetings and documents through Microsoft Graph and is built directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

Can Copilot see my colleagues' confidential files?

Copilot respects existing permissions and only surfaces content you can already access yourself. Problems arise when files are shared too broadly – with the entire organisation, for instance. In the course you learn how to spot such oversharing and how to fix it properly together with your IT team.

Do I need prompting experience for this course?

No. We start with the fundamentals of good prompts and practise them directly in the Office applications. What matters is that you are comfortable using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams day to day. Everything else – from referencing files to working with agents – we build up step by step through realistic tasks.

Do I need programming skills for data analysis with AI?

No. Good Excel skills are enough to start. AI generates formulas, Power Query steps and, where needed, Python code that you learn to follow step by step. What matters is being able to sanity-check results. The course focuses on exactly these checking techniques alongside hands-on practice.

How reliable are AI-generated formulas and analyses?

Often very good, but not flawless: references, edge cases or wrong assumptions about the data structure lead to silent errors. That is why you verify results with spot checks, control totals and cross-calculations. The course teaches a simple checking routine to apply to every AI-assisted analysis.

How much does “Microsoft 365 Copilot for Data Analysis and Excel” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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