Until Recently, Copilot was Mainly About Getting Quick Help—Asking a Question and Getting an Answer.
Today, Copilot is evolving in two important ways. Chat modes let you control how Copilot responds, whether you want a fast, straightforward answer, a balanced response, or deeper reasoning for more complex thinking. Building on that, Agent modes in Word and Excel Online take things further by moving Copilot from simply responding to you, to actively working alongside you—helping draft content, analyze data, and move work forward directly inside the tools you already use.
What Copilot Chat Mode?
Copilot now gives you three ways to get answers — Auto, Quick response, and Think deeper.
Each one helps you work smarter depending on what you’re trying to do.
Here’s an easy way to understand them (and when to switch modes!).
| Mode | What Copilot Does | Best For |
| Auto (default) | Answers immediately with minimal reasoning | Fast, simple, factual asks |
| Think deeper | Spends extra time reasoning before answering | Comple |
| Mode | What it is | Why it's helpful | Prompts to Try |
| Auto (the default) | Auto is the “just take care of it” mode. It decides how much thinking is needed based on your question. If your ask is simple, it answers fast. If your question is complex, it slows down and reasons a bit more. |
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| Quick response | Quick response is all about speed. Copilot gives you a fast, simple answer with minimal analysis. |
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| Think deeper | Think deeper is Copilot’s slow‑down-and-think mode. It spends more time reasoning through your question to give a thoughtful, structured answer. |
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Notes:
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What is Agent Mode in Microsoft Word?
Agent mode turns Copilot from a “one‑and‑done” helper into a true writing partner.
Instead of giving you a single answer and stopping, it works with you through multiple steps—drafting, editing, researching, restructuring, and refining—right inside the Word document.
What You Can Use It For |
Why You Should Try |
Creating long, structured documents from start to finish |
Agent mode shines when you’re working on big, information‑heavy documents such as:
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Editing through a real back-and-forth conversation |
Unlike regular Copilot prompts, Agent mode supports a multi‑step process:
It’s collaborative, iterative, and designed for continuous refinement. |
Making conversational edits directly in your document |
From Copilot Chat, you can simply ask it to:
The edits show up right in your document, with controls so you can see exactly what changed. |
Doing research and synthesis while you write |
Agent mode helps bring complex ideas together by:
It lets you stay focused on your ideas—not formatting or mechanics. |
Moving drafts smoothly into Word for collaboration |
You can:
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What is Agent Mode in Microsoft Excel Online?
Agent Mode in Excel Online turns Copilot into an active partner at your side. Instead of just giving you answers or suggesting formulas, it actually helps build your spreadsheet with you.
It can create, edit, organize, and reshape your workbook step‑by‑step — all while you stay in control and watch the changes happen.
What You Can Use It For |
Why You Should Try |
Building a budget or financial model from scratch |
Agent Mode is designed to build full workbooks, not just formulas. It can create tables, link sheets, apply formulas, and format the model using Excel’s native features so everything stays editable and recalculates properly. This is a core scenario Microsoft explicitly calls out |
Fixing or rebuilding a complex, inherited spreadsheet |
Agent Mode can identify, fix, and reconnect formulas across the workbook, not just explain them. It applies the fixes directly in Excel and explains what changed, which is especially useful for large or legacy files. |
Creating a report with tables, PivotTables, and charts |
This is a multi‑element task. Agent Mode can create the underlying tables, build PivotTables, generate charts, and format the output as a cohesive report—something standard Copilot isn’t designed to do end‑to‑end. |
Reshaping or merging data from multiple sheets |
Microsoft positions Agent Mode as best for complex, multi‑step data reshaping, including merging sheets and reorganizing structures—tasks that usually require several manual Excel steps |
Scenario modeling and what‑if analysis |
Agent Mode can build and adjust scenario models, change assumptions, and recalculate results automatically. Microsoft explicitly lists scenario modeling as a primary use case |
Creating dashboards from raw data |
Agent Mode can create tables, PivotTables, and charts together, producing dashboards that remain fully dynamic and update when the data changes |
When you know the outcome but not the Excel steps |
Microsoft’s own examples show Agent Mode excelling when users describe the end goal, and the agent figures out the steps—creating tables, formulas, and formatting automatically. |
Copilot in your M365 game changing apps.
Forms + Copilot
Easily create surveys and polls.
OneNote + Copilot
Digital note taking for individuals or teams.
Stream + Copilot
Manage your organizations video content.
Loop + Copilot
Co-create, organize and reimagine content.
Planner + Copilot
Get everyone on the same page and work better.
Whiteboard + Copilot
Capture ideas with pen to paper like capabilities.
