So Excel turned 40 this week! Officially middle-aged.

But no mid-life crisis here. In fact, it's getting better with age.

I had a thought as I was walking to work on Wednesday: What are the top 10 features I actually used in the past 40 days?

Not my favorites. But ones I ended up using the most.

Here's my list:

1. Power Query
2. FILTER function
3. XLOOKUP function
4. Python in Excel
5. Custom Number Formatting
6. Checkboxes
7. Pivot Tables
8. Power Pivot
9. GROUPBY function
10. Copilot (Mainly testing it now to see what's actually useful versus just hype.)

Ten years ago, only TWO of these would be on my list!

You know what's crazier though?

Most people I talk to don't even know Excel has half these features. Meanwhile, I can't imagine doing my work without them.

I have YouTube videos on all of these if you want to learn the basics. But if you're serious about mastering them, our XelPlus courses go way deeper.

What would be on your list?

Speaking of what's new in Excel...

🤖 Agent Mode

Big birthday, big release.

Microsoft just introduced Agent Mode for Excel and Word. It's the latest AI feature that promises to leave regular Copilot in the dust.

They're calling it "vibe working" (yeah, even though "vibe coding" has gotten a pretty bad rep lately).

Agent Mode takes complex Excel tasks and breaks them down step-by-step. Start with a simple prompt and watch it work in real time: building financial reports, running analyses, creating loan calculators...

It beats Copilot in accuracy but still trails human analysts.

My take: Cool tool. But someone still needs to check the work, own the results, and explain it to the boss when things go sideways. AI's great at doing. Not so great at being accountable.

Available now for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers. Works in Excel and Word on the web (desktop coming soon). To try it, install the Excel Labs add-in and choose Agent Mode (Frontier).

I'm taking it for a spin to see if it has potential to make it to my top 10.

I'll report back.

🫗 Pivot Tables now #SPILL

Even the oldest features on my list are getting fresh updates.

If you use Pivot Tables, you probably know that annoying popup when something blocks the expansion.

Now, Excel is replacing the popup with an in-cell #SPILL! error, just like in FILTER or SORT functions.

Your Pivot Table collapses into the first cell showing the error. Clear the blockage when you're ready. No popup interrupting your flow.

Now rolling out to Insiders on the Beta channel.

This change should improve the Auto-refresh experience, which was introduced back in July.

🌐 Excel Summit 2026 - Early Bird tickets now on sale!

Want to know where I go to actually learn what's new in Excel and connect with people who geek out about it as much as I do?

Global Excel Summit.

The 2026 website just launched. First speakers are announced. And I'll have the pleasure of opening the conference again next year!

Same venue (Soho Place Theatre in London), better timing. They swapped freezing February for hopefully warmer May.

🗓️ 19-20 May 2026 (conference)

🗓️ 18, 20, 21 May 2026 (masterclasses)

If spending a few days in London with fellow Excel experts sounds like your kind of thing, early bird tickets are live now. Online passes available too.

Use code LEILA at checkout for 20% off on top of the Early Bird discount.

(The discount code box shows up at the last step. Click "Continue to Checkout" twice, then enter LEILA in the Order Summary.)

💚 The Excel Birthday Musical

How do you properly celebrate Excel's birthday? Why, with a musical number, of course 😁

When Giles Male from Full Stack Modeller asked me to fly to the UK for this, I was like:

what? what is this? what do you mean?

He said: Don't worry.

So I didn't.... until I heard the lyrics. 😅

(At least I didn't have to sing them, you'll be relieved to know 😉)

Yeah, we all have serious jobs. But you gotta have some fun sometimes, right?

Speaking of serious work...

💚 Excel doesn't have to be scary

When I started using Excel in 2000, I was completely overwhelmed. I know exactly how it feels to stare at a tool and have no idea where to start. So when I read this note from Amir, I got it:

Amir Forouzanfar

I had a massive fear of Excel at the beginning. I just finished the first part of the bundle package. I'm not saying I am really good at it, but at least I'm not fearful of Excel anymore. This course has given me a little candle of knowledge and confidence so far to carry and find my way; I hope I will feel like I will have a big torch at the end of the course on my way to success.

Excel can do a LOT. Which is exactly why it feels overwhelming.

It helps when you know what to ignore and what to focus on. That's what the Excel Essentials Bundle is built for.

See you next week,

Leila

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