MC1184407 – M365 Change Digest

One-line summary

App Skills in Excel will be retired and replaced by Agent Mode, streamlining Copilot features; rollout starts December 2025 and completes by February 2026.

Similar updates

Details

Summary

App Skills in Excel will be retired starting December 2025, replaced by Agent Mode in Excel for a streamlined experience. All Microsoft 365 Copilot Excel users will lose App Skills access. No admin action is needed; users should explore Agent Mode and update documentation accordingly.

Body (from Message Center)

[Introduction]

As part of ongoing improvements to the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience, App Skills in Excel will be retired. Capabilities previously accessed through App Skills are being consolidated into Agent Mode in Excel, offering a more streamlined and integrated way to perform tasks directly on the grid. This change simplifies the user experience and aligns with our goal of delivering consistent, intelligent assistance across Excel.

Screenshot 1: App Skills option will be removed

user settings

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide):
Rollout will begin in early December 2025 and is expected to complete by late February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

All users of Excel with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

What will happen:

App Skills in Excel will be removed from supported versions.
Users will no longer be able to access App Skills via the Copilot chat pane.
Agent Mode in Excel will begin rolling out to supported versions, offering similar and expanded capabilities.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required at this time.

Encourage users to explore alternative solutions within Excel including using M365 Copilot Chat.
Recommend trying Agent Mode in Excel once it becomes available.
Communicate this change to helpdesk or support staff.
Update internal documentation if App Skills are referenced.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Raw JSON (for debugging)

Expand/collapse the full payload below.

Show/hide raw

{
  "snapshot_item": {
    "action_required_by": null,
    "ai_action_required_by": null,
    "ai_actions": [
      "Communicate change to helpdesk/support",
      "Update internal documentation",
      "Encourage users to try Agent Mode"
    ],
    "ai_master_tags": [],
    "ai_model": "gpt-4.1",
    "ai_summary": "App Skills in Excel will be retired and replaced by Agent Mode, streamlining Copilot features; rollout starts December 2025 and completes by February 2026.",
    "ai_topics": [
      "Microsoft 365 Apps",
      "Copilot",
      "Excel"
    ],
    "category": "planForChange",
    "details_map": {
      "Summary": "App Skills in Excel will be retired starting December 2025, replaced by Agent Mode in Excel for a streamlined experience. All Microsoft 365 Copilot Excel users will lose App Skills access. No admin action is needed; users should explore Agent Mode and update documentation accordingly."
    },
    "id": "MC1184407",
    "importance": 4,
    "is_major_change": true,
    "last_modified": "2025-11-10T16:01:54Z",
    "ms_products": [
      "Microsoft 365 Apps",
      "Copilot"
    ],
    "platforms": null,
    "roadmap_ids": [],
    "services": [
      "Microsoft 365 apps",
      "Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft 365)"
    ],
    "severity": "normal",
    "tags": [
      "User impact",
      "Retirement"
    ],
    "title": "App Skills in Excel will be retired"
  }
}