The best courses for using AI in Excel (2026)

Checked on November 12, 2026, on each platform's own site. Prices are the ones each site shows from the United States. Length is given in the unit each site publishes.

How to choose

First question: which assistant do you have at work? Copilot comes with Microsoft 365, Claude for Excel is an add-in, and ChatGPT works on a copy of your file. Second question: do you want to learn the buttons, or learn to check what the assistant hands back? Most courses teach the first. Few teach the second.

Microsoft Learn: best for a free start with Copilot

Microsoft's two modules take under 40 minutes together and show what Copilot in Excel can do: ask for a formula, summarize a table, find a trend. They're the fastest way to see it working, and they're free. They teach Copilot only, and they don't spend time on how to tell whether an answer is right.

Coursera: best for a longer path with a certificate

Excel and Copilot Fundamentals, made by Microsoft, covers Excel basics and Copilot together over about two weeks, with graded assignments and a certificate. Claude AI in Excel for Business Professionals is shorter, about three hours, and focuses on directing Claude through cleanup, logic and auditing formulas. Both come with Coursera Plus, which also opens the rest of the catalog.

Hey Maestro: best for checking the number before you send it

"Claude for Excel Without the Made-Up Numbers" works with Claude for Excel, Copilot and ChatGPT. It teaches what each one does to your file, how to tell a formula from a pasted value, why an AI's XLOOKUP breaks in your Excel, and three checks that catch the mistake inside the workbook before it reaches your report. It costs $39, paid once, with a 7-day refund. It suits people who already use AI in Excel and have been burned by a number that looked right.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Copilot to take these courses?

For Microsoft's modules and the Microsoft course on Coursera, yes, or at least access to it. Hey Maestro's course works with whichever assistant you have: Claude for Excel, Copilot or ChatGPT.

How do I know if the formula an AI gave me is right?

Ask for the formula, not the number, then read it one argument at a time and test it on rows you can work by hand. Your AI and Your Data, a free Hey Maestro course, teaches the checks that work in any assistant.

How this guide was made

Each option was checked on its own site on November 12, 2026: price, length, language, how you practice, what help is available and the refund policy, citing each platform's terms where they exist. Length is given in the unit each platform publishes: minutes, hours, weeks or, on Hey Maestro, modules and pages. Hey Maestro publishes this guide and sells one of the courses compared, so each section says who each option is best for, including the ones that aren't Hey Maestro's. If something has changed, write to hola@heymaestro.app and the guide will be corrected.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Work smarter in Excel with Copilot Chat and Summarize sales data using Copilot in Excel (lengths from Microsoft Learn's official catalog)
• Coursera: Excel and Copilot Fundamentals, Claude AI in Excel for Business Professionals, Coursera Plus pricing and terms
• Hey Maestro: Claude for Excel Without the Made-Up Numbers and terms, with the refund policy