How Microsoft is Making Excel an AI-Powered Platform with Product Manager Brian Jones

About this episode

Paul Barnhurst interviews Brian Jones about the integration of AI in Excel and its impact on financial modeling.

In this episode of Financial Modeler’s Corner, host Paul Barnhurst sits down with Brian Jones, Vice-President: Microsoft Excel, Forms, Office Platforms, to discuss how Excel is evolving in the era of AI and large language models. They explore how Copilot, agent mode, and AI-driven features are reshaping how professionals build, analyse, and improve spreadsheets. Brian also shares insights into how AI can assist financial modelers, automate tedious spreadsheet tasks, and help users understand complex workbooks faster. Brian Jones is the Vice-President: Microsoft Excel, Forms. He has worked at Microsoft since 1999 across several productivity platforms, including Word, Office Forms, and developer extensibility tools. In his current role, Brian leads the Excel product team as they integrate AI capabilities like Copilot and agent mode to expand what users can accomplish inside spreadsheets. Expect to Learn How AI and Copilot are changing the Excel user experience What “agent mode” means for automating spreadsheet tasks How AI can help analyse and improve financial models Why Excel still requires strong modeling and formula knowledge How skill sheets and templates can guide AI inside…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Barnhurst

Guest: Brian Jones

Topics covered

• AI in Excel
• Excel user experience
• financial modeling
• automation in spreadsheets
• AI-driven features

Keywords

• AI
• Excel
• financial modelers
• automation
• Copilot
• agent mode
• spreadsheets
• productivity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Microsoft

Products: Excel, Copilot, Forms, Office Platforms

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