Analyze Data

A few years ago, Excel, which comes as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, got the Ideas option. Now this option has been improved and is called Analyze Data. It enables, with the help of artificial intelligence, simple and fast data analysis to generate tables, pivot tables or charts according to user questions, which help user to visualize data in appropriate business reports.

In order to run this option, we need to have a data table. It can be any table, but it would be preferable if it did not come in the form of a report. A structured table, where categories are organized by columns, and records are located within rows, is a much better choice. Select such table, and then start the Analyze Data option in the Home ribbon. A panel will appear on the right with a suggestion of what you can do with the data…

At the bottom of the window you will see the Discover Insights section. Within it, Excel suggests what kind of visualization, based on the analysis of data, you can add to your report. It could be a table, pivot table, chart, pivot chart…

At the top of the screen there is a field called Ask a question about your data. Within it, using natural language for queries, you can ask a question on the basis of which artificial intelligence, which exists within Excel, will formulate the answer. Excel offers you some predefined questions at the start. Sometimes it’s a good decision to choose one of them, but feel free to set your own. One such question could be: ” Show me sales in time period with total “. As a result, Excel will offer a chart showing the total value of sales by quarter. With one click you can add it to the report!

Let’s rephrase the question: ” Show me sales by item names with total in a pivot table”. This time, since we emphasized it, we will get a sales report within the pivot table.

You can repeat the process several times, until you manage to visualize the data in a way that suits you best.