Research and data · 10 min

Analyze a sales export with the Analyst agent

Copilot app, Analyst agent

Jump to the prompt ↓

Short answer: Open the Copilot app, select Analyst under Agents, ask your question, and attach the file with + and Attach content. Analyst returns a report with charts and tables. Check its numbers against a few rows in the source.

Last checked against Microsoft docs: Oct 21, 2026

You've seen ChatGPT's data analysis or Claude's analysis tool crunch a CSV. Here's how in Copilot: the Analyst agent reads your Excel or CSV files and returns a report with stats, trends, outliers and charts.

A common situation (composite)

My manager asks "which region is slipping and why?"
I have the export.
I don't know how to answer that in Excel.

What you get

Before you start

1. Needs: Microsoft 365 Copilot. Not sure what you have? Start here.
2. Where: Copilot app, Analyst agent.
3. Access: Copilot only uses content you already have permission to open. Use only information your company allows in Copilot.

The steps

1. Open the Copilot app and select Analyst under Agents.
2. Paste the prompt.
3. Select + then Attach content, and pick or upload the file.
4. Read the report and check two numbers by hand.

Copy this prompt

Compare sales by [region] and [quarter] in the attached file.
- Which [regions] grew and which dropped, and by how much?
- Any outliers? Show them in a table.
- One chart I can paste into a slide.
- Tell me which columns you used and any rows you dropped and why.

(Prompt from stuckwithcopilot.com/guides/analyst-sales-data/)

Data tip: use this with your work Copilot, and leave out passwords, payment details and anything your company marks restricted.

What a good result looks like

If a feature is missing

If Analyst isn't listed, your admin may not have turned it on. Use Copilot in Excel for the same questions.

Make it smarter

Keep a short "What it got wrong" note. Paste it above the prompt next time, like "Don't invent dates".

Not sure what to ask? Copy the quick note for your Copilot admin.

Sales questions worth asking

Analyst is most useful when you ask the questions your manager will ask anyway, before the meeting.

• Regions: compare sales across regions or reps, with the biggest change called out.
• Product mix: which products sell together, and which customers bought one but not the other.
• Upsell results: how last quarter's add-on push went, as a short report.

Prompt

Using this sales export: compare [revenue] by [region] for the last two quarters. Then show which products are most often bought together, and list customers who bought [product A] but not [product B]. Show the calculation for every number.

(Prompt from stuckwithcopilot.com/guides/analyst-sales-data/)

Make it better

Run this next, in the same chat.

Now write five plain bullets for my manager: what changed, why it might have changed, and one thing to try next quarter. Label anything that's a guess as a guess.

(Prompt from stuckwithcopilot.com/guides/analyst-sales-data/)

Data tip: use this with your work Copilot, and leave out passwords, payment details and anything your company marks restricted.

Questions people ask

Cite or share this guide

Analyze a sales export with the Analyst agent. Stuck with Copilot. https://stuckwithcopilot.com/guides/analyst-sales-data/ Last checked Oct 21, 2026.

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Official references

• Get started with Analyst in Microsoft Copilot

Last checked against Microsoft docs: Oct 21, 2026.