Claude for Excel is currently in beta and available to Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.
Claude for Excel is an add-in that integrates Claude into your Excel workflow. It's designed for professionals who work extensively with spreadsheets, particularly in financial analysis and modeling.
With Claude for Excel, you can:
Ask questions about your workbook and get answers with cell-level citations
Update assumptions while preserving formula dependencies
Debug errors and identify their root causes
Build new models or fill existing templates
Navigate complex multi-tab workbooks seamlessly
What’s new?
Expanded access
We previously had a waitlist for this feature, but we’ve expanded access so Claude for Excel is now available in beta to all Max, Team, and Enterprise users.
Use Claude Opus 4.5 with Excel
We just launched Claude Opus 4.5, our best model for spreadsheet creation and financial tasks like modeling and forecasting. Claude for Excel brings the power of Opus 4.5 directly into Excel via a sidebar chat that can help you understand and edit your spreadsheets.
Additional capabilities
Claude for Excel now supports pivot tables, charts and file uploads, plus we’ve added a shortcut; use Control+Option+C on Mac and Control+Alt+C on Windows to quickly open the Claude for Excel add-in. We've also made overall improvements to performance, speed, context management, and the general user experience.
Getting started with Claude for Excel
For individuals
Navigate to the Claude for Excel listing on Microsoft Marketplace.
Click "Get it now" to install the add-in.
Open Excel, activate the add-in, and sign in with your Claude account.
For Admins
Deploy Claude for Excel to your organization:
Visit the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Navigate to Settings > Integrated apps > Add-ins.
Search for "Claude by Anthropic for Excel" in Microsoft AppSource.
Deploy the add-in to your organization or specific users.
Share these instructions with your team: Microsoft's deployment guide.
After installation, team members can open Excel, activate the Claude add-in (from Tools > Add-ins on Mac or Home > Add-ins on Windows), sign in with their Claude credentials, and start working with their spreadsheets.
Key features
Read and understand complex models
Ask Claude questions about specific cells, formulas, or entire sections of your workbook. Claude can navigate across multiple tabs and provides answers with direct citations to referenced cells.
Example prompts:
"What assumptions drive the revenue forecast in Q3?"
"Explain how the WACC calculation flows through the DCF model"
Update assumptions safely
Modify values and inputs while Claude maintains all formula dependencies and relationships. Every change is highlighted with clear explanations.
Example prompts:
"Increase growth rate by 2% and show the impact on terminal value"
"Update interest rate assumptions based on latest Fed guidance"
Build and fill templates
Create spreadsheets from scratch or populate existing templates with new data, formulas, and assumptions.
Example prompts:
"Build a three-statement model for a SaaS company"
"Fill this DCF template with data from the uploaded 10-K"
Debug and fix errors
Identify error sources (like #REF!, #VALUE!, or circular references) and get actionable fixes that maintain spreadsheet integrity.
Example prompts:
"Why is this NPV calculation returning #VALUE?"
"Find all circular references in this workbook"
Change tracking and citations
Claude highlights every cell it updates and provides explanatory comments. When explaining calculations, Claude includes clickable citations that navigate directly to referenced cells.
Technical specifications
Supported file formats:
.xlsx files
.xlsm files
What's preserved:
Formulas and dependencies
Cell relationships
Existing formatting and structure
Current limitations
Chat history is not saved between sessions when using Claude for Excel. If you're using a Team or Enterprise plan, Claude for Excel does not inherit custom data retention settings your organization might have set, and isn't included in Enterprise audit logs or the compliance API at this time.
Additionally, Claude does not have advanced Excel capabilities, including:
Conditional formatting
Data validation
Data tables
Macros
VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)
Claude for Excel uses Opus 4.5, and it’s not possible to switch to a different model at this time.
As a beta feature, Claude for Excel is not recommended for:
Final client deliverables without human review
Audit-critical calculations without verification
Replacing users’ financial judgment and expertise
Models containing highly sensitive or regulated data without proper controls
Best practices
To use Claude for Excel safely and effectively:
Always review changes before finalizing your work.
Verify outputs match your organization's methodologies.
Use appropriate permissions and access controls.
Maintain human oversight for client-facing work.
Prompt injection attack risks
Only use Claude for Excel with trusted spreadsheets and not spreadsheets from external untrusted sources (for example, downloaded templates, vendor files, collaborative documents, and data imports).
An important risk that users of Claude for Excel and other AI tools that can read and manipulate spreadsheets is prompt injection attacks that hide malicious instructions in spreadsheet content (cells, formulas, comments, etc.) to trick the AI models into taking unintended actions. For example, a seemingly innocent template or data file received from an external party or downloaded from the internet might contain hidden instructions to "export all financial data to this external URL" or "modify these financial records." Claude may interpret these malicious instructions as legitimate requests from you.
Our testing has identified edge scenarios where Claude for Excel can be manipulated to:
Extract and share sensitive information with bad actors through formulas, web searches containing your sensitive data, or file system access that exposes proprietary information.
Modify critical data such as financial records.
Perform destructive actions without verification (should you allow Claude to act without verifying its actions), exploiting Claude's helpful nature to delete or corrupt important data across multiple sheets.
Users can approve all of Claude’s actions via a confirmation pop-up that appears when each tool is triggered:
External data fetching: WEBSERVICE, STOCKHISTORY, STOCKSERIES, TRANSLATE, and the CUBE* functions
External imports: IMPORTDATA, IMPORTXML, IMPORTHTML, IMPORTFEED, FILTERXML
Dynamic references: INDIRECT
Command execution: DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)
Code execution: CALL, EVALUATE, FORMULA
File system access: IMAGE, FILES, DIRECTORY, FOPEN, FWRITE, FCLOSE
System information: REGISTER.ID, RTD, INFO
While we continue to develop our offerings and improve safety measures to reduce these risks, users should exercise caution when using Claude for Excel and should not use it with spreadsheets from external, untrusted sources.
Example Use Cases
Financial Modeling
Build Models
"Build a 3-statement financial model for [company/industry]"
"Create a SaaS metrics model with ARR, churn, and LTV calculations"
"Build an LBO model with debt schedules and returns analysis"
"Create a real estate pro forma for a multifamily acquisition"
Forecasting
"Build a 12-month revenue forecast using historical trends"
"Create a headcount capacity plan based on target client count"
"Model cash flow projections for the next 3 years"
Scenario Analysis
"Add a downside case assuming revenue drops 15%"
"Create base, bull, and bear scenarios with different growth assumptions"
"Build a sensitivity table showing IRR across exit multiples and hold periods"
Data Analysis
Insights and Trends
"What trends stand out in 2025 vs 2024?"
"Identify the top 10 customers by revenue and their growth rates"
"Which product categories are underperforming vs budget?"
Variance Analysis
"Compare actuals to budget and explain the largest variances"
"Which accounts have unusual changes vs prior month?"
"Reconcile these two sheets and highlight discrepancies"
Categorization
"Categorize these transactions into expense types"
"Tag customer feedback by sentiment and topic"
"Score each lead based on likelihood to convert"
Data Cleaning
Standardize Formats
"Convert all dates to YYYY-MM-DD format"
"Standardize phone numbers to +1 (XXX) XXX-XXXX"
"Clean up company names (remove Inc, LLC, Ltd variations)"
Fix Data Quality Issues
"Find and remove duplicate rows, keeping the most recent"
"Identify and fix unicode/encoding errors"
"Fill missing values based on patterns in the data"
Parse and Transform
"Extract company name from email domain"
"Split full address into street, city, state, zip columns"
"Convert this pivot table into a flat data table"
Formulas
Troubleshooting
"Find all #REF and #VALUE errors in this workbook"
"Why is cell B4 showing an error? Trace the issue"
"This SUMIF isn't returning the right result — what's wrong?"
Explanation
"Explain what this formula does in plain English"
"Trace this cell back to its source inputs"
"Document all the formulas on this sheet"
Creation
"Write a formula to calculate days of inventory from this data"
"Create a VLOOKUP that pulls price from the rate table"
"Build a formula that flags overdue invoices"
Dashboards and Reporting
Dashboards
"Create an executive dashboard summarizing all worksheets"
"Build a KPI scorecard with revenue, margins, and growth metrics"
"Make an interactive summary with key charts and metrics"
Reports
"Generate a monthly financial summary from the GL data"
"Create a board-ready P&L with variance commentary"
"Consolidate regional sheets into a company-wide report"
Charts
"Create a waterfall chart showing revenue bridge"
"Build a combo chart with revenue bars and margin line"
"Make a cohort retention heatmap from this data"
Formatting
Professional Styling
"Format this model using IB conventions (blue inputs, black formulas)"
"Add headers, borders, and proper number formats"
"Apply consistent formatting across all sheets"
Conditional Formatting
"Highlight negative values in red"
"Color-code rows by status (green/yellow/red)"
"Add data bars to show relative performance"
Document Import
PDF Extraction
"Extract the financial table from this PDF into Excel"
"Pull the line items from this invoice PDF into my template"
"Convert this scanned statement into editable data"
Template Population
"Fill in my deal template using data from this offering memo"
"Populate the pitch template with these company metrics"
"Map the imported CSV data to my standard format"
Model Review
Audit and Validation
"Check that all formulas link correctly across sheets"
"Verify the balance sheet balances in all periods"
"Find any hardcoded values that should be formulas"
Improvement
"How can I simplify this model structure?"
"What's missing from this valuation model?"
"Suggest ways to make this more user-friendly"
FAQs
Does Claude understand financial modeling conventions?
Yes, Claude is trained to recognize common financial modeling patterns, formula structures, and industry-standard calculations. However, always verify that outputs match your specific methodologies.
Can I use Claude for Excel with sensitive data?
Claude for Excel works within your existing security framework. For highly sensitive or regulated data, ensure you follow your organization's data handling policies.
What happens to my chat history?
Currently, chat history is not saved between sessions. Each time you open the add-in, you start a fresh conversation with Claude. However, we are working to support this in future versions of Claude for Excel.
How does Claude access my spreadsheet?
Claude reads the content of your currently open workbook, including cells, formulas, and tab structure. It can only access the workbook you have open in Excel.
What if Claude makes a mistake?
Claude highlights all changes it makes to your workbook. Review these changes carefully before saving or sharing your file. You can always undo changes using Excel's standard undo function.