Business Data Analysis with Copilot in Excel & PivotTables (Udemy.com)
Ask questions of your data in plain English and let Copilot do the analysis. Plus the full PivotTables course included
Created by: Ian Littlejohn
Last updated September 2026
What you will learn
- Analyse business data with Copilot in Excel using plain-English prompts, with no formulas, macros or VBA
- Produce 10 core analyses: key metrics, comparison, trend, ranking, contribution, variance, frequency, correlation, Pareto and dashboards
- Write Copilot prompts that return the right answer first time, and check the results before you share them
- Build every one of the 10 analyses with PivotTables too, so you can still work when Copilot is unavailable
- Create interactive Sales, Finance and HR dashboards that update as the underlying data changes
- Generate Python charts inside Excel with Matplotlib and Seaborn, again just by asking
- Prepare and present data using the practices that stop an analysis failing before it starts
Course Description
This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.
If you want to learn how to analyze your data using nothing more than plain English, this course is the one you're looking for. Microsoft Excel Copilot puts an AI data analyst right inside the spreadsheet you already use, and this course shows you exactly how to put it to work. Recorded in high definition video, it teaches you practical skills you can apply in your work environment immediately. Just take a look at the recent comments and reviews!
COURSE CONTENT AND OUTCOMES
This course teaches you how to use Excel Copilot to turn your data into new insight and intelligence, simply by asking questions of it.
The ability to ask questions of your data is a powerful competitive advantage, resulting in new income streams, better decision making and improved productivity. Copilot removes the barrier between you and your answers. Instead of building analysis by hand, you describe what you want to know and Copilot does the heavy lifting, generating the tables, charts and summaries for you in seconds.
During the course you will learn how to write effective Copilot prompts, how to interpret what Copilot gives you back, and how to check its results so you can trust the insight you share. You will understand why each form of analysis matters and see it produced live using Copilot.
Using Excel Copilot, you will learn to produce:
Key Metrics
Comparison Analysis
Trend Analysis
Ranking Analysis
Interactive Dashboards
Contribution Analysis
Variance Analysis
Pareto Analysis
Frequency Analysis
Correlations
For each one you will learn the plain-English prompts that get Copilot to do the work, so you can reproduce the same analysis on your own data straight away.
TWO COURSES IN ONE
As well as the new Excel Copilot material, this course includes the original PivotTables course as a second part. There you will see how to create the very same types of analysis using PivotTables, the traditional way. This gives you the best of both worlds. You learn the fast, prompt-driven Copilot approach, and you also understand what is happening underneath so you can work confidently whether or not Copilot is available to you.
This course is designed for all business professionals who want to take their ability to turn data into information to the next level. If you are an Excel user then you will want to learn the easy, prompt-driven techniques that are taught in this course.
WHAT YOU NEED TO FOLLOW ALONG
The Copilot part of the course requires a Microsoft 365 subscription with Copilot enabled on your account, and it is presented using Excel Copilot in Microsoft 365.
The PivotTables part of the course uses techniques that work in Excel 2016 and every version since, including Excel 2019, Excel 2021, Excel 2024 and Excel in Microsoft 365.
HOW YOU WILL LEARN IT
This is not a course you watch. Every analysis is followed by a written activity brief and the training data to do it on, then a video where I work through the answer with you. There are 26 written lessons and activity briefs in the course, and 42 downloadable data files. Part 2 also includes Udemy's AI role-play exercises: eleven simulated project meetings where you talk each analysis through with Ada, a colleague on a live sales project, and have to explain your own reasoning back.
WHO IS TEACHING YOU
I have been training business people to work with data since 2008, and publishing on Udemy since 2013. Across 16 courses that training has reached more than 400,000 students and 139,000 reviews, at an average of 4.6. This is the course I keep closest to current - it was last updated in July 2026.
START TODAY
By the end of this course you will be able to open a spreadsheet you have never seen before, ask it the right questions in plain English, and have a dashboard your manager can act on - in minutes, not an afternoon. And you will know how to build the same thing by hand when you need to. Enrol now and start with your first analysis today.
Please note that this course does not require any complicated formulas, VBA or macros. In the Copilot part you get Copilot to create the majority of the different data analysis techniques for you simply by asking, and in the PivotTables part you use straightforward drag and drop techniques.
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
24,354 Reviews
Ian Littlejohn
I specialise in training business users to learn powerful methods and techniques to transform data into useful information and intelligence as well as learning strong data analysis methodology.
I completed my university degree in economics and emerged keen and eager to change the world. I spent the first half of my career working for multinational companies, on projects of various sizes, in different sectors, all revolving around analysing data of some sort and working with different software products, including Microsoft Excel.
I found that so many Excel users had a very basic understanding of how Excel works, and instead of using Excel to do the work for them, were doing all the work themselves, using old spreadsheet technology like macros instead of embracing technology like Pivot Tables. Pivot Tables were actually introduced into Excel in 1994 but many Excel users have avoided using them because they seem complicated and difficult to use.
In 2008 I decided to start my own training company and this was borne out of the passion I had to teach Excel users how to work smarter, not harder. As technology evolved, and new systems developed, I continuously expanded my training to include Power BI, Amazon QuickSight, Looker Studio, and most recently Copilot in Excel and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
More courses by Ian Littlejohn
Complete Introduction to Microsoft Power BI (2026)
4.6 (51,162 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 6.1h
$18.99
Power BI Master Class - Dashboards and Power BI Service (2026)
4.5 (12,178 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.6h
$139.99
Complete Introduction to Data Studio (Looker Studio) (2026)
4.6 (9,704 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 5.5h
$13.99
Power BI Master Class-Data Models and DAX Formulas (2026)
4.6 (8,151 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.2h
$15.99
Excel Interactive Dashboards and Data Analysis (2026)
4.6 (7,109 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 3.9h
$74.99
Excel Power Query: Complete Introduction in 2 Hours (2026)
4.6 (6,491 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 2h
$74.99
More Data Analysis courses
Complete neural signal processing and analysis: Zero to hero (2026)
4.8 (2,013 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 46.9h
$12.99
Excel for Business Analysts Online Course (2023)
4.8 (636 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 9.3h
$74.99
Alteryx Designer Advanced Certification Mega Bundle (2023)
4.8 (468 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 16.9h
$69.99
The Complete SQL Bootcamp : From Beginner to Advanced (2026)
4.8 (130 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 14.2h
$19.99
Reviews
By Shivanjan Sharma on 6/26/2026
It was highly practical experience to make analysis on excel. I learn effectively Trend Analysis, Comparison Analysis with activities. Thanks
By Rsahu on 6/25/2026
Nice course for someone who want to get into the usage of excel for dashboarding, for making executive summaries, etc.
By Lanka Thilaka Liyana mendis on 6/22/2026
It's great. I learned lots .Thanks.
By Abd Al-majeed Yousef Zamanoun on 6/7/2026
very good lesson
By Shlok Jagushte on 5/30/2026
This course was amazing. I was aware about a lot of the concepts taught, but still got to learn a lot of new things.
By Arpeeta Pawaskar on 5/24/2026
Its amazing to see how excel can be used to do analysis, study of budgeted and actual figures, comparisons, trend analysis etc.
By Renata Maniw on 5/7/2026
Great intro to the subject matter and will definitely help me in my role
By Elias Sello Marokane on 3/16/2026
The programme is very informative and easy to follow. It also helps to make data analysis more enjoyable and enhance decision making
By Sandra Bennett on 2/2/2026
I was able to follow and work with the speed of the class demonstration. The explanation of each section was right on point.
By Gregor Zupan on 2/1/2026
Hi Ian. You made this course really easy to understand and follow. I feel much more confident and eager to explore other functions. Thank you Gregor
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 90 / 100












