Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
Microsoft 365 users who need some AI-powered assistance with their files have a couple of options. As long as you subscribe to a plan that includes Copilot, you can tap into Microsoft’s AI to help you draft, edit, analyze, and summarize your files. Another option now available is Anthropic’s Claude, and that’s one worth considering.
With Claude AI, you’re able not only to work in a single application but also to work across multiple applications. For example, you can ask Claude to generate a PowerPoint presentation based on data in an Excel spreadsheet or create a Word document based on information from a PowerPoint presentation.
Also: How to learn Claude Code for free with Anthropic’s AI courses – one took me just 20 minutes
As usual, there are a few requirements. First, you need a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise). That means free accounts aren’t supported. Second, you should have a Microsoft 365 subscription. Third, you need the add-ins for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, all of which you can download from the Microsoft Marketplace. Despite the need for Microsoft 365, the add-ins are supposed to work in the 2016 edition or later (Windows and Mac) and the web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Claude also offers an add-in for Microsoft Outlook. But here, I decided to focus just on the three core Office productivity applications. Since I have a Microsoft 365 Family plan and a Claude AI Pro subscription, I met the requirements. With that in mind, I recently took Claude AI for a spin across Microsoft 365 to see how it fared. Here’s what happened.
How I use Claude with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
What you need: To get started, I first had to download the various add-ins. For Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you can download each add-in separately, depending on which ones you want. Alternatively, you can download the Claude for Microsoft 365 add-in to access them all in one shot.
An icon for Claude is added to the ribbon of each of the three applications. You’re prompted to sign in to Claude to activate the AI. The side pane then opens, allowing you to work with Claude in any document, spreadsheet, or presentation. To open Claude in the side pane in the future, just click its icon on the ribbon.
To dive in here, I first started with a simple task. I opened one of my articles in Word and asked Claude to proofread and copyedit it. In response, the AI highlighted eight suggested corrections or changes that I could review one by one.
Also: I tested ChatGPT vs. Claude to see which is better – and if it’s worth switching
Each suggestion was accompanied by an explanation. Clicking a suggestion showed me the corresponding text in the document. I could then OK each change one by one or apply all of the suggestions in one shot. The suggested changes were all valid and included mistakes that Word’s built-in editor was unable to find.
Next, I turned to Excel. Here, I opened a spreadsheet with a monthly budget and expenses for different categories. I asked Claude to create a pie chart based on the totals. The AI not only created the chart but also added columns showing the category and the total so I could easily compare it with the chart.
My next stop was PowerPoint. Here, I asked Claude to spruce up a presentation that I felt looked boring. The AI questioned my use of the term “spruce up,” telling me that the wording was vague. Claude then analyzed not just the look but the content of the presentation, suggesting that the structure was solid but the visuals were flat.
It asked me how heavy a visual makeover I wanted — light, medium, or heavy. I told it to go with the heavy approach. Claude then told me what it planned on doing and asked for approval, which I gave.
Also: I compared how Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude can analyze videos – this model wins
Along the way, the AI kept me abreast of what it was doing and asked for permission to make certain changes. In the end, Claude updated the theme for the entire presentation with a warmer and more appealing look. The entire process took a while as Claude was careful each step of the way. But in the end, I was quite happy with the results.
For my next and final task, I asked Claude to create a document in Word based on the information in a PowerPoint presentation, the same one the AI had just spruced up. For this, I opened both the presentation and a blank document in Word and submitted my request. In response, Claude generated and formatted the document, included all the information from PowerPoint, and added some flair to the text.
Overall, I was very impressed with the work Claude did across the entire Microsoft 365 suite. I typically avoid using AI in my documents and files, as I’ve been disappointed with the efforts of Copilot in the past. But with this new integration, I’ll keep Claude handy in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, knowing that I can use it easily and effectively.
“`
