I don't see the Copilot icon in the Home ribbon

Question

Hi

I'm using MacOS and I have an M365 Family subscription, for which I am the main user. I don't see the cosily icon in the Home ribbon. I have ticked the box in Excel>Preferences>Copilot to turn it on.

What else do I need to do?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

First, just to clarify, with the Microsoft 365 Family subscription, the Copilot features inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the desktop apps are only available to the subscription owner. Family members get access to the apps themselves, but the integrated Copilot button shows only for the primary account that purchased the plan.

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Here are a few things I recommend checking:

• "How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps" https://support.microsoft.com/office/how-to-find-and-enable-missing-copilot-button-in-microsoft-365-apps-c8482b93-4b96-4bb8-8ec9-5148f4d42441
• Update Office to the latest version. To update your Microsoft 365 license on a Mac, open any Office app (e.g., Word), go to the menu bar, select File > Account, and click Update License under Product Information.
• Update your license. Open any Microsoft 365 app such as Word. > At the top of the screen, select Word (or the app name) in the menu bar. > Select About Word. > Click More Info… > Select "Refresh License".
• After that, close any open documents and completely restart all Microsoft 365 apps so the license refresh can take effect.

If you’re already using the subscription-owner account and everything is up to date, just let me know.

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I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

On macOS with an M365 Family subscription, Copilot in Excel only appears if all Copilot requirements are met and the feature is correctly enabled. Ticking the Copilot box in Excel > Preferences is only one of the steps.

Follow these checks in order:

1. Confirm the correct account and subscription
   Copilot in the desktop apps requires a Copilot-eligible subscription, not just any Microsoft 365 plan. For home users this means:
   • A Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription and Copilot Pro, or
   • Another Copilot-eligible consumer offer as documented in the Copilot requirements.
   If the signed-in account in Excel does not have a Copilot license, the icon will not appear even if the preference is enabled.
2. Make sure Excel is signed in with the Copilot-licensed account
   • In Excel for Mac, check the account shown at the top-right of the window and under Excel > About Excel > More Info… (or File > Account in some builds).
   • The primary account for the app must be the one that has the Copilot license, especially for new/unsaved or local files.
3. Update Office for Mac to the latest build
   Copilot requires a current build of Microsoft 365 apps. On Mac:
   • Use Help > Check for Updates or follow the steps in Update Office for Mac automatically to ensure Excel is fully up to date.
4. Refresh the license in Excel for Mac
   If the subscription or Copilot entitlement was added recently, Excel may not have picked it up yet:
   1. In Excel, open the Excel menu at the top of the screen.
   2. Select About Excel.
   3. Select More Info….
   4. Select Refresh License.
   5. Close all Office apps and reopen Excel.
5. Verify privacy settings for connected experiences
   Copilot will not appear if certain privacy controls are off:
   1. Open Word or Excel on Mac.
   2. Go to Word > Preferences > Privacy (Excel has equivalent privacy settings).
   3. Ensure Experiences that analyze your content is turned on.
   4. Scroll down and ensure All connected experiences is turned on.
6. If managed by an organization, check with the admin
   If the Mac is joined to an organization or uses a work/school account, Copilot can be blocked by admin policies or by using unsupported licensing models (for example, device-based licensing or Shared Computer Activation). In that case, the Microsoft 365 admin must confirm that:
   • A Copilot-supported user-based license is assigned, and
   • Copilot is not blocked by organizational policies.

If all of the above are correct and the icon still does not appear, follow the consolidated troubleshooting steps in How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps, which are the recommended path for Copilot missing on the ribbon.

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References:

• Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Excel
• How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps
• Copilot is missing, disabled, or doesn't work correctly