Why isn't copilot working

Question

No matter what I do in Excel I get this message I'm sorry, but there was an error processing your request.

Answer 1

Hi Donna,

Based on your information, this error means Copilot is failing before it can complete the request, and the most likely causes of this behavior are usually a service-side issue or account/license validation.

I have checked Microsoft 365 Service Health and found out that there was a service degradation started on July 24 which also affected Copilot Chat. However, as of now, the incident is confirmed to be resolved and Microsoft service is operational again.

Therefore, I suggest first checking the app status and account validation:

• Go to File > Account > Sign out of your work account
• Complete close Excel > reopen and sign back with the account then test Copilot again
• Ensure you are signed into the right work/school account.

If the Copilot still fails repeatedly, I highly recommend reaching out to your organization's IT administrator for further assistance. Your admin may have elevated permissions to perform deeper troubleshooting such as checking your Microsoft Copilot license status, verify whether Copilot or connected experiences are disabled in your tenant or reviewing system-level configurations. If needed, your IT admin can also escalate the issue to Microsoft Support by submitting a support ticket through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, which may help identify any backend or tenant-specific causes.

If you’re unsure who your Microsoft 365 administrator is, the following article can help you identify the correct contact at your organization: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support  

As a moderator, my role is to provide general guidance and assist with common troubleshooting steps. While I do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues, I’ll continue doing my best to support you within the scope of my responsibilities.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out again in the comments on this post. I'm happy to assist you further

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I'm looking forward to your reply.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.