Copilot Workshop Checklist: 10 IT Checks So Nobody Loses the Button Mid-Session
Bottom line: Microsoft documents why Copilot goes missing, and IT can test most of those causes before the day. This page turns them into 10 if-then checks for one workshop.
Run them on the device types and account types your attendees will use. A check that passes on your admin laptop proves nothing. (I run these sessions, so this is the list I'd want from your IT team.)
Copilot workshop checklist: licences and accounts
1If an attendee's label reads Copilot Chat (Basic), then they have no Copilot in Excel
Microsoft says that label means no access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. In-app Copilot was removed for some unlicensed users on 15 April 2026. A line at about 2,000 users is reported, but Microsoft's public docs don't state it, so let the label decide. M365 Copilot (Basic) is standard access, which Microsoft says is subject to service capacity. Attendees find theirs by signing in to Microsoft 365 with their work account and scrolling to the bottom of the home page. Admins can run the Copilot License Details diagnostic.
2If you assigned licences recently, then expect a delay that Microsoft puts no number on
Microsoft only says a new licence assignment can take some time to propagate, and names a missing or greyed-out button as the symptom. How long is "some time"? Its current guidance gives no figure, so I won't invent one. Assign licences at the start of your prep, not on the morning, and test with one real attendee account.
3If a licensed attendee still sees nothing, then refresh the licence and restart every app
On Windows, go to File > Account > Update License, then close and restart all Microsoft 365 apps, not only Excel. On a Mac, it's Refresh License, under About > More Info in the app menu, then restart. In a browser, refresh the page. Microsoft doesn't list signing out and back in as a step, so don't make it your plan. Reset or updated Office recently? Microsoft says that can affect activation, so run Update License again.
4If someone is signed in with 2 accounts or joins as a guest, then Copilot may not work for them
Microsoft lists a personal account and a work or school account signed in together as a licensing conflict. Use the work account only, then restart. Guests are a harder stop: Microsoft says assigning Copilot licences to cross-tenant users, including guests, isn't supported. Invite external attendees as observers.
Devices and policy: the checks only IT can run
5If a device is on the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel, then Copilot features aren't available in its apps
Microsoft says you need Current Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel instead. Check File > Account > Product Information. Microsoft started unifying the 2 enterprise channels with version 2606 in July 2026, so this should be rarer now. I'd still look at any laptop that skipped updates (my reading, not Microsoft's). Update to the latest build too. Microsoft names no minimum Excel build for Copilot.
6If your policy turns off connected experiences that analyse content, then Copilot disappears from Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote
That's Microsoft's wording for the policy Allow the use of connected experiences in Office that analyze content. The master setting, Allow the use of connected experiences in Office, has the same effect. Turn off only the optional experiences and you lose just the Copilot features that depend on them, web search for example. Unconfigured means available. Attendees can see the 2 toggles under File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings, but on a managed laptop IT owns them.
7If a machine uses device-based licensing for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, then Copilot isn't available on it
Microsoft lists device-based licensing as unsupported. Ask how each machine type is licensed before the day, not at 9:05.
Network and files: where Copilot fails quietly
8If the network blocks *.cloud.microsoft or WebSockets, then Copilot fails
Add *.cloud.microsoft to your allow lists on devices and the network. Allowing only selected URLs inside that domain isn't supported. Test full WebSocket Secure (WSS) connections to *.office.com, *.cloud.microsoft and copilot.cloud.microsoft, and look at TLS inspection and proxy timeouts, which Microsoft names as failure causes. The Office Feature Updates task must also run on schedule. Running the session from a venue or guest network? Test there. Your office allow list doesn't travel with the laptop.
9If a handout file is checked out, saved as Strict Open XML or set to manual calculation, then Copilot can't edit it
Set Calculation Options to Automatic. A file checked out in SharePoint gives an Unsupported file state message: check it in and reopen it, or open it in Excel for the web. Save Strict Open XML Spreadsheet files as a regular .xlsx. An open Double Key Encryption file blocks Copilot in that app, per Microsoft. Files in third-party storage such as Dropbox can trigger licence errors, so copy them to OneDrive or SharePoint. AutoSave doesn't have to be on.
10If attendees say "there's no button", then it moved
Copilot opens from a button in the lower-right corner of the workbook, and F6 finds it. Don't promise Alt+C (Windows) or Cmd+Control+I (Mac) in your slides, because Microsoft says they're still rolling out across apps and languages. Right-click and choose Move to ribbon to bring it back (Windows build 16.0.20129.15140 or later, Mac build 16.109.525.2 or later). Microsoft refreshed the Copilot panes in October 2026, so older training screenshots may not match. Microsoft lists chat and plan modes for iPad and chat for iPhone and Android, with edit mode still rolling out on iPad and iPhone, so tell people to bring laptops.
Plan B: if one laptop won't come right on the day
If the desktop app is the problem, then try Excel for the web. Microsoft says the web apps don't need a channel update. The web has 2 conditions: refresh the page first, and make sure the browser allows third-party cookies, because blocked cookies stop Copilot validating the licence.
If Copilot shows up in the browser, that points to the desktop app: channel, privacy settings or build. If it doesn't, look at the licence and the account.
If your workshop also covers Outlook or Word
aIf a mailbox isn't hosted on Exchange Online, then Copilot isn't supported on it
That covers IMAP, POP, Gmail and on-premises mailboxes. Microsoft also says Copilot isn't available on group mailboxes.
bIf classic Outlook loses its Copilot buttons after an update, then check the known issue
On 15 September 2026 Microsoft listed builds 20026.20182 and higher as affected (status: investigating), with new Outlook or Outlook on the web as workarounds. Check the page for the current status.
cIf your slides promise a summary at the top of every Word document, then cut the slide
Microsoft says the top-of-document summary moves to other Copilot in Word surfaces from September 2026 (MC1454113). Summarising itself is not being removed.
The morning-of smoke test
Sign in as a normal attendee, not an admin, on each device type. Open the actual handout file, press F6, switch to chat mode and run this:
Tell me what each column in this sheet contains and flag anything that looks inconsistent.
Chat mode analyses your data without changing the workbook, so the test is safe. If it answers, that device is ready. If not, rerun the checks above.
This page covers one session. The full fix list: Copilot not showing in Excel. The organisation-level view: the Copilot readiness checklist. (I have no commercial interest in Microsoft. I just don't want your workshop to open with troubleshooting.)
Questions about preparing for a Copilot workshop
What should IT check before a Copilot workshop?
10 things: the licence label, recent assignments, a licence refresh, double sign-ins and guests, the update channel, connected-experiences policies, device-based licensing, the network allow list, the practice files, and where the button sits. Test them on real attendee accounts.
How long does a Copilot licence take to show up in Excel?
Microsoft's current guidance gives no number. It says a new assignment can take some time to propagate. The documented refresh is Update License under File > Account on Windows, or Refresh License on a Mac, followed by a restart of all Microsoft 365 apps.
Why is Copilot missing for some attendees but not others?
Compare the 2 people. The causes that differ per person are the licence label, the signed-in account, the update channel, the privacy settings and the state of the file. Start with the label.
Which settings can hide Copilot on managed devices?
Turning off connected experiences that analyse content removes Copilot features in Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word, and so does turning off all connected experiences. Copilot in Excel also can't be turned off on its own, so the Copilot Chat admin settings apply to it.
Can external guests use Copilot in a workshop?
Not with your licences. Microsoft says assigning Copilot licences to cross-tenant users, including guests, isn't supported.
What network settings does Copilot need?
Allow *.cloud.microsoft on devices and the network, and test WebSocket Secure connections to *.office.com, *.cloud.microsoft and copilot.cloud.microsoft. Microsoft doesn't support allowing only selected URLs inside *.cloud.microsoft.
Checklist green? Now fill the room.
I run live online, hands-on Copilot workshops for groups of 20 to 25 people, from 1.5 to 4 hours.