1In one sentence
You can also open Claude as a side panel inside Microsoft Office (and Google Workspace), so it works on the file you already have open.
2New words
- Add-in — a small extension installed inside Excel, Word or PowerPoint that adds a Claude panel on the right.
- Side panel — the strip beside your document where you type to Claude and it reads and changes what is in front of you.
- Selection — the cells or text you have highlighted. Claude can work on just that part.
3Why you would want it
Chapter 2.6 makes new files. This chapter is for the files you already live in: the sales sheet you update every Monday, the proposal you are editing now. Instead of exporting and re-importing, you ask in the panel and the change happens in place, with the file's own formatting kept.
4Try it now
(Microsoft 365 account; your company may need to allow add-ins)
- In Excel, go to the add-ins store and install Claude for Excel. Sign in with your Claude account.
- Open a sheet with a table. Select the table.
- In the panel, type: Explain what this table shows in three lines, then add a summary row at the bottom with totals and averages.
5What you will see
[picture pending: the Claude panel open beside an Excel sheet, with the summary row added; needs Excel with the add-in installed] A short explanation in the panel, and a new row in your sheet with real formulas, in the sheet's own style. In Word, the same panel drafts or rewrites the selected paragraphs; in PowerPoint, it edits or adds slides.
6Watch out
- Company computers often block add-ins. If the store does not show Claude, ask whoever manages your IT.
- Save before big changes. The panel edits the live file; undo works, but a saved copy is calmer.
7Go further
Keep a sheet of your weekly numbers and ask the panel every Monday: What changed since last week, and what should I look at? Chapter 2.8 is the same side-panel idea inside Chrome.