Claude missing from the Copilot model picker in Excel? Check your plan, region and admin

What is the model picker in Copilot in Excel?

I will give you a little background first. Copilot in Excel is the assistant in the side pane that can explain a formula, build a chart or change your workbook for you. For a long time you could not choose which AI model did that work. Microsoft picked the model for you behind the scenes.

Now you have a choice. Microsoft’s help page, Choose your model when editing with Copilot in Excel, says the model picker sits in the upper right corner of the Copilot pane. It starts on Auto, and Copilot in Excel supports the latest Anthropic and OpenAI models. Auto means Copilot decides which model handles each request. You just choose a model before you send the prompt, and that model does the work.

The exact list changes often. Office Watch tracks these changes, and counted five choices when it last checked. The list had Auto, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.6, Claude Opus 4.7 and Claude Opus 4.8. It also says the list changed while it was writing the article, so do not worry if your names are newer than these. What matters here is whether you see any Claude at all.

Why is there no model picker at all on my Copilot in Excel?

This first rule catches people who work on their own. Microsoft’s Copilot in Excel FAQ lists four ways to get Copilot in Excel. You can have Microsoft 365 Personal or Family with an AI credits plan, Microsoft 365 Premium, a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription, or a business plan that includes Copilot Chat. But a few lines down, it says the model switcher needs a commercial Microsoft Copilot subscription or a Microsoft 365 Premium subscription.

So two people can both have Copilot in Excel, and only one of them gets to choose the model. A freelancer on Microsoft 365 Family with AI credits gets Copilot answering in the pane. But on Microsoft’s own list, that plan is not one of the two that come with the switcher. Their Copilot runs on Microsoft’s default model, and there is nothing to change.

There is one more naming trap while you are on Microsoft’s pages. Microsoft has renamed Microsoft 365 Copilot to Microsoft Copilot, and they say nothing changed underneath. So an article from early 2026 that says “Microsoft 365 Copilot licence” and a page from today that says “Microsoft Copilot subscription” are talking about the exact same paid business add-on.

Why do I see GPT in the picker but no Claude?

If the picker is there and it only offers Auto and GPT models, your plan is fine, and the block is in your organisation’s settings. The reason for this is a contract detail. When Copilot uses a Claude model, Anthropic is processing your data on Microsoft’s behalf, so Microsoft lists Anthropic as a subprocessor. A subprocessor is just an outside company that handles customer data under Microsoft’s agreement. Organisations get to decide whether they accept that.

Microsoft’s admin page, Anthropic models in Microsoft Online Services (updated 18 September 2026), says Anthropic models are on by default for most commercial customers. But they are not on in the EU, the EFTA countries or the UK. There the setting appears with its default set to No users. The same page says Anthropic models are currently outside the EU Data Boundary. This boundary is Microsoft’s promise to keep European customer data processed inside Europe. That is why a company in Germany or the UK sees no Claude until someone opts in on purpose.

The third gate is a quiet one. The admin can allow Anthropic for specific users or security groups only. Microsoft says that when access is limited that way, only those assigned users can use the features that rely on that provider. So I would not be surprised to see a team where the finance lead sees Claude and the analyst next to them does not. They have the same tenant and the same licence, but their group membership is different.

What exactly should I ask my admin to switch on?

Admins get many vague requests, so a precise one gets done faster. The setting lives in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Only someone with the AI Administrator or Global Administrator role can change it. Microsoft’s page gives these steps to do it.

1. 01
   Open the Copilot settings

   In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Copilot, then Settings, then View all.
2. 02
   Open the subprocessor setting

   Select AI providers operating as Microsoft subprocessors.
3. 03
   Allow Anthropic

   Under Available subprocessors for your organization, select Anthropic and Save.
4. 04
   Choose who gets it

   Under Choose who can access Anthropic models for Copilot and generative AI experiences, pick all users or the right groups, and Save.

I want to add two edge cases to your message. If your company is in the EU, EFTA or the UK and opted in some time ago under Anthropic’s separate terms, Microsoft says it has to opt in again. This is because the new toggle starts switched off. Also, Anthropic models are not available at all in GCC High, DoD or other sovereign clouds. If your organisation runs on one of those, no setting will bring Claude into the picker.

That same page mentions a separate group of newer models that Anthropic keeps data for. These are called Anthropic models with Data Retention. They stay off for everyone until an admin opts in to them on their own, even in places where other Claude models are on. So if you see a Claude model but not the newest one you read about, that may be the reason.

Why does Copilot in Excel keep going back to Auto?

This detail is written plainly on Microsoft’s help page. Your model choice applies only to the active session. When you close Excel or end your session, Copilot goes back to the default model. There is no setting that makes Claude stick, or at least not one that Microsoft documents today.

Here is why that matters in real work. Say you check a cash flow model with Claude in the morning, close Excel for lunch, and open it again to ask a follow-up question. The second answer may come from a different model, and nothing in the pane will warn you about it. So if you are comparing answers or keeping a record of how a number was produced, you should look at the picker before the first prompt every time you open the file.

The picker is also tied to editing. Microsoft’s page is about choosing a model when Copilot edits your workbook. Copilot in Excel opens in edit mode by default on Windows, Mac and the web. I have not been able to confirm whether the picker stays visible in Chat only mode. So if you switched to Chat only and the picker disappeared, switch back to edit mode and look again before you assume Claude is blocked.

Should I use Claude in the Copilot picker or the Claude for Excel add-in?

There are two separate ways to get Claude working inside a workbook, and people often mix them up. One way is the Copilot picker this article is about. It runs inside Microsoft’s Copilot and is paid for through your Microsoft plan. The other way is Anthropic’s own Claude for Excel add-in. You pay for that through a Claude plan, and it has nothing to do with the Copilot picker or your Microsoft admin’s subprocessor setting.

My honest rule is this. If you work inside a company that already pays for Copilot, you should ask for the picker. This keeps your data under the agreement your company already signed with Microsoft. If you work alone on a Personal or Family plan, the picker is not coming to you, so the add-in is the way to get Claude into your sheets. I went through what that add-in can and cannot do, and the Excel versions it refuses to install on, in Claude in Excel is good with formulas and blind to your macros.

And if Copilot is not answering at all, no matter what model you pick, that is a different problem. You can start with the checks in why Copilot in Excel is not working. I suggest this because a workbook on Manual calculation stops Copilot from editing it before any model even gets the question.