Copilot in Word: Quickly Add Numbers with Ease

Posted on:  04/29/2025
Copilot in Word: Quickly Add Numbers with Ease

As a Microsoft Word user, have you ever found yourself faced with a list of numbers that need to be added up quickly? Perhaps you've resorted to manually calculating them or exporting the data to Excel for a simple sum. Well, I'm excited to share with you a game-changing feature that will revolutionize how you handle numerical data in Word: Copilot.

In this blog post, we'll explore how Copilot in Word can effortlessly add up numbers, saving you time and reducing the risk of calculation errors. Let's dive in and see just how powerful this tool can be!

Copilot in Word - add numbers quickly

Copilot in Word - add numbers quickly

To demonstrate Copilot's capabilities in Word, I've prepared a document with a list of numbers, each in its own paragraph. This setup mimics a common scenario you might encounter when working with financial data, project estimates, or any other numerical information in Word.

Our test document begins with a paragraph titled "Demo of all partitions" and concludes with "Permit and Inspect Services." Between these bookends are various numerical values that we will add up.

For this demonstration, I've intentionally included a known total: $25,543. This will serve as our benchmark to verify Copilot's accuracy.

Executing the Calculation with Copilot

Now, let's put Copilot to the test and see how it handles our number-crunching task:

  1. First, highlight all the paragraphs containing the numbers you want to add.
  2. Look for the Copilot button in your Word interface and click on it.

That's it! With just these two simple steps, we've initiated Copilot's calculation process. No need to switch to Excel or pull out a calculator – Copilot is ready to do the heavy lifting for us right within Word.

YouTube Video

Results and Impressions

After clicking on Copilot, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of information it provided. Here's what Copilot returned:
 
"The total of the numbers listed is twenty-five thousand five forty-three, which matches the total estimated job mentioned in the text."
Let's break down what makes this result so impressive:
 
  • Accuracy: Copilot correctly calculated the total, matching our expected result of $25,543.
  • Context Awareness: It not only provided the sum but also recognized that this figure corresponded to the "total estimated job" mentioned in the document.
Chris Menard

Chris Menard is a Microsoft Trainer (MCT) and works as a full-time Trainer at BakerHostetler - one of the largest law firms in the US. Chris runs a YouTube channel with 900+ technology videos that cover various tools such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Teams, Gmail, Copilot, Google Calendar, and Outlook. To date, the channel has helped over 20 million viewers. Menard also does 2 to 3 public speaking events yearly, presenting at the Administrative Professional Conference (APC), the EA Ignite Conference, the University of Georgia, and CPA conferences. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://chrismenardtraining.com/linkedin or watch his videos on YouTube at https://chrismenardtraining.com/youtube.

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