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#SPILL! and #VALUE! are real Excel errors—not inventions, even if an AI copilot says otherwise. Microsoft documents both, but the available official evidence does not verify a specific incident in which Copilot denied three errors, or identify a third error. Treat any such exchange as an unverified example unless you can point to its transcript or reproduce it.
What Microsoft’s documentation confirms
Microsoft’s Excel for Windows announcement, dated December 2, 2025, names #SPILL! and #VALUE! as errors with descriptive error cards that explain what happened and suggest possible fixes. Microsoft’s announcement about descriptive error cards establishes that these are genuine Excel errors. It does not establish that they were the errors in a particular Copilot exchange, or that there are exactly three.
Copilot in Excel can generate and explain formulas. Microsoft also cautions that AI-generated results can be mistaken, misinterpret information, or be inaccurate. Its support guidance is direct: “As with any AI-generated content, review, edit, and verify anything Copilot creates for you.” Microsoft’s Copilot in Excel guidance and Copilot’s FAQ support that distinction: Copilot can help with formulas, but its answer is not proof of what Excel supports.
How to check a disputed Excel error
1. Read the workbook, not just the explanation
Look at the cell’s displayed result and the formula bar. If Excel shows an error, note its exact spelling and punctuation. For #SPILL!, inspect the cells where a formula’s results would appear; an occupied cell or another obstruction can prevent an array formula from spilling. For #VALUE!, inspect the formula’s inputs and operations for a value of the wrong type, such as text where the calculation expects a number.
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2. Compare the explanation with Excel’s behavior
Use Excel’s own error details where available. Microsoft’s December 2025 announcement describes descriptive error cards for #SPILL! and #VALUE! in Excel for Windows. The card can help explain the workbook’s actual error; an AI response that says the error is not real does not override what Excel displays.
3. Ask Copilot a narrower question
Give it the exact error, formula, and relevant cell or range, then ask what conditions could produce that result and how to verify them in the workbook. Microsoft recommends being specific, including naming columns or ranges, and refining the prompt if needed. See Microsoft’s Copilot in Excel tips.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the “three errors” claim does—and doesn’t—show
The two errors above are verified examples of real Excel errors. The available official sources do not document Copilot confidently denying their existence, nor do they name a third error connected to the headline’s claim. Without a transcript or a reproducible exchange, it would be misleading to present a three-error incident as established fact. Microsoft Press also covers formula troubleshooting, including #SPILL!, in its formula troubleshooting reference.
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