Microsoft ‘enriches’ Excel data types based on machine learning

Microsoft has added the new Stocks and Geography data types to Excel for Office 365. The data types are linked to the Microsoft Cloud for recognizing and adding data.

According to Microsoft, the link with its cloud service ensures that Excel can recognize data types other than numbers and strings of texts. As an example, the company cites imports from “France” or “United States” as being recognized as a country, after which users can see more information about the country in a small window and easily add data such as population and gross national product.

The same goes for stocks, according to Microsoft’s demonstration: Excel recognizes the stock market quotes and can directly link data such as stock prices. “It’s based on machine learning, and these new data types make working with real-world data easier,” Microsoft said. According to the company, there will be new organized data types based on the Microsoft Graph in the future.