Two years ago, Microsoft began rolling out a budget-tracking service called Money in Excel as a carrot for its Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscription. But the company has decided to drop Money in Excel, as well as the Wolfram Alpha data type support for Excel, starting next year.
According to an email Microsoft sent to some Microsoft 365 subscribers, Microsoft didn’t fully explain the reason for its decision to cut these features. However, as noted by XDA Developers, the email did say that Microsoft “will occasionally remove underused features and benefits.” So it may simply be the case that an insufficient number of people are using Money for Excel.
Update: Here’s the acknowledgement of what’s in the email from a Microsoft customer support article. The reason for the decision to drop Money for Excel next year is explained this way: “We’ve learned a lot from Money in Excel and appreciate the many needs people have for their families and their money. We believe there are other areas where we can have a greater impact and will be focusing on those going forward.”
Money in Excel is a template and add-in for Excel. The feature allows users to connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and loan accounts automatically to Excel via a relationship with Plaid. Users can track spending habits and see their monthly spending totals via the “Snapshot” sheet. Microsoft planned to roll this service out globally to paid Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.
According to the email, Money in Excel users can continue to use the service until June 30, 2023. They won’t be able to add more data to their spreadsheets, though they will be able to continue accessing their existing data. Microsoft is offering a 60-day free trial of Tiller for anyone looking for a similar service.
Microsoft isn’t giving up on trying to woo consumers with new services. Its WebXT team is pushing full-steam ahead with new search, advertising, shopping, and news services. And Microsoft is still trying to build a consumer audience for Teams.
A recent job posting for a position on the WebXT (Web Experiences Team) claims the team “is at the center of driving next wave of consumer products.”
“Our team is responsible for the design, implementation, and delivery of modern apps powered by AI,” the job posting says. (I’m guessing the AI reference is largely because of Bing, which is where a lot of Microsoft’s internal AI work is housed and originates.) The ties between what Microsoft is doing on the consumer-app and Edge browser fronts and Bing search/ advertising are deep.