Help center
General
What is Rowan?
Rowan is an AI agent embedded directly in Microsoft Excel. Unlike Microsoft Copilot, which can answer questions about small numbers of cells and make very basic edits like adding a column, Rowan understands context across complex workbooks to answer tricky questions and execute multi-step tasks.
What is Rowan?
Rowan is an AI agent embedded directly in Microsoft Excel. Unlike Microsoft Copilot, which can answer questions about small numbers of cells and make very basic edits like adding a column, Rowan understands context across complex workbooks to answer tricky questions and execute multi-step tasks.
How much does Rowan cost?
The preview version of Rowan available via Microsoft App Source (linked at the top of this page) is currently completely free to use. If you are interested in exploring our enterprise tier, which includes higher usage limits and custom workflows, please get in touch with our team at support@pactio.io
How much does Rowan cost?
The preview version of Rowan available via Microsoft App Source (linked at the top of this page) is currently completely free to use. If you are interested in exploring our enterprise tier, which includes higher usage limits and custom workflows, please get in touch with our team at support@pactio.io
Is my data secure?
Yes! Some of the core security controls and standards include:
We don't store any of the data you put into Rowan, nor do we train any models on it.
All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Pactio as a company is SOCII Type 2 certified.
Is my data secure?
Yes! Some of the core security controls and standards include:
We don't store any of the data you put into Rowan, nor do we train any models on it.
All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Pactio as a company is SOCII Type 2 certified.
Can I speak with someone before trying Rowan?
Absolutely! We offer everyone a 15-minute onboarding call in which we show how to use Rowan with concrete examples, and answer questions on security and functionalities. Click here to book your free onboarding call right away, or use the contact form at the end of this page to get in touch with us.
Can I speak with someone before trying Rowan?
Absolutely! We offer everyone a 15-minute onboarding call in which we show how to use Rowan with concrete examples, and answer questions on security and functionalities. Click here to book your free onboarding call right away, or use the contact form at the end of this page to get in touch with us.
Getting started
How do I get started?
Press the 'Get started' button at the top of this page to install the add-in via Microsoft App Source. You’ll need to create an account in order to use it.
How do I get started?
Press the 'Get started' button at the top of this page to install the add-in via Microsoft App Source. You’ll need to create an account in order to use it.
Review spreadsheets
Ask Rowan to explain what’s going on in a spreadsheet when you first receive it, or ask him to break down a complex formula for you. If you think it can be simplified or improved, ask him about that too!
Review spreadsheets
Ask Rowan to explain what’s going on in a spreadsheet when you first receive it, or ask him to break down a complex formula for you. If you think it can be simplified or improved, ask him about that too!
Import data from documents
Add attachments into the sidebar to pull data into your sheet. These could be unstructured documents like PDFs or other Excel files; you can tell Rowan what to extract in your prompt, or just ask him to fill in a template you have loaded in your file already.
Import data from documents
Add attachments into the sidebar to pull data into your sheet. These could be unstructured documents like PDFs or other Excel files; you can tell Rowan what to extract in your prompt, or just ask him to fill in a template you have loaded in your file already.
Clean and reconcile
If you have messy data that needs to be categorised, cleaned or reconciled, ask Rowan and he’ll do the rest.
Clean and reconcile
If you have messy data that needs to be categorised, cleaned or reconciled, ask Rowan and he’ll do the rest.
Automate calculations
If you have to build a calculation or set of calculations using formulae, get Rowan to do the leg work.
Automate calculations
If you have to build a calculation or set of calculations using formulae, get Rowan to do the leg work.
How can I use Rowan more effectively?
If you don’t know how Rowan can help you, just ask him!
Use direct, command-style wording to ensure Rowan performs exactly what you intend.
If Rowan makes a mistake, ask him to fix it.
Break down what you want to achieve in multiple tasks and ask Rowan to work on one of them at a time, giving him as much context as possible. Focused and detailed requests perform much better than asking Rowan to do multiple vague tasks at once.
Accuracy can degrade after long conversations. Try to make few requests per conversation, and when possible start a new chat to get better results.
How can I use Rowan more effectively?
If you don’t know how Rowan can help you, just ask him!
Use direct, command-style wording to ensure Rowan performs exactly what you intend.
If Rowan makes a mistake, ask him to fix it.
Break down what you want to achieve in multiple tasks and ask Rowan to work on one of them at a time, giving him as much context as possible. Focused and detailed requests perform much better than asking Rowan to do multiple vague tasks at once.
Accuracy can degrade after long conversations. Try to make few requests per conversation, and when possible start a new chat to get better results.
More info
What are the usage limits?
On this free, preview version, model usage is rate limited. If you hit rate limits for the model you are using, you will start to see consistent error messages when prompting Rowan.
What are the usage limits?
On this free, preview version, model usage is rate limited. If you hit rate limits for the model you are using, you will start to see consistent error messages when prompting Rowan.
Does Rowan have memory limits?
The amount of data that Rowan can process at any single time — called “context window” — is vast, but has limits nonetheless. There are two ways you could experience these limits: large workbooks and long conversations.
You can check if the workbook you’re working on is too large (i.e. has a large number of populated cells and sheets) by opening the “Select worksheets” menu from the chat box. Look for the little “spreadsheet” icon. Use this menu to reduce the number of sheets that Rowan should be working on and free up space in his context window.
If a conversation you’re having with Rowan becomes too long, Rowan will let you know and create a new chat to reset the limit.
Does Rowan have memory limits?
The amount of data that Rowan can process at any single time — called “context window” — is vast, but has limits nonetheless. There are two ways you could experience these limits: large workbooks and long conversations.
You can check if the workbook you’re working on is too large (i.e. has a large number of populated cells and sheets) by opening the “Select worksheets” menu from the chat box. Look for the little “spreadsheet” icon. Use this menu to reduce the number of sheets that Rowan should be working on and free up space in his context window.
If a conversation you’re having with Rowan becomes too long, Rowan will let you know and create a new chat to reset the limit.
What AI models do you use?
Currently, we are using a combination of Gemini 2.5 Pro and Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Gemini is better suited to more complex, data-heavy tasks, but can be unstable given it’s pre-release. Claude is typically much faster but worse at complex tasks. You can choose which model to use in your settings.
In time, we are likely to introduce further options, as well as an architecture that chooses between models depending on the scope of the task at hand.
What AI models do you use?
Currently, we are using a combination of Gemini 2.5 Pro and Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Gemini is better suited to more complex, data-heavy tasks, but can be unstable given it’s pre-release. Claude is typically much faster but worse at complex tasks. You can choose which model to use in your settings.
In time, we are likely to introduce further options, as well as an architecture that chooses between models depending on the scope of the task at hand.
Upcoming features
Formatting: today, Rowan only sees cell content, not formatting, and doesn’t have any tools to make edits to how your workbook looks either. We are working on this right now!
Integrations with cloud systems: currently, Rowan can only pull context from documents that you manually attach, instead of being able to pull from systems like Sharepoint via an integration. We intend to add this as part of our enterprise tiers in due course.
Custom workflows & fine-tuning: this version of Rowan is totally generic, meaning he’s adaptable but will lack the specific guardrails needed for many nuanced workflows. We are adding custom workflow rules currently, and expect to add further fine-tuning functionality as part of our enterprise tiers in due course.
Upcoming features
Formatting: today, Rowan only sees cell content, not formatting, and doesn’t have any tools to make edits to how your workbook looks either. We are working on this right now!
Integrations with cloud systems: currently, Rowan can only pull context from documents that you manually attach, instead of being able to pull from systems like Sharepoint via an integration. We intend to add this as part of our enterprise tiers in due course.
Custom workflows & fine-tuning: this version of Rowan is totally generic, meaning he’s adaptable but will lack the specific guardrails needed for many nuanced workflows. We are adding custom workflow rules currently, and expect to add further fine-tuning functionality as part of our enterprise tiers in due course.
Need more help?
You can also email us at support@pactio.io