iDBQuery vs Copilot in Excel: what's the difference?

Copilot in Excel is a capable in-workbook assistant: it suggests formulas, highlights trends, builds PivotTables and answers questions about the data already in your sheet. Its scope is that workbook. iDBQuery is built for questions whose data doesn't fit — or doesn't belong — in a single Excel file.

• Past the row limit. Excel tops out around a million rows per sheet; iDBQuery queries your source databases and warehouses directly, so scale isn't a barrier.
• Cross-source answers. It joins multiple databases, spreadsheets, PDFs and APIs into one live model, so a question can span systems rather than one tab.
• No manual export. Instead of copying data into Excel to analyse it, iDBQuery reads it in place, so answers stay current.
• Cited and auditable. Each number links back to its source row.
• Reports and dashboards. Turn a question into a chart, live dashboard or shareable report.

Copilot in Excel is ideal when your data already lives in one workbook and you want fast, in-place help. iDBQuery is the better choice when the data is bigger than a spreadsheet, spread across systems, or needs an auditable trail — and you can still connect your Excel files to iDBQuery as one of many sources.