In 2024, Microsoft introduced three new functions for Excel, using ‘Regular expressions’ (commonly known as regex): REGEXTEST, REGEXEXTRACT and REGEXREPLACE. But what even is regex and why is it useful?
As a well-established tool for pattern matching, regex has been known to data specialists for years and can be seen in many programming languages and analytics applications. With these new Excel functions, regex becomes widely accessible, but it can be daunting with its array of patterns and operators.
In this webinar we explored regex in detail, starting with a basic overview of regex patterns and the core syntax, before moving onto some example use cases for regex, and how to apply it using the new Excel functions, including looking at how regex functions can be used in combination with other popular functions like IF, FILTER and XLOOKUP. We also touched on where you might come across regex beyond the world of Excel, and how regex overlaps with AI capabilities such as Microsoft Copilot.
First broadcast on 16 January 2026
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CPD
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