AI for Excel and spreadsheets
Describe the task in words – the AI writes a formula, a VBA macro or the steps for a pivot table and explains where to put them. The answer arrives as text in the chat.
Prompt sent to the chat: «Help me with a task in Excel: fill column C with the product price from the “Prices” sheet, matched by the SKU in column A. Give me a ready formula or code, explain which cell or where to paste it, and what to do if an error shows up.»
Free on the Starter plan – 30 units of energy. Formulas and code arrive as text: you copy them into your sheet, the service does not create the file for you.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SKU | Product | Price |
| 2 | A-102 | Mug | 450 |
| 3 | A-117 | Thermos | 1,290 |
| 4 | A-205 | Kettle | 2,150 |
Paste the formula into C2 and drag it down. If a SKU is missing from the price list, you get #N/A – the AI will suggest wrapping the formula in IFERROR.
Describe the task, get the formula
Here are typical requests and what the AI returns. Each formula comes with an explanation: what every argument means and what to change to fit your columns.
- “Find the price by SKU on another sheet”
- =VLOOKUP(A2,Prices!$A:$C,3,FALSE)
- “Smith’s sales for March”
- =SUMIFS(C:C,A:A,"Smith",B:B,">="&DATE(2026,3,1),B:B,"<"&DATE(2026,4,1))
- “How many orders have the status Cancelled”
- =COUNTIF(D:D,"Cancelled")
- “Mark it overdue if the payment date has passed”
- =IF(E2<TODAY(),"overdue","")
- “How many full years old the employee is”
- =DATEDIF(B2,TODAY(),"y")
- “Join the surname and the first initial”
- =A2&" "&LEFT(B2,1)&"."
Function names are for the English version of Excel, with commas between arguments. If your Excel is in another language or uses semicolons, say so in the request. To load and clean data from several files, the AI writes a Power Query query.
A macro without knowing how to code
How to add the code the AI sent you
- Turn on the Developer tab: File → Options → Customize Ribbon.
- Developer → Visual Basic → Insert → Module. Paste the whole code.
- Save the workbook as an Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook.
- Run it: Developer → Macros → pick the macro → Run.
Save a copy of the file before the first run: the Undo button cannot reverse a macro.
A macro pays off when the same action repeats every day: splitting rows across sheets by the value in a column, merging reports from several sheets into one, removing duplicates and empty rows, applying formats and borders.
Describe what you do by hand, step by step: “I open the Orders sheet and copy the rows where column F says London to the London sheet.” The AI writes the code with comments, so you can see what each line does.
Did not work? Paste the error text and the line where the editor stopped into the chat. The fixed code comes in the next message.
Why a formula returns #N/A and other errors
Click an error to see its usual cause and fix. In the chat, just paste the formula and describe what is in the cells.
VLOOKUP, MATCH or XLOOKUP did not find the value. Common causes: a trailing space, a number stored as text, a value missing from the range.
How to fix it=IFERROR(VLOOKUP(TRIM(A2),Prices!$A:$C,3,FALSE),"not in price list")The calculation includes text instead of a number – say, “1,200 USD” or a date typed in as text.
How to fix it=VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(A2," USD",""))Division by zero or by an empty cell: the denominator is not filled in yet.
How to fix it=IF(B2=0,"",A2/B2)A row, column or sheet the formula pointed to was deleted, so the reference no longer works.
How to fix itRestore what was deleted or point the reference at a range that will not be deleted, such as whole columns $A:$CExcel did not recognise the function name: a typo, a name from another language version of Excel, or text without quotes.
How to fix it=SUM(A2:A10) instead of =SUMM(A2:A10)The same in Google Sheets
Say where you work in the request: Google Sheets has functions Excel does not, and scripts instead of VBA.
QUERY
Filter and group with one formula: “show orders over 10,000 by city”. The AI writes the query inside the function.
IMPORTRANGE
Pull data from another spreadsheet by its link. It tells you where to grant access if the formula reports an error.
ARRAYFORMULA
One formula for the whole column instead of dragging it down: new rows are calculated on their own.
Apps Script
VBA macros do not run in Google Sheets. For automation, the AI writes a script and explains how to run it.
How to show the AI your spreadsheet
Paste a sample
Copy the headers and 10–20 rows straight from the sheet and paste them into the chat. That is enough to understand the structure and write a formula for your columns.
Name the columns by letter
“A is the date, B is the manager, C is the amount.” Then the formula comes with the right references and needs no rewriting.
Remove personal data
Replace phone numbers, ID numbers and customer names with placeholders. A formula needs the structure, not the real values.
The AI can total the sample you pasted, spot outliers and suggest which columns to compare. For large data sets it is safer to ask for a formula or a Python script and run the numbers yourself. A clear chart of the results is on the diagrams page, and a ready income and expense table is on the family budget page.
FAQ
Is the AI for Excel really free?
Yes. Formulas, macros and explanations are text requests; they work on the Starter plan with 30 units of energy at no cost.
Can the AI fill in my spreadsheet by itself?
It answers with text in the chat: a formula, macro code or a table you can copy and paste into the sheet. The service does not create a finished Excel file; you make the changes to your file.
Can I upload a whole Excel file?
It is more reliable to paste a sample of the data into the chat as text: the headers and 10–20 rows. That is enough for a formula, and extra data, personal data included, stays out of the request.
The formula returns an error – what do I do?
Paste the formula into the chat and describe what is in the cells it refers to. The AI names the cause – a stray space, text instead of a number, a shifted range – and sends a corrected version.
Does it work for Google Sheets?
Yes. Write “for Google Sheets” and the AI uses its functions, such as QUERY and ARRAYFORMULA, and suggests an Apps Script instead of VBA.
Will it write a macro if I am not a programmer?
Yes. Describe step by step what you do by hand, and you get code with comments and instructions on where to paste it. Save a copy of the file before running it.
Can it help with a pivot table?
It lays out the menu steps: which fields to drag into rows, columns and values. If you do not need a pivot table, it suggests a SUMIF or SUMIFS formula.
Your next routine Excel task – one sentence in the chat
Write a formulaTryChat is not affiliated with Microsoft Excel, Google.