Spreadsheets power budgets, sales tracking, inventory and reporting for millions of people. Writing complex formulas can be confusing, but AI assistants can explain functions, write formulas from plain-language descriptions and suggest ways to organise data. Always test formulas on sample data before using them in important files.
At a Glance: Describe your data layout (columns and rows) and the result you want. Ask AI to write and explain formulas, clean data, create pivot tables or charts, and troubleshoot errors. Avoid pasting sensitive data.
Writing Formulas
- In Google Sheets, column A has dates and column B has sales. Write a formula to total sales for [month].
- Write an Excel formula to calculate percentage growth between B2 and C2.
- Write a formula to look up the price of a product in another sheet using its product ID.
- Write a formula that returns “Pass” if a score is 40 or above, otherwise “Fail”.
- Count how many rows in column C contain the word “Completed”.
Explaining Functions
- Explain how XLOOKUP works with an example.
- What is the difference between VLOOKUP and INDEX-MATCH?
- Explain SUMIFS with three conditions using a simple example.
- Explain how ARRAYFORMULA works in Google Sheets.
Data Cleaning
- Write a formula to remove extra spaces from names in column A.
- Split full names in column A into first and last names.
- Convert text dates like “02-10-2026” into date format.
- Highlight duplicate values in column B using conditional formatting rules.
- Extract email domains from email addresses in column C.
Analysis and Reporting
- Explain how to create a pivot table summarising sales by region and month.
- Suggest charts to visualise monthly expenses by category.
- Write a formula to calculate a running total in column D.
- Calculate the average of the last 7 days of values in column B.
Troubleshooting
- Why does this formula return #N/A? [formula and description].
- Fix this formula that gives a #VALUE! error: [formula].
- Why is my SUM formula not adding numbers stored as text?
Templates and Automation
- Suggest a monthly budget spreadsheet structure with categories and formulas.
- Create an inventory tracker layout with reorder alerts.
- Suggest a content calendar spreadsheet template for a blog.
Example Prompt Structure
| — | — |
|---|---|
| Data layout | “Column A: Date, Column B: Amount” |
| Desired result | “Total amount for each month” |
| Constraints | “Ignore blank cells” |
Conclusion
AI prompts make spreadsheet work faster and less intimidating. Describe your data clearly, ask for formulas with explanations, test on sample data and protect sensitive information. Over time, you will learn the functions yourself.
