AI for Excel: What It Can Do With Your Spreadsheets (Checklist + 15 Prompts)

Most small firms run on spreadsheets, and a lot of spreadsheet time goes on formulas nobody remembers, messy data and reports rebuilt every month. AI for Excel can help with much of that. This page shows which spreadsheet tasks AI handles well, where it goes wrong, a checklist to see how much it could help your team, and 15 copy-paste prompts.

Jump to the prompt pack

Ways to use AI with Excel

Inside Excel. Microsoft offers Copilot features in Excel on some Microsoft 365 plans; check what your plan includes. Our Copilot cost page covers the pricing questions.
A general AI assistant alongside. Describe the problem or paste a small anonymised sample into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot, and paste the formula back. No add-ins needed.
Add-ins and specialist tools that work on sheets directly. Check their data terms before connecting them to business files.

For most small teams, the second option is the place to start: free or already paid for, and it teaches people what to ask.

What AI for Excel does well

Tick the tasks your team does every week to see how much AI could help.

Where it goes wrong

Formulas that look right but aren't. AI can return a formula that works on the example and fails on edge cases: blanks, text in number columns, different date formats.
Made-up numbers in summaries. Ask for summaries only from figures you've supplied, and check every number. See our AI hallucination check.
Wrong assumptions about your layout. Tell it exactly which columns hold what.
Client or payroll data pasted into the wrong tool. Use dummy or anonymised samples unless your AI policy approves the tool for that data.

The prompt pack: 15 prompts for Excel

Replace the bracketed parts with your own details. Use dummy or anonymised data.

1. I have columns A (date), B (client), C (amount). Write an Excel formula for D that shows the total amount for the client in B, for the month of the date in A.

2. Explain this formula step by step in plain English: [paste formula]

3. Column A contains full names like 'Smith, Jane'. Give me formulas to split them into first name and last name columns.

4. My dates in column B are text in the format 2026.10.16. Give me a formula to convert them into real Excel dates.

5. Write a formula to flag rows where column E is more than 20% above the average of column E.

6. Here are 30 expense descriptions (no personal data): [paste]. Suggest 6 categories and assign each line to one.

7. I have a table with columns: Region, Product, Month, Sales. Suggest a pivot table layout to compare regions by month.

8. Write an Excel VBA macro that copies every row where column F says 'Overdue' to a new sheet called Overdue. Explain each step.

9. Suggest the best chart type to show monthly revenue against target for 12 months, and how to set it up.

10. Given these column headers: [paste], suggest data validation rules to prevent common entry errors.

11. Write a formula that returns 'Late' if the date in C is before today and D is blank, otherwise blank.

12. Rewrite this nested IF formula using IFS or a lookup table to make it easier to maintain: [paste]

13. Summarise what this table shows in five bullet points for a manager. Only use the numbers given: [paste anonymised table]

14. Give me a formula to look up the price for the product code in A from a table on Sheet2 (codes in column A, prices in column C), returning 'Not found' if missing.

15. List five checks I should do to verify that a formula you wrote is correct on my data.

The last prompt matters most: always test an AI-written formula on rows where you already know the answer.

Best AI for Excel: how to choose

The best AI for Excel sheets is the one your team will actually use safely. If you already pay for a Microsoft 365 plan that includes Copilot in Excel, start there. If not, a general assistant used with anonymised samples covers most formula and cleanup work. Specialist add-ins make sense once you have a repeated, high-volume task that justifies another tool. Measure the time on one task before and after, then put it in the AI ROI calculator.

Spreadsheet work is often a strong first AI use case because results are easy to check. Compare it with your other candidates in the AI use case scorer.

Find the spreadsheet hours in your week

Frequently asked questions

Can AI write Excel formulas?

Yes. Describe what you want in plain English, including which columns hold what, and test the formula on rows where you know the answer.

What is the best AI for Excel?

If your Microsoft 365 plan includes Copilot in Excel, try that first. Otherwise a general AI assistant used with anonymised samples handles most formula and cleanup tasks.

Is it safe to paste spreadsheet data into AI?

Use dummy or anonymised samples unless the tool is approved for that data under your policy.

Can AI analyse my spreadsheet?

It can summarise and suggest analysis, but check every figure against the sheet. Ask it to use only the numbers provided.

Can AI write Excel macros?

Yes, it can draft VBA macros. Test them on a copy of the file first and ask it to explain each step.

Does AI work with Google Sheets too?

Most prompts here work for Google Sheets formulas with small changes; say which one you use.