For many workers who do office tasks, ChatGPT hasn’t been the scary AI tech that is going to take over their jobs anytime soon, which was one of the rumors going around when it first launched at the end of last year.
In fact, many people who work in offices and use software applications each day, as well as entrepreneurs and students, are finding that ChatGPT is becoming an integral part of their toolbox to streamline their tasks, leaving them time for more creative endeavors.
So, if you are a Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets spreadsheets user, then you may be pleased to discover that you can use ChatGPT to help you get the most out of these applications.
Continue reading our blog to find out how combining ChatGPT and Excel/Google Sheets can help you become even more EXCELlent!
Combining ChatGPT and Excel/Google Sheets
Spreadsheets are like cilantro, anchovies, blue cheese, liquorice and Brussels sprouts — you either love them or hate them.
And that could be a big reason behind the fact that almost 90% of spreadsheets have miscalculations in them, which can end up causing havoc to a company’s bottom line or a family’s monthly budget as a result.
Most companies and organizations use spreadsheets for data entry, and to produce things like financial reporting and employee sick leave databases. However spreadsheets are among the most vulnerable documents produced in the land of software applications, making it difficult for many office workers to love and trust them.
Most companies and organizations use spreadsheets for data entry, and to produce things like financial reporting and employee sick leave databases. However spreadsheets are among the most vulnerable documents produced in the land of software applications, making it difficult for many office workers to love and trust them.
This could be down to the fact that in 2017, it was reported that 88% of spreadsheets contain errors, which basically means that their calculations won’t work as intended. Spreadsheet errors include inputting and copy/paste errors, miscalculations, omissions, and even logical mistakes.
There’s even such a thing as the European Spreadsheets Risk Interest Group, or EuSpRIG for short.
It states on the EuSpRIG website that it “offers students, professors, directors, managers and professionals in all disciplines the world’s only independent, authoritative and comprehensive web-based information on the current state of the art in Spreadsheet Risk Management”.
Common risks of working with spreadsheets, according to the EuSpRIG, include facts like:
- Spreadsheets are vulnerable to human errors, due to lack of training and inaccuracy, or fear of using formulas
- There’s a lack of best practice guidelines in company policy when it comes to preparing spreadsheets
- The reusing of spreadsheets that are already riddled with errors after being copy/pasted, overwritten, or having data lost
- Different employees using the wrong versions of spreadsheets
- Spreadsheets are vulnerable to fraudulent behavior because they can be mismanaged. This was the case when the entire Jamaican banking system collapsed in the late 1990, when spreadsheets played a role in its demise
So, what can ChatGPT do to help you overcome these vulnerabilities in spreadsheet creation in both Excel and Google Sheets?
Let’s take a closer look.
Your Personal Spreadsheet Assistant
ChatGPT is a lot more than just an AI chatbot that can answer your questions and prompts within seconds. In fact, there are many ways in which you can use this new advanced tech tool to help you with your spreadsheet tasks, whether you’re using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
ChatGPT is a lot more than just an AI chatbot that can answer your questions and prompts within seconds. In fact, there are many ways in which you can use this new advanced tech tool to help you with your spreadsheet tasks, whether you’re using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
The service can also help you learn how to work your way around these applications, as well as become better skilled at using them. We’ve discussed the integration of spreadsheets and table with ChatGPT in the past, including How To Do Tables In ChatGPT and How to Give ChatGPT a Table for Basic Data Processing.
So, for example, you can start with something simple, such as asking the AI chatbot what the most common function is, and how best to use it.
The prompt we used was: What is the most commonly used Excel function, and how can it serve me to make better spreadsheets when I use this application?
We then asked for an example of Excel’s SUM function. ChatGPT responded to our request with an example that also showed us how to use the function:
Next, we asked ChatGPT to tell us how using Excel’s SUM function with another common function, IF, could work when making our spreadsheet. It also gave us an example that we could use:
The same thing goes for Google Sheets.
For our first prompt, we asked: What is the most commonly used Google Sheets function, and how can it serve me to make better spreadsheets when I use this application?
Because we had been having a conversation, by now ChatGPT decided to add prompt buttons to continue our chat. So, we chose for it to show us an example of using the SUM function:
Again we got a prompt, so we selected ChatGPT to teach us about the Google Sheets AVERAGE function:
ChatGPT will provide you with the function definitions, as well as give you examples as to how they’re used. It’s just like having your own spreadsheet assistant giving you a personal tutorial, which we think is quite amazing, and something that goes beyond just simply conversing with the AI chatbot.
When it comes to formulas, which calculate the data in your spreadsheets, ChatGPT also has you covered. Excel alone contains more than 475 formulas in its Functions Library! so unless you’re an expert, it can seem overwhelming when deciding which formula you need to use to make your calculations.
However, with ChatGPT, you can start simple. For example: What is the Google Sheets formula for calculating the selling price of X product?
Or you can make it more complex. We asked ChatGPT, What formula do I use to query multiple criteria in Excel?
And, of course, if you need help in understanding what the formula actually means, you can get ChatGPT to explain it to you in plain English. We asked: Can you explain what the AVERAGEIFS formula does in plain English?
So, as you can see, if you run into any problem or get stuck when you’re creating a spreadsheet, then ChatGPT has got your back.
When it comes to parse errors in your spreadsheets, which don’t allow the formula’s instructions to be carried out, you can also enlist the help of ChatGPT.
Simply ask the AI chatbot to explain why you’re getting an error message by sharing it. Then ask what you need to do to fix the problem. You can do this in one prompt, or have a conversation with ChatGPT, giving it more detail about the issue via several prompts.
There are also many other things that you can get ChatGPT to support you with when it comes to using spreadsheets, such as:
Show The Shortcuts
Using shortcuts to do things like applying formulas to cells can help improve your productivity when working with your spreadsheets. That’s why you can ask ChatGPT to provide you with keyboard shortcuts that you can use for both Excel and Google Sheets. For example, you could ask ChatGPT: What is the shortcut for switching tabs in Excel?
Get The Look
Formatting your data will help your spreadsheet appear more professional, because it will be easier to read. You can ask ChatGPT to help you do this by doing things like formatting the numbers, or creating cell formats.
Pin The Pivot
Adding a pivot table to your spreadsheet is a great way of analyzing and summarizing the data in your document into a tidy visual. You can ask the AI chatbot to do things like finding certain correlations, so that it can create a chart or graph for you.
Macros And App Scripts
For more advanced users, you can even get ChatGPT to help you create Excel macros to automate repetitive tasks in your spreadsheets. Or you can add app scripts to your Google Sheets, in order to connect Google Forms.
Final Thoughts
Spreadsheets that actually work are a great tool to help a company, entrepreneur, student, or family to keep their important data in a neat and tidy file. Files made in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets can, in fact, make like a whole lot easier when they are created properly.
We hope you’ve gained some understanding of how combining ChatGPT and Excel/Google Sheets can help you get to a place where you no longer hate spreadsheets, and look forward to some cell play.
