Lesson 191 · 3 min
Excel formulas with AI
Describe what you want the cell to do in plain words, and a chatbot can write the formula and explain it line by line.
Most people know what they want from a spreadsheet and get stuck on the syntax. "Add up sales for Hanoi in March" is easy to say and fiddly to type as a formula.
A chatbot is good at this translation. Tell it which columns hold what, which row the data starts on, and what result you expect. It will usually suggest a formula such as SUMIFS or XLOOKUP and explain each part.
Always test the formula on a few rows where you already know the answer. Formulas can fail without any warning: a wrong range or a stray space in a name gives a number that looks fine and is wrong.
Ask for the explanation as well as the formula. After a few weeks you will start writing simple ones yourself, and you will spot the AI's mistakes faster.
Do it now
Get one formula you need this week
- 1. Pick a real sheet and note the column letters and what each holds.
- 2. Fill in the prompt below and paste it into a chatbot.
- 3. Test the formula on three rows you can check by hand before you copy it down.
I use [Excel / Google Sheets]. Column A has [DATES], column B has [CITY], column C has [SALES IN DONG]. Data starts in row 2 and ends around row [500]. I want a formula in F2 that gives [TOTAL SALES FOR HANOI IN MARCH 2026]. Give me the formula, explain each part in plain words, and tell me one way it could go wrong.
Quick check
Words from this lesson
- Prompt
- The instruction or question you give an AI. Clearer prompts with context usually get much better answers.
- Hallucination
- When an AI states something false with confidence, such as a made-up fact, quote or source.