Best AI for Excel & Google Sheets 2026: ChatGPT vs Gemini
I ran ChatGPT in Excel and Gemini in Google Sheets on real files: cleaning up data, formulas, a summary with a chart, what each one costs, and where it fails. My pick per job is at the end.
Try it on the same messy files as in the video. Each file has a "Try it" tab with every prompt.
ChatGPT in Excel: the free add-in
OpenAI has an official ChatGPT add-in for Excel and for Google Sheets. According to OpenAI, it has been generally available since May 5th, on every plan, including the free one. Free accounts get limited usage.
The test file is a sales export somebody else made: 26 rows of orders, a revenue column, and a commission column that is full of errors.
Step 1: Ask before you change anything
Before changing anything, ask a question:
Summarize this sheet. What is in it, and what looks wrong or unusual?
This file hides four problems: region names in different spellings, dates in different formats, repeated order numbers, and the broken commission column. Your answer will be worded differently, because ChatGPT never answers the same way twice.
Step 2: The plan-first prompt
Before ChatGPT edits anything, make it tell you exactly what it is going to change:
Before editing, outline exactly which ranges you will modify to clean up this sheet: standardize the Region labels, put every date in the same format, and remove duplicate orders. Do not edit yet.
Now you get a plan instead of a surprise: which columns, which rows, and what happens to each of them. If something is wrong, correct it in plain English before a single cell changes.
Step 3: Clean up, with guardrails
Then go ahead, with two guardrails:
Go ahead. Change only the Region and Date columns and the duplicate rows. Do not touch the formulas. Then list exactly what changed.
The regions are spelled one way, the dates share one format, and the repeated orders are gone. The panel lists what changed: always read that list. OpenAI says it plainly: the output can be incomplete or incorrect.
Step 4: A formula from plain English
Describe the rule and say where the result has to go:
In column J, add a header Bonus and a formula for every order: 50 dollars when Revenue is 2000 or more, otherwise 0. Explain the formula in one sentence.
It writes a real formula into the cells, not a pasted number, so it keeps working when the data changes, and the explanation sits right next to it.
Step 5: Find the cause of a #REF! error
The commission column shows an error in every row. Ask:
Why am I getting an error in cell I2? Explain the formula chain and propose a fix.
The formula multiplies revenue by a commission rate, and looks that rate up in the small table on the right. But the lookup asks for the third column of a table that only has two:
=H2*VLOOKUP(D2,$K$2:$L$5,3,FALSE)
ChatGPT explains the chain and proposes the corrected formula. Then:
Apply that fix to the whole column.
Every commission fills in.
Step 6: A summary with a chart
On a new sheet, build a summary of Revenue and Commission by Region with a total row. Use formulas that point to the orders, and add a column chart of revenue by region.
You get a new sheet with a summary per region, a total row and a chart. Because the prompt asks for formulas, it updates when an order changes.
Step 7: A what-if scenario
OpenAI lists scenarios and sensitivity tables as one of the main uses, so I tested it:
Create a new scenario sheet that compares a base, an upside and a downside case: units 10 percent higher and 10 percent lower. Show revenue and commission for each case, and the difference from base.
The result is three cases side by side, with the difference from base. Check one number yourself: if the base revenue doesn't match the summary sheet, something is off.
Where ChatGPT fails
- OpenAI says macros, Power Query and pivot tables are not supported yet.
- The answers change from run to run, so your result won't look exactly like mine.
- The usage runs out. In my own testing, it stopped with a rate limit error after about 30 prompts in one hour. Spend your prompts on the jobs that matter.
Gemini in Google Sheets: built in, not free
There's nothing to install: Gemini is built into Google Sheets. But it isn't free. You need Google AI Pro (about $20 a month) or a Google Workspace business plan.
Step 8: Convert to table
Somebody emails you a list of orders as plain sentences. Paste it into Sheets and click the suggestion that pops up: Convert to table. Gemini reads the sentences and splits them into proper columns: name, item, quantity, date, amount and status.
Step 9: Fill with Gemini and the AI function
Want a category for every item? Add a column and type the first answer yourself, so Gemini knows the pattern. Select the column, right-click and choose Fill column with Gemini, and it fills in the rest following your example. Google says this is up to nine times faster than typing it yourself.
If you'd rather have a formula, use the AI function. It puts Gemini inside a cell: an instruction and the cells to read. Fill it down, and every order gets its own message.
=AI("Write a one-line delivery update for this order", A2:F2)
Check it: in the video, row 3 (Ben) got Anna's message. Read every row before you use the result.
Step 10: Gemini fixes a broken formula
Here's a lookup that breaks. Hover over the error and click Fix.
=VLOOKUP("Emma", A2:F6, 7, FALSE)
Gemini explains the problem: the range stops at column F, so there is no seventh column. Then it offers a corrected formula, and one click fixes it.
Step 11: A dashboard from one prompt
Open the Gemini panel and describe what you want:
Add scorecards for total revenue and number of orders, and a bar chart of revenue by item, above my data
Gemini doesn't just answer in a chat. It shows you a plan first. Click Approve, and it writes the formulas and builds the scorecards and the chart right in your sheet: total revenue, number of orders and revenue by item. According to Google, Gemini in Sheets scores about 70% on SpreadsheetBench, a benchmark of real spreadsheet tasks. It still makes mistakes, so always check the formulas it writes.
Step 12: A kanban board with Sheets canvas
In the Gemini panel, open Tools, choose Create canvas and describe the app you want:
Make a kanban board of the orders in Table1, grouped by Status
A few minutes later there's a new tab: a kanban board of the orders, with the amounts and totals on every card. Your edits sync with the sheet in real time.
Where Gemini fails
- It only works in Google Sheets, so it's no help in your Excel files.
- It needs a paid plan.
- 70% on Google's own benchmark also means roughly three in ten tasks in that test did not come out right. So check every formula it writes.
The verdict: the best AI per job
| Job | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning up data | ChatGPT | A plan first, then a list of exactly what changed, and you can start for free. If your data arrives as plain text in Google Sheets, Gemini's Convert to table is faster. |
| Formulas | A tie | Both found the broken lookup, explained why, and fixed it. |
| Summary and chart | Gemini | One prompt gave scorecards and a chart. ChatGPT built a summary sheet with a chart too, and both stay live because they use formulas. |
| Your budget | Depends | Pay nothing? Start with the free ChatGPT add-in. Already pay for Google AI Pro? Gemini is already in your Sheets. |
What each one costs
US prices, checked on 3 Oct 2026: the ChatGPT add-in works on every ChatGPT plan, Free with limited usage. Gemini in Sheets needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or a Google Workspace business plan. Claude for Excel (Anthropic) needs Claude Pro ($20 a month billed monthly, or higher) and Copilot in Excel (Microsoft) needs Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99 a month) or another plan with Copilot. Both were not part of this test, so they are not ranked.
Sources: OpenAI, ChatGPT for Excel · Google AI plans · Anthropic pricing · Microsoft 365 plans. AI can make mistakes: review the changed cells and keep a copy of your original file.
Want every 2026 function on one page? The free Formula Pack is a 3-page cheat sheet plus all practice files from the videos.