Tutorials · Chapter B (2/4) · ~10 min

AI for Excel

Try it → see it → read → next

Turn spreadsheet goals into formulas you can test.

Try yourself

Playground

Formula lab

Goal: total Revenue for region West in June (cell F2). Pick a formula, then run tests.

Sample table · Date · Customer · Region · Revenue

2026-06-02  Ada   West   120
2026-06-08  Bo    East   90
2026-06-15  Cy    West   210
2026-05-20  Dee   West   400
2026-06-28  Eli   West   75

Recap

What you just did

FormulaLab moved from describe → draft → test → explain. Instead of pasting a mysterious formula and hoping, you gave the sheet structure, asked for one approach, and checked it on known rows.

Teach

How it works

See it

A prompt with a job

RoleTaskContextFormat

Role + task + context + format = clearer output

Use a formula playbook:

Spreadsheet: Excel 365
Columns:
A Date
B Customer
C Region
D Revenue

Goal: In G2, total Revenue for the region in F2
for dates during June 2026.

Give:
1) one formula
2) a plain-English explanation of each condition
3) two edge cases to test
Use commas as separators. Do not invent column names.

For cleanup, ask for reversible steps:

Column B has names with random spaces and capitalization.
Propose a helper-column formula; do not overwrite the original.
Show expected output for:
"  MAYA chen "
"O'NEIL"
blank cell

Test with tiny data where you already know the answer. Check blanks, errors, dates stored as text, duplicates, and locked references such as $F$2. If your Excel version or locale differs, say so in the prompt.

Use it

When you'd use this

Drafting or explaining formulas
Planning pivots, charts, and cleanup steps
Finding why a formula returns the wrong row or total

Watch out

Do not upload payroll, customer records, or confidential workbooks to unapproved tools. AI cannot see hidden filters or workbook rules unless you describe them. Always keep a copy and inspect formulas before filling thousands of rows.

Try next

Try this next

Choose one formula you already trust. Ask AI to explain it, then create three test rows — including one blank or edge case — and compare the result.