AI for data analysis · How Founders Use AI
What can AI-in-spreadsheets (Claude for Excel, Gemini in Sheets) actually do?
They sit inside your spreadsheet. Claude (in Excel, and in beta in Sheets) and ChatGPT for Excel and Sheets read multi-tab workbooks, explain and fix formulas with links to the cells used, and build models; Copilot in Excel cleans data and learns a recurring task as a skill; Gemini's AI function classifies, summarizes, and fills Sheets cells. They are strongest at cleanup, formulas, and first drafts. Review every change: they keep your structure, not your judgment.
On the AI map, 29 October 2026 Spreadsheets, data and internal toolsFinance and accounting
Go deeper23 sources
-
Claude now works with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Anthropic · Article · Oct 2026
The launch of Claude in a Sheets sidebar: formulas, pivot tables, native charts, and Python for joins and cleanup written back into the sheet.
-
ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets
OpenAI · Guide · Oct 2026
OpenAI's own guide to its spreadsheet sidebar: who gets it, how to install it, and the review steps it asks you to follow.
-
Beyond Analysis: Copilot Gets to Work in Excel
Microsoft Excel team (Brian Jones) · Article · Oct 2026
Microsoft's own post on Copilot in Excel's newest features: get data, clean data, skills you teach it once, and an interactive report canvas.
-
Advancing Claude for Financial Services (Claude for Excel announcement)
Anthropic · Article · Oct 2025
The primary source on what Claude for Excel is built to do and for whom.
-
Use Claude for Excel (official help)
Anthropic · Guide · Oct 2025
Setup, plan requirements, and current limits straight from the maker.
-
Getting started with Claude in Excel
Claude (Anthropic) · Video · Jan 2026
Anthropic's own demo of Claude navigating nested formulas and multi-tab dependencies.
Watch it here
-
How to Use Claude for Excel (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
Kevin Stratvert · Video · May 2026
One of the clearest tech educators walks through cleaning, formula fixes, and analysis.
Watch it here
All 23 sources
-
NEW Claude in Excel: How Good Is It?
Kenji Explains · Video · 2026
A finance-focused Excel YouTuber stress-tests it on realistic workbooks.
Watch it here
-
I Tested Claude in Excel and It Has Blown my Mind
Excel Champs · Video · Feb 2026
An Excel trainer's honest first-contact test across common spreadsheet tasks.
Watch it here
-
How to Use Claude for Excel: Complete Beginner Guide
Teacher's Tech · Video · Apr 2026
The gentlest on-ramp if you have never used an AI add-in before.
Watch it here
-
Ethan Mollick: Claude's Excel ability is the best I have seen (406 formulas from one prompt)
Ethan Mollick · Thread · Sep 2025
Independent evidence of a full working spreadsheet built from a single prompt.
-
Ethan Mollick: Claude in Excel vs Microsoft's own Excel agent
Ethan Mollick · Thread · 2026
Why the same model gives different quality depending on how the spreadsheet agent works.
-
Anthropic's Claude just invaded Excel
TechRadar Pro · Article · Oct 2025
A skeptical outside view on where the add-in fits against Copilot.
-
Claude for Excel: What It Does Well and Where It Still Falls Short
Olga Berezovsky (Data Analysis Journal) · Article · 2025
A veteran analyst's balanced scorecard, useful before you trust it with your model.
-
Gemini in Google Sheets (official hub)
Google Workspace · Guide · 2025
Google's own map of what Gemini can do inside Sheets, from charts to insights.
-
Use the AI function in Google Sheets
Google · Guide · 2025
The reference for =AI("prompt", range), the single most useful Sheets AI primitive.
-
Generate data with Gemini in Google Sheets
Google Workspace Updates · Article · Jun 2025
The primary-source changelog on Gemini generating and filling data in Sheets.
-
How to Use the NEW Google Sheets AI Function
Peter's Google Tips · Video · Apr 2025
A tight demo of the =AI() function on real spreadsheet tasks.
Watch it here
-
Use the AI Function in Google Sheets
Flipped Classroom Tutorials · Video · Sep 2025
Covers the plan requirements and gotchas that block most people from finding the feature.
Watch it here
-
Work Smarter with Google Sheets AI (Gemini Tutorial)
Stewart Gauld · Video · Jan 2025
A small-business angle on Gemini in Sheets, closest to a founder's actual use.
Watch it here
-
A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Gemini + Google Sheets
KDnuggets · Article · 2025
Worked examples of categorizing and summarizing data in cells without add-ons.
-
How to Use Copilot in Excel: Full Tutorial (2025)
Lisa Crosbie · Video · 2025
The Microsoft-native alternative demonstrated end to end, for teams already on M365.
Watch it here
-
How to Use Gemini in Google Sheets
Analytics Vidhya · Article · Apr 2025
An India-based data community's practical walkthrough with prompt examples.