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Ask Flex / Excel and AI

Ask Flex

How do you use AI in Excel?

"How do I use AI in Excel? Everyone says it's easy and nobody says where to click."You asked Google. Flex answered.
Flex the robot at his sunny office desk scratching his head at a big spreadsheet on his screen where one cell flashes a red error, while little Clawd peeks out from behind the monitor holding up a sticky note with an equals sign on it
Flex's short answer

There are two ways: use the AI built into Excel, which is called Copilot, or keep a chat AI open next to your spreadsheet and describe what you need. Start with the chat, because it works with any version of Excel.

✱ Flex's tips

Describe your columns. Ask for one thing.

1

Describe your columns

"Column A is names, column C is amounts."

2

Ask for one thing

A formula, a cleanup, or a summary.

3

Paste it and test one row

Check it against one you did by hand.

4

Ask it to explain

"What does each part do?"

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

I'm working in Excel. My sheet has these columns: [list each column letter and what's in it]. I want to [say what you're trying to do, in plain words]. Give me the exact formula, tell me which cell to put it in, and explain each part in one line. I'm not sharing real data. I'll test it myself.

Before you paste work stuff into any AI, check what your company allows.

If you rebuild the same spreadsheet every week or month, that's work that keeps coming back. The free Lab shows you how to hand that work to Claude.

Free tool

The Formula Finder

Pick what you're trying to do, in plain words. Get the formula, what it means, and how to check it.

Find my formula
Flex the robot at his sunny office desk scratching his head at a big spreadsheet on his screen where one cell flashes a red error, while little Clawd peeks out from behind the monitor holding up a sticky note with an equals sign on it
Inside the Lab

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✱ What people ask
Can I use AI in Excel?

Yes. Built in with Copilot if you have it, or from a chat AI next to any version.

How do I use AI in Excel for free?

Keep a free chat open next to Excel and describe your columns. Flex has a page on it.

How do I use AI in Excel 365?

Excel 365 is where Copilot lives. Whether you see the button depends on your plan. Flex has a page on it.

✱ More from this pile: Excel and AI
How do you use AI in Excel for free?Can AI do Excel formulas?Is there an AI Excel formula checker?How do you use AI in Excel for data analysis?What is ChatGPT for Excel?Does Claude AI work with Excel?How do you use AI in Excel with Copilot?Is there AI for Google Sheets?How do you use AI to create an Excel spreadsheet?How do you use AI to automate Excel?Is it worth it to learn Excel?What are the best ChatGPT prompts for Excel? The Formula Finder
From Nikki's blogFlex tells you how. Nikki tells you what it felt like. Read it on Clawd and Me. Read it →

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