You open a workbook from finance or operations, and you need to understand it before your next meeting.
The ChatGPT add-in for Excel reasons across your workbook and answers in plain language, while Excel stays the system of record. It can explain a model, suggest which questions a dataset can answer, fix formulas and create charts without you switching apps.
Where to find ChatGPT in Excel
- On your own: install ChatGPT from the Microsoft Marketplace, or open Excel, go to Home, select Add-ins, search for ChatGPT and add it.
- At work: your IT team may deploy the add-in and assign it to you.
ChatGPT then appears in the ribbon. The first time, select Continue with ChatGPT and sign in with your account.
What your plan includes
- Every plan: ChatGPT for Excel has been generally available since May 2026 on all ChatGPT plans, including Free and Go.
- Business and Enterprise: usage draws on your workspace credits.
- Skills and apps: available on eligible plans, subject to your admin settings.
- Separate history: spreadsheet chats are kept apart from your main ChatGPT history and do not use memory.
When ChatGPT for Excel earns its place
- A workbook you did not build, such as a budget model from finance or a tracker you inherited.
- A formula that will not work, which ChatGPT can explain and fix in plain language.
- A quick chart for a meeting, created directly in the workbook.
- ChatGPT is already your main assistant, and you want the same help inside Excel.
How to use ChatGPT in Excel, step by step
The examples below use a public job market dataset with roles, salaries, skills and locations. The same four prompts work on any dataset, from a sales export to survey results.
Step 1: Check how ChatGPT reads your data. Open the pane and ask:
List every column and explain what each appears to represent. List five random samples of the data for each column.
Step 2: Ask what the data can answer.
What are the five most interesting questions this dataset is sufficient to answer?
Step 3: Drill into a decision-relevant question.
Which job titles offer the highest salary ranges, after normalizing by required experience?
ChatGPT links its answer to the exact cells it used and asks permission before it changes anything. Scan the referenced cells and check its assumptions.
Step 4: Create a chart. The chart lands in the workbook, where you can adjust labels, formatting and placement:
Create a chart showing the top skills associated with high-paying roles.
Step 5: Keep going. Use the same pane to build or fix formulas, or to explain how a sheet calculates its totals.
What should you watch out for?
- Macros and VBA are not fully supported.
- Complex edge-case formulas may still need manual work.
- Each spreadsheet chat starts without memory, so give it the context it needs in the prompt.
A CODO prompt to start with
Once you trust how the AI reads your data, use this prompt, built with our CODO framework, to turn the analysis into findings your audience needs. Replace the bracketed parts. Your own definitions matter most, because the AI otherwise picks its own.
Character: You are a senior data analyst who specializes in [sales data] and knows how to frame findings for [a leadership team]. Objective: I am the [Head of Sales] at [company] in [industry]. Analyze the [attached / open] dataset, surface the three most important patterns and flag anything concerning, so [my leadership team] can decide [where to focus next quarter]. Do: - Before you analyze, list each column, what it appears to represent and any data quality issues you notice. - Use my definitions: [a high-value customer has annual revenue above $50,000]. - Lead with the "so what", not the method. - Show the calculation or the cells behind every number you report. - Suggest one chart that would make the main finding clear. Don't: - Don't change or delete my original data. Put any new analysis in a separate sheet or file. - Don't present estimates or assumptions as facts. Label them. Output: Three key findings of one paragraph each, followed by a 3 to 5 sentence summary for [my leadership team] that I can paste into an email or slide.
Want to take it further? These how-to articles build on the same skills:
- Write a custom report from your data using ChatGPT connectors: turn data from your connected apps into a written report.
- Turn a spreadsheet into an interactive project dashboard with ChatGPT Sites: share your analysis as an interactive page.
What will your IT and legal teams ask?
- Is our data used for training? Not on Business and Enterprise plans by default.
- Can it change our files without asking? No. ChatGPT asks permission before it edits cells.
- How is it deployed? Admins can deploy the add-in from the Microsoft Marketplace and assign it to specific people.
- Which apps and skills can it use? Only those your workspace admin allows.
ChatGPT for Excel or another tool?
ChatGPT for Excel is a good fit if ChatGPT is your main assistant and you want help directly in the workbook.
If your company has Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, Copilot in Excel is built in. For deep model work with cell citations, compare Claude for Excel. For Google Sheets, ChatGPT for Google Sheets works the same way. Our overview of AI for data analysis compares all eight options.
Key takeaways
- Install the add-in once and sign in with your ChatGPT account.
- Check how it reads your data before you ask for analysis.
- Use the cell links to verify every important number.
- Approve edits deliberately, because ChatGPT asks first.
- Give context in each chat, since it has no memory.
