Office

Summarize a spreadsheet with ChatGPT

You get a short plain-English weekly report from your spreadsheet numbers: the main changes, one thing that looks odd, and one question to look into. It takes about 25 minutes with the free version of ChatGPT. You paste a small table, then check every number against your sheet.

Time
25 min
Tool
ChatGPT (free)
Type
Prompt
Difficulty
Medium
Last tested
Not tested yet

Draft: we have not tested this recipe yet. Treat the steps as a starting point.

What you need

  • A free ChatGPT account
  • A small table copied from your spreadsheet, such as this week and last week
  • A line on what the numbers measure, such as sales or bookings

Copy this prompt

Write a weekly report in 5 sentences or fewer from the table below. The numbers measure [what].
Say what went up, what went down, and by how much. Then name one number that looks unusual and one question I should check.
Use only the numbers in the table. Do not explain why they changed.

Table: [paste this week and last week]

Steps

  1. Copy a small table, no more than about 20 rows, and remove names or private details.
  2. Open ChatGPT, paste the prompt above, and paste the table in place of the brackets.
  3. Recalculate each change the report mentions in your spreadsheet.
  4. Fix any mistakes, then add the reasons you know yourself before sharing.

Test it yourself (15 minutes)

  1. Make up a table with 7 days of bookings for this week and last week.
  2. Run the prompt and check each increase and decrease by hand.
  3. Check that the report does not give reasons it could not know.
  4. Note what you changed. It shows where AI math needs your double check.
Check this yourself
  • Every number, total, and percentage matches your spreadsheet. Recalculate them.
  • The report does not give reasons it cannot know.
  • No customer names or private details were pasted.
  • You understand every sentence well enough to explain it to someone else.

Mistakes and limits

  • AI makes arithmetic mistakes. Recalculate any total, percentage, or change it states.
  • It does not know why numbers changed. Treat its reasons as guesses.
  • Do not paste customer names or private financial details.

Variations

  • Ask for the report as three bullets for a team message.
  • Ask which numbers deserve a closer look and why.

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