How to Get Excel Formulas From ChatGPT (Plain-English Guide)

You know exactly what you want the spreadsheet to do. You just do not know what the formula is called, and twenty minutes of searching menus later, you are angrier and no closer. Here is the shortcut: describe what you want in plain English, and let ChatGPT write the formula for you.

This works in both Excel and Google Sheets, requires zero formula knowledge to start, and comes with one safety habit that keeps a wrong formula from quietly ruining your numbers.

The plain-English formula prompt

The trick is to describe three things: what is in your columns, what you want to happen, and where the result should go. This prompt does it all:

I'm working in [Excel / Google Sheets]. In plain English, here is what I want: [describe it, e.g. "combine the first name in column A and the last name in column B into one full name", or "count how many rows in column D say Paid"]. My data starts in row 2. Column A contains [what], column B contains [what]. Give me: 1) the exact formula to paste, 2) which cell to paste it into, 3) one line explaining how it works, 4) the most likely way it could go wrong and how I would notice.

Part 4 is the difference between a formula you trust and a formula you hope for. More on that below.

Five requests that used to require a colleague

Combine or split names. "Combine first and last names with a space between them" or "split the full name in column A into two columns." These are classic time sinks that ChatGPT solves in one reply.

Count things that match. "Count how many rows say Paid", "count orders from October", "count clients with no email address." You will usually get COUNTIF or COUNTIFS, correctly filled in.

Add up with conditions. "Add up column C, but only for rows where column B says Complete." That is SUMIF territory, and it is where most self-taught spreadsheet users hit their ceiling.

Flag problems. "Highlight rows where the deadline in column E has already passed." ChatGPT will explain conditional formatting step by step, including where to click.

Look values up. "Find each employee's department from the table on Sheet2." VLOOKUP and its modern cousins are exactly the kind of formula nobody should memorize anymore.

When the formula does not work

Paste the error message or the wrong result straight back into the chat. Say what you expected and what you got:

The formula you gave me returned [#N/A / a zero / the wrong number]. I expected [what you expected]. Here are three example rows from my sheet, with the real values replaced by fake ones: [paste rows]. What went wrong, and what should I use instead?

Fake values matter if your sheet contains anything sensitive. The structure is what ChatGPT needs, not the real salaries. Our guide to using ChatGPT safely at work explains where that line sits.

The 60-second check before you trust it

Formulas fail loudly with errors, but the dangerous ones fail quietly with plausible wrong numbers. So pick three rows where you already know the right answer and check them by hand. If all three match, the formula almost certainly works. If one is off, back to the chat with the example.

Clean-up jobs are fair game too

Beyond formulas, ChatGPT is very good at telling you how to fix messy data: removing duplicates, trimming stray spaces that break matching, converting text dates into real dates, and splitting one overloaded column into several. Describe the mess, ask for the steps, and follow along. The official Microsoft Excel help center and the Google Sheets function list are useful companions when you want to read more about a function ChatGPT suggests.

Stop memorizing, start describing

You never needed to know formula names. You needed the result. Describe the result, check three rows, and move on with your day.

The free course Everyday Productivity: Get Hours Back Every Week has a full lesson on spreadsheet help in plain English, plus five more ways to win your hours back.