Guide
Spreadsheet formulas and charts from a plain sentence
For this guide and its prompts we recommend:
- Gamma places the chart and a short summary on a clear slide for the monthly report. Free plan (source)
Offers checked 21 Oct 2026
You can now write spreadsheet formulas in plain words.
Five working formulas and one chart in your own sheet, written from plain-language requests.
What you need
- Your own spreadsheet with real column names
- Any AI chat assistant
- A spreadsheet with a built-in AI assistant, if you have one
- Gamma for the monthly report
Recommended AI tools
GammaA laid-out deck or page from an outlineFree plan
Steps
Describe the sheet, then the result you want
Give the column letters, the column names and what one row means. Then say in one sentence what you want to calculate.
WeakGive me a formula for sales.
BetterColumn A is the order date, column C the product, column E the amount. Row 1 is headers. I want the total amount for product 'Scarf' in March in cell H2.
Paste the formula and test it by hand
Paste the formula into one cell. Pick three or four rows and work out the answer by hand. Use the formula only when both answers match.
Use the AI inside your spreadsheet
If your spreadsheet has a built-in AI assistant, ask it the same question there. It can see your columns, but you still check its formula by hand.
Ask what an inherited formula does
Paste a formula someone else wrote and ask for a plain explanation, part by part, and what would break it.
Example=SUMIFS(E:E, C:C, "Scarf", A:A, ">="&DATE(2026,3,1)) adds the amounts in column E where the product is Scarf and the date is on or after a start date.
Make one chart for the monthly report
Build a simple chart from the checked figures and place it in your report deck. Before you share any number, follow /guides/check-a-number-before-you-publish/.
The full instruction
Copy it into any AI chat assistant and change only the first line.
Change only this line: GOAL = [total order amount per product for each month] You help me write spreadsheet formulas from plain sentences. My GOAL above is what I want the sheet to show (up to five things). Before you write, ask me one question at a time: which spreadsheet app I use, my columns (letter, name and what is in each), and whether row 1 is headers or data. Do three things: 1. For each request in my GOAL, one formula, which cell to put it in and a plain explanation of each part. 2. For each formula, a check I can do by hand on 3 rows, so I can compare the results. 3. One chart that would show the main result for a monthly report: chart type, which columns, and a title of at most 8 words. If my request is unclear or the columns do not fit, ask me instead of guessing. Start with formula 1.
What you end up with
Five formulas you checked by hand on real rows, plain explanations of the ones you inherited and one chart ready for the monthly report.
Common mistakes
- Trusting a formula without checking a few rows by hand.
- Describing the columns vaguely, so the formula points at the wrong ones.
- Pasting customer names or sensitive data when the column names are enough.
Processes that need more than one tool
Each process below uses several tools, each for the job it does best. Any AI chat assistant works where one is named.
Describe it and get the formula
Tools, in order: any AI chat assistant → a spreadsheet
- Describe your columns and the result in one sentence to the chat assistant.
- Paste the formula into one cell of your spreadsheet and check three rows by hand.
The prompt for this process
Write a spreadsheet formula from my plain sentence. Spreadsheet: [the spreadsheet app you use] Columns: [letter, name and content, e.g. A = order date, C = product, E = amount] Row 1 is: [headers or data] What I want: [one sentence] Give the formula, the cell to put it in and a plain explanation of each part. Then give a check I can do by hand on 3 rows. If my sentence could mean two things, ask me which one before writing the formula. Start with the formula.
Do it inside your spreadsheet
Tools, in order: a spreadsheet's built-in AI assistant → a spreadsheet
- Ask the built-in AI assistant of your spreadsheet for the formula in plain words.
- Check the result by hand on a few rows before you keep it.
The prompt for this process
Use the columns in this sheet to answer my request. What I want: [one sentence, e.g. the total amount per product for last month] Where to put the result: [cell or new column] Write the formula, explain each part in plain words and show the result for the first 3 rows, so I can check them by hand. Do not change or delete any existing data. If a column name is unclear, ask me first. Start with the formula.
Explain a formula you inherited
Tools, in order: any AI chat assistant → a spreadsheet
- Paste a formula someone else wrote into the chat assistant and ask for a plain explanation.
- Test the explanation in your spreadsheet by changing one input and watching the result.
The prompt for this process
Explain a spreadsheet formula I inherited. Formula: [paste] What the columns it uses contain: [describe] What I think it should do: [one sentence] Explain it part by part in plain words, then in one sentence what it does as a whole. Say whether it does what I think. List what would break it, for example empty cells, text in a number column or new rows below the range. Suggest one test I can do by hand. Start with the part by part explanation.
Chart for the monthly report
Tools, in order: a spreadsheet → Gamma
- Build one simple chart from the checked figures in your spreadsheet.
- Place the chart and a short summary on a report slide in Gamma.
The prompt for this process
Help me make one chart and a short summary for my monthly report slide in Gamma. Checked figures from my spreadsheet: [paste the table] What the report is for: [e.g. a monthly review with my business partner] Suggest one chart type and why, which columns to use and a title of at most 8 words. Then write a summary of at most 3 sentences that only states what the figures show. Do not explain causes or predict next month. Start with the chart type.
For this result we recommend these tools
This guide describes a result. These tools are one way to get there faster. Whether one pays for itself depends on your work, and we promise no result.
From Ema’s story: Ema designs invitations that spell correctly
ToolGamma
AI tool for creating presentations, documents and simple websites from prompts.
From $9 per seat per month, $108 per seat billed annually (Plus) (source, checked 2026-10-07)
Gamma is an AI tool that builds slide decks, one-page documents and simple web pages from an outline. In this guide it is used in “Chart for the monthly report”. People use it for proposals, lesson slides and reports, and it stands out because the result is shared as a link that reads well on a phone.
Free plan (source, checked 21 Oct 2026)
We recommend a specialised tool for each process rather than one tool that does everything. Tools that try to do everything rarely do any one job really well, because no single function gets perfected. It is the same in life, in business and in relationships: spread your attention over ten places and nothing gets done properly.
Forward, without brakes
Now that the Kailiniai Heroes exist, you can have your own. Create one hero or several, and use them for goals that used to need a whole team or a big budget.
