ChatGPT in Google Sheets.

Let’s look at a sheet you might recognise

I use Sheets to keep track of content, so that’s the example we’ll work through together.

You open your content tracker, and the work is all there. At least, you think it is. One article says Published, but there’s no live link. Another is waiting for review, and the brief is missing.

Now you’re going through the rows thinking, okay, what actually needs my attention here?

This is the kind of question you can ask ChatGPT right inside Google Sheets. It opens in a sidebar, where you can ask it to build, edit, or explain the workbook in ordinary language. Here, we’re using the official ChatGPT add-on by OpenAI.

The article waiting for review needs its brief. The published article needs its live URL. But the draft is fine with an empty live URL. It hasn’t been published yet, so there is no link to add.

See the difference? An empty cell can mean something is missing, or it can be completely normal. Explain that part when you ask for help:

Now you can go back to the two rows that need something, without treating every blank cell as another problem.

First, let’s get the add-on open

If you haven’t installed it yet, open Google Sheets in a desktop browser and follow these steps. If it’s already there, you can go straight to the next example.

1. Open a Google Sheet. Choose Extensions → Add-ons → Get add-ons.
2. Search for ChatGPT. Check that the publisher is OpenAI, then select Install.
3. Read the requested permissions. Continue and allow the access you intend to grant, then finish the setup.
4. Return to the sheet. Choose Extensions → ChatGPT → Open, and sign in with your ChatGPT account.

You can also open the official installation listing directly. Google has the add-on installation steps here too.

For your first go, use a blank practice sheet or a copy of one you already understand. Then you can try these requests and see what happens.

“How much work is actually waiting here?”

Sometimes you don’t need to inspect every row. You just want to know how many articles are still in draft, how many need review, and how many are published. You can ask for that too.

You should get a short status summary with the calculations visible. To check it, filter the original sheet to one status and compare the rows with the total. Is it counting the same work you are?

And if you’ve opened a workbook someone else built, you can start even earlier: “Explain what each tab does.” You can understand the sheet before deciding what to change.

“Wait, what is this formula doing?”

A formula can be working perfectly and still leave you wondering how it got that answer. Point ChatGPT to the cell and ask it to walk you through it.

Replace the brackets with the actual reference, such as cell B2 on Status Summary. Tell it what you expected as well. Something like: “This should count active articles, but it seems to include archived ones.”

That gives it the part you were already thinking about. You’re asking it to check the formula against the result you actually need.

“Can it help me build the tracker as well?”

Yes. You can start with a description of the work you want to keep track of. You don’t need to work out every spreadsheet feature before asking.

Once it’s there, try the dropdown and add another row. Does the sheet still make sense as you start using it? That’s the part to check.

For a website update log or a research tracker, explain the item you’re tracking, the stages it goes through, and what should happen next. The structure needs to follow that work.

Tell it what you mean before it changes the sheet

Some of my sheets feed into automations, so a status change can affect what happens next. I’d explain that before asking ChatGPT to “fix” anything, even if it takes another sentence.

• Instead of “fix everything,” name the tab, range, and problem.
• For inconsistent labels, ask for proposed replacements in a new column before overwriting the originals.
• For a broken count, explain which rows should be included.
• If another workflow reads this sheet, identify the column names and status values it depends on.

For example, you can say: “Standardise the proposed category labels in a new column. Leave the existing categories untouched so I can compare them.” Then you can look at the two columns together and decide which changes to keep.

A few things you might be wondering

Now try it with your own sheet

For me, a tool starts to make sense when I can connect it to work I already do. So take the thing you keep checking manually. Maybe it’s a missing link, a formula you don’t understand, or the number of articles waiting for review. Start with the question you already have.

Open a practice copy, ask it that question, and compare the answer with the cells in front of you. You’ll have a much better feel for it once you’ve tried something you can check yourself.

If you need somewhere to start, use the practice tracker above.

Product references checked November 2, 2026. The rows and revealed results on this page are illustrative. The prompts are examples to adapt.

• Official ChatGPT add-on by OpenAI
• Google: install and use add-ons