Safe mode

Execute GPT functions more reliably in your Google spreadsheets by enabling Safe mode, which:

• Avoids most timeouts, as it bypasses the 30-second runtime limit for custom functions in Google Sheets
• Prevents loss of data and unexpected costs when your spreadsheet auto-refreshes, which happens every few hours on Google Sheets

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Safe mode only applies to:

• GPT-4 models
• GPT-4-turbo models
• Perplexity AI online models with GPT_WEB

Enable Safe mode

Prerequisites

You have opened a Google spreadsheet and selected Extensions > GPT for Sheets and Docs > Open.

1. In the GPT for Sheets sidebar, click Settings.

   

2. Enable Safe mode.

   
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   Safe mode doesn't apply to GPT-3.5-turbo models.

3. If you enable Safe mode for the first time, you are prompted to grant additional permissions. These permissions are required for GPT for Sheets to modify the formulas in your spreadsheets.

   1. Click Sign-in with Google. A Sign in with Google window opens.

   2. Select the Google account with which you have installed GPT for Sheets.

   3. Click Allow to grant GPT for Sheets the required permissions.

Safe mode is now enabled and will be used for all executions with GPT-4, GPT-4-turbo models, and GPT_WEB.

Result storage and reuse

When you execute a formula using Safe mode without activating Auto-replace formulas, the original formula is modified to include its own result as the last parameter.

The result is thus stored in the spreadsheet itself, available for reuse each time the spreadsheet auto-refreshes. This gives you more control over formula refresh, which you can still perform manually by regenerating results.

Safe mode is a huge improvement over the cache feature, both in terms of execution count and storage/cache duration. It provides the most reliable method to reuse results in GPT for Sheets.

	Cache	Safe mode
# executions cached/stored	Approximately 900	Unlimited*
Cache/storage expiration	Approximately 6 hours	Unlimited
Models supported	All models	GPT-4 and GPT-4-turbo models Perplexity AI's online models (with GPT_WEB)

* Unlimited = Within Google Sheets limits

The following table describes when results are reused or refreshed with Safe mode enabled in different scenarios:

Modification	Examples	Consequence
None	You have made no change and the spreadsheet auto-refreshes You copy a formula containing no reference to several other cells	Result is reused*
Sidebar settings	You edit Custom instructions and the spreadsheet auto-refreshes You change the Creativity level and copy a formula containing no reference to several other cells	Result is reused*
Formula parameters	You add a value for the temperature parameter, even if you set it to the same value as in the sidebar You change the prompt, even to add or remove a period	Formula refreshes**
Formula input	You change the referenced cell You edit the content of the referenced cell	Formula refreshes**

* Reused = original result remains, nothing is sent to OpenAI, no extra cost
** Refreshed = execution sent to OpenAI, incurs cost and new result might be different from original result

Limitations

If you enable Safe mode in GPT for Sheets:

• Executions are a bit slower
• GPT for Sheets can only do up to 120 executions per minute (1,800 per hour)
• GPT for Sheets can't handle more than 2,000 executions launched in parallel

What's next

Auto-replace formulas for faster executions and to get raw data that you can manipulate immediately.