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Quickstart

GPT for Work is an AI agent for spreadsheet work in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. It integrates directly into your spreadsheet and lets you automate spreadsheet tasks through plain-language instructions.

GPT for Work contains two distinct spreadsheet add-ons:

  • GPT for Sheets

  • GPT for Excel

This guide gives you a quick walkthrough of the add-ons from installation to trying out the Agent.

Install the add-on​

To use GPT for Work in Sheets or Excel, install the appropriate add-on:

Google logoInstall to start free trialMicrosoft logoInstall to start free trial

For detailed installation instructions, see Install GPT for Work add-ons.

Excel is better than Sheets

If you have a choice between using Excel or Sheets, choose Excel. Excel is generally faster at processing data, provides a smoother user experience, and can reliably handle bigger spreadsheets (200,000 rows and above) than Sheets.

Open the add-on​

  1. Create a new spreadsheet.

  2. In the menu bar, select Extensions > GPT for Sheets and Docs > Open.

    Open GPT for Sheets

    The GPT for Sheets sidebar opens.

    Spreadsheet with GPT for Sheets sidebar

Use the Agent​

The Agent is the chat interface for spreadsheet work in GPT for Excel and GPT for Sheets. Describe what you need in plain language — from everyday spreadsheet tasks to row-by-row bulk processing across large datasets — and the Agent reads your data, determines the required steps, and executes them directly in your spreadsheet.

Let's have the Agent do some quick market research for us. We'll use one of the built-in examples for convenience.

  1. In the sidebar, select Agent.

  2. Click Examples and select Market research.

    Selecting a built-in Agent example

    GPT for Sheets:

    1. Creates a new sheet prepopulated with example data. The data is a list of company names and a series of empty columns for company information that we want the Agent to fill in.

    2. Prefills the Agent chat field with a prompt that will accomplish the example task: Fill out this table. This simple prompt is enough for the Agent to fetch the missing company information from the web and fill the empty columns.

    Sheet with example data and a prompt for the Agent

  3. Click the send button.

    The Agent:

    1. Analyzes the prompt and drafts a plan for accomplishing the requested task.

    2. Executes the plan. In this example, the Agent fetches the missing company information from the web and fills the empty columns B-E with what it found, one by one. Note that for column F, which does not require web search, the Agent uses gpt-4.1 (no web search).

    tip

    You can follow the Agent's thinking and workflow live in the sidebar.

The following video shows the entire process.

What's next​

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