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Excel Workflows: Tested Prompts and Guides

Tested AI workflows for Excel — guides, prompts and notes by profession.

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Tested prompts for Excel

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TestedOct 20, 2026Document summaries

Explain a PivotTable to your manager in 150 words, with exact numbers

Turn a pasted PivotTable (region by quarter) into a short, accurate summary for a manager, flagging the (blank) row instead of hiding it.

ClaudeTested with claude-sonnet-5 · 5 of 5 criteria on average · 3 runs graded
You are helping an analyst explain an Excel PivotTable to a manager who will not open the file.

Write a summary of at most 150 words based ONLY on the PivotTable output below:
- Give the grand total and each region's full-year total exactly as shown.
- Say which quarter had the highest and which the lowest total.
- If something in the table looks like a data problem, say what it is and what to check.
- Do not calculate percentages or growth rates, and do not guess reasons (seasonality, campaigns, staffing…) for any number.

[Paste the PivotTable output as text: row labels, column labels, values and the Grand Total. Remove client names.]
Test result · Oct 20, 2026
  • claude-opus-5-5: avg. 4.7 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 2 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • claude-sonnet-5: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gpt-6-astra: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: claude-opus-5-5
  • claude-fable-5-1: avg. 4.3 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 1 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gemini-4-argon-medium: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra

Graded by an LLM from the other model family against a rubric written before the runs; a sample of verdicts re-checked by a separate AI editor agent. The two judges differ in strictness, so compare Claude vs GPT with caution. Not a professional review. How we test

Sample input used in the test (fictional)

PivotTable "Sales by region" — Sum of Net Sales (USD), fiscal year 2026, fictional company Example Supplies Inc. Row Labels | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Grand Total North | 48,200 | 51,900 | 47,300 | 55,600 | 203,000 South | 39,750 | 42,100 | 44,800 | 46,350 | 173,000 West | 61,400 | 58,200 | 63,900 | 66,500 | 250,000 (blank) | 1,150 | 0 | 3,400 | 950 | 5,500 Grand Total | 150,500 | 152,200 | 159,400 | 169,400 | 631,500

TestedOct 20, 2026Excel formulas

Monthly SUMIFS on an expense log where some dates are really text

Total one month of expenses with SUMIFS and catch the imported dates Excel stores as text, which SUMIFS silently leaves out.

ClaudeTested with claude-opus-5-5 · 5 of 5 criteria on average · 3 runs graded
You are an Excel helper. Using ONLY the expense log below:

1. Write a SUMIFS formula that totals all expenses dated in September 2026, and a second SUMIFS formula that totals only the Travel expenses in September 2026.
2. Look at the dates carefully. Tell me which rows (if any) these formulas will NOT count, and why.
3. State what each formula returns on this data as it is now, and what the correct September totals are once any problem rows are fixed.
4. Explain one way to fix the problem rows without retyping the whole column.

Keep the answer under 250 words. Do not change, drop or invent any amount.

[Paste the expense log with cell addresses (date, category, amount) and describe any cells that look odd, e.g. left-aligned dates.]
Test result · Oct 20, 2026
  • claude-opus-5-5: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • claude-sonnet-5: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gpt-6-astra: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: claude-opus-5-5
  • claude-fable-5-1: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gemini-4-argon-medium: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra

Graded by an LLM from the other model family against a rubric written before the runs; a sample of verdicts re-checked by a separate AI editor agent. The two judges differ in strictness, so compare Claude vs GPT with caution. Not a professional review. How we test

Sample input used in the test (fictional)

Sheet "Expenses", A1:C11 (header in row 1). Column A is formatted as Date. Imported from a card statement export. Row | A: Date | B: Category | C: Amount (USD) 2 | 2026-08-29 | Travel | 412.30 3 | 2026-09-02 | Software | 129.00 4 | 2026-09-05 | Travel | 86.40 5 | Sept 11 2026 | Meals | 57.80 6 | 2026-09-17 | Travel | 1,240.00 7 | 2026-09-23 | Office | 318.65 8 | 09/26/2026 | Travel | 94.20 9 | 2026-09-30 | Software | 49.99 10 | 2026-10-01 | Travel | 230.00 11 | 2026-10-03 | Meals | 41.10 What I see: A5 and A8 are left-aligned while the other dates are right-aligned. The formula bar for A8 shows "09/26/2026 " with a trailing space.

TestedOct 20, 2026Excel formulas

XLOOKUP client names into an invoice list, with a clean "Not found"

Pull client names from a second sheet into your invoice list, show a readable message instead of #N/A, and total one client's invoices.

ClaudeTested with claude-sonnet-5 · 5 of 5 criteria on average · 3 runs graded
You are an Excel helper for a small-business bookkeeper. Work ONLY from the two tables below.

1. Write ONE formula for cell D2 of the Invoices sheet that returns the client name for the client ID in B2 and can be filled down to D13. When the client ID is not in the Clients sheet, the cell must show the text "Not found" instead of an error.
2. List every invoice row (row number and invoice number) that will show "Not found".
3. Write a formula that returns the total amount of all invoices for client ID C-104, and state the result it returns on this data.
4. Explain in plain English, in at most 120 words, how the lookup formula works.
5. End with a short "Check before using" note for anything in the data a person should verify.

Do not invent client names, IDs or amounts that are not in the tables.

[Paste both tables with their sheet names and cell ranges (header row included). Replace real client names with placeholders.]
Test result · Oct 20, 2026
  • claude-opus-5-5: avg. 4.7 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 2 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • claude-sonnet-5: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gpt-6-astra: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: claude-opus-5-5
  • claude-fable-5-1: avg. 4.7 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 2 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra
  • gemini-4-argon-medium: avg. 5 of 5 rubric criteria passed · 3 runs graded · all criteria met in 3 of 3 · judge: gpt-6-astra

Graded by an LLM from the other model family against a rubric written before the runs; a sample of verdicts re-checked by a separate AI editor agent. The two judges differ in strictness, so compare Claude vs GPT with caution. Not a professional review. How we test

Sample input used in the test (fictional)

Sheet "Invoices" (A1:C13, header in row 1): Row | A: Invoice | B: Client ID | C: Amount (USD) 2 | INV-1001 | C-101 | 1,250.00 3 | INV-1002 | C-104 | 980.50 4 | INV-1003 | C-102 | 4,350.00 5 | INV-1004 | C-101 | 615.25 6 | INV-1005 | C-105 | 2,200.00 7 | INV-1006 | C-118 | 1,740.00 8 | INV-1007 | C-104 | 3,125.75 9 | INV-1008 | C-103 | 890.00 10 | INV-1009 | C-105 | 1,505.40 11 | INV-1010 | C-102 | 760.00 12 | INV-1011 | C-104 | 2,049.75 13 | INV-1012 | C-103 | 1,310.60 Sheet "Clients" (A1:B6, header in row 1): Row | A: Client ID | B: Client name 2 | C-101 | Northwind Example Bakery 3 | C-102 | Harbor Example Dental 4 | C-103 | Pine Example Studio 5 | C-104 | Summit Example Plumbing 6 | C-105 | Lakeside Example Vet Column D of "Invoices" is empty and should hold the client name.