AI-based services for all: use Excel like a pro

AI-based services for all: use Excel like a pro

Artificial intelligence, or large language models, have been making headlines for some time now. Not all the related stories are about technology, though: the same as other hot topics in all spheres of life, AI is riddled with intrigues, scandals, and conspiracy theories. This sort of noise does more harm than good, since many people become discouraged about the advancements, considering them as yet another hype generator that will fall into oblivion quite soon.

However, as we are pointing out every now and then in the pieces dedicated to AI, the shifts we all are witnessing now are actually tectonic. Yes, at the moment, there are not so many routine, everyday applications of artificial intelligence for the masses, but it is more about the level of adoption than lack of offers from the developers. AI-driven services designed for regular users are not unicorns anymore, and they are affordable and easy-to-use. This series will give you some that can streamline and optimize your work, life, and everything around.

AI-powered Excel services

Microsoft Excel is a very powerful tool. It can crunch numbers in pretty much all ways imaginable, and actually goes far beyond that. There is a caveat, though: the program has a steep learning curve. You quickly master some basic functions, but getting everything out of this spreadsheet editor takes a lot of studying. Alternatively, you can use one of the AI-powered Excel services listed below and skip that step.

Ajelix

Ajelix aims to simplify data analysis and reporting, seeing users lacking extensive technical expertise as its target audience. As of this writing, the service offers 18 AI-powered tools, including generators that accept descriptions of what needs to be achieved in plain English and output Excel/Google Sheets formulas and VBA scripts that get the job done. There is also a data visualization kit, a business intelligence suite, and AI-powered analytics in the package.

The free plan is useful for basic formula generation and exploration, and comes with limited access to the services, caps on monthly requests, and restrictions applied to more advanced features of Ajelix. Paid plans start at $9/month, and let you tackle much more complex tasks.

GPTExcel

GPTExcel relies on AI to generate formulas, scripts, SQL queries, regular expressions, and templates for Excel, Google Sheets, and Airtable. Boasting over 850 thousand happy users and more than 30 million compiled and served formulas, this service stands out with its simplicity: while it is certainly capable of satisfying the need for spreadsheet assistance in the vast majority of cases, something more special and advanced, like the business kit intelligence tools of Ajelix, is not offered here currently. You can communicate with the generators in plain language, though.

This simplicity is actually a welcome change for many users, same as the paid plan price, which is $6.99/month or $62.91/year. The key limitations of the free plan are lack of access to the AI chat and priority customer support, and just 4 requests a day. Otherwise, the features are at your disposal.

Formulas HQ

Formulas HQ does everything expected from an online Excel formulas generator and more, including VBA scripts writing, regular expressions composition, and coding in Python. The inputs for any of these operations are plain language descriptions of what you have and what you need to achieve, basically. And if you need some real-time assistance with your communication, Formulas HQ has ChatGPT integration, and if the task is not very urgent, there’s an active community ready to help out.

The free plan lets you create 5 formulas a month using the service, and compile VBA scripts and regular expressions. The Formula Pro plan, which costs $5.99/month, unlocks everything and lifts all limits. If you believe this one is right for you, consider the Yearly Pro plan, which comes with a $4.33/month price tag, everything the other paid option has, and priority customer support.

Formula Bot

Formula Bot, also known as Excel Formula Bot, used to be an Excel workflow streamlining tool, but evolved beyond simple tasks into a service that, according to its creators, lets you literally chat with your data. In addition to generating formulas and scripts, Formula Bot can accept files with all sorts of numbers from you and then crunch them the way you want based on your plain language requests, giving insights you might otherwise not see.

The no-cost plan is branded “Free forever” on the service’s website; it gives you 10 chat messages a month and a couple of file uploads. The cheapest paid plan, Unlimited, is $15/month, and it basically unlocks all the features. There is a try-before-you-buy option, too.

PromptLoop

PromptLoop is more than a formula generator, it is a complete AI-powered data automation platform built to facilitate data management tasks in Google Sheets and Excel. The service allows easy creation of datasets and making the most of them through building, training, and deploying custom AI models directly within spreadsheets. While it sounds complicated, using PromptLoop is actually as straightforward as instructing someone about what you want done, plus the details.

The free credits are more of a testing opportunity, or a good option if you don’t have many tasks to tackle. The service charges based on usage, and has a dedicated support team that makes sure you spend only as much as you actually need to for the jobs at hand.

Stay tuned for more posts on AI-powered tools and services that can actually make your job and/or life easier!