Excel prompts
Excel questions are often easiest to answer when you describe the data in words and show a few sample rows. These prompts help you write and explain formulas, clean messy data, build lookups, pivot summaries and charts, design budgets and models, and audit a workbook for errors. Paste a small anonymised sample into an AI assistant, say which Excel version you use, and ask for a formula with an explanation and edge cases. The prompts do not open your file, so test each formula on a copy, check regional separators and keep sensitive data out of what you share.
Prompts
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Macro Safety and Maintainability Audit
Review recorded macros before sharing a workbook.
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Spreadsheet Automation Script Audit
Review cloud spreadsheet scripts for reliability and permissions.
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Linked Workbook and External Data Connection Audit
Find fragile links between files.
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Workbook Performance and File Size Audit
Find what makes a spreadsheet slow.
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Shared Spreadsheet Access and Version Control Audit
Check who can change what, and how versions are tracked.
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Scheduled Refresh and Linked Data Reliability Review
Check connections and refresh behaviour.
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Spreadsheet to Application Migration Readiness
Decide when a sheet should become a proper tool.
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Sales Dashboard Audit
Check definitions, filters and chart choices.
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Monthly Management Report Audit
Check that a report supports decisions.
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Chart Honesty Audit for a Report
Check axes, scales and emphasis.
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KPI Definition Audit
Check that each metric is defined, owned and comparable.
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Pivot Table Report Audit
Check source ranges, grouping and refresh habits.
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Dashboard Metric Definition and Source Audit
Audit dashboard metric definitions and sources, so every number can be traced, explained and trusted by the reader.
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Monthly Report Refresh Process Audit
Check how the report is updated and who checks it.
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KPI Target and Variance Calculation Review
Check targets, actuals and variance logic.
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Pivot Table and Summary Sheet Integrity Check
Check summaries against raw data.
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Data Cleaning Audit
Run a data cleaning audit on a dataset: profile it, spot problems and list cleaning rules to apply and verify.
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Duplicate and Entity Matching Review
Plan how to detect and merge near-duplicate records.
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Survey and Form Response Data Validation
Validate survey and form response data: check for bad responses, duplicates, straight-lining and bias before analysis.
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Data Dictionary and Governance Check
Create documentation and ownership for a dataset.
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Master Data and Reference Table Governance
Keep lookup tables correct and consistent.
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Unit and Currency Consistency Audit
Prevent mixing units, currencies, and scales.
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Sampling Method for Auditing Large Datasets
Check quality without checking every row.
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Customer List Duplicate and Format Audit
Find duplicates, inconsistent formats and unusable records.
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Survey Export Data Quality Audit
Check responses for bad data before analysis.
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Inventory Sheet Accuracy Audit
Compare counts, records and movements for a small shop.
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Time Tracking Sheet Audit
Check hours, rounding and totals before billing or payroll use.
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Data Validation and Input Control Audit
Check that entry cells reject bad values.
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Merged Data from Multiple Sources Reconciliation Audit
Check that combined files match their sources.
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Spreadsheet Documentation and Handover Audit
Check whether someone else could safely use the file.
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Missing Data Strategy Review
Decide how to handle blanks responsibly.
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Outlier and Anomaly Investigation Guide
Separate errors from real extremes.
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Date, Address and Name Standardization Plan
Normalize messy text fields.
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Reconciliation Between Two Data Sources
Compare systems and explain differences.
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Data Entry Template and Validation Design
Prevent bad data at the point of entry.
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Data Freshness and Pipeline Reliability Check
Assess whether reports use current data.
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Privacy Review of a Spreadsheet or Dataset
Find personal data before sharing.
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Excel Chart Type Chooser From a Small Data Sample
Pick the right chart for the message and avoid misleading ones.
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Workbook Structure and Tab Layout Audit for Clarity
Review how a workbook's tabs, order and naming are organised and propose a clearer structure so another person can follow it without help.
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Spreadsheet Formula Consistency Audit From Sample Rows
Spot inconsistent, hard-coded or broken formulas in a column by comparing sample cells, and get a fix plan that is safe to test on a copy.
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Spreadsheet Handover Documentation and README Audit
Check whether a spreadsheet has enough explanation for a successor to use it safely, then produce a README tab with sources, steps and cautions.
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Data Entry Validation and Input Cell Audit
Audit a spreadsheet's input columns for validation gaps, free-text chaos and error-prone entry, and design simple rules to prevent bad data.
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Spreadsheet File Naming and Version Control Audit
Review a shared folder of spreadsheet versions to find confusing names and unclear latest files, then set a naming rule and cleanup plan.
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Shared Spreadsheet Access and Edit Risk Audit
Check who can view and edit a shared spreadsheet, spot over-broad access and fragile editing habits, and propose safer settings. Defensive only.
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Hard-Coded Numbers and Hidden Assumptions Audit
Find numbers typed into formulas and undocumented assumptions in a model, and move them into labelled input cells with a change log.
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Pivot Table Source Data and Refresh Check
Audit the source range, refresh habits and field setup of a pivot table to catch stale or incomplete numbers before sharing a report.
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Report Sheet Readability and Print Layout Audit
Review a spreadsheet report page for readability, number formatting, labels and print settings, and get a prioritised polish list for readers.
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Date and Number Format Consistency Audit for a Dataset
Detect mixed date formats, text-numbers and inconsistent units in a pasted dataset sample, and write a safe standardising plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can ChatGPT clean data in Excel?
It can suggest formulas, Power Query steps and checks if you describe the mess and paste a few anonymised sample rows. Test on a copy and keep the original data.
Which Excel version should I mention?
Say whether you use Microsoft 365, an older desktop version or Excel for the web, because some functions are not available everywhere.