Build with AI · Practical guide

Create a useful spreadsheet from a plain-English brief

Beginner · Published 2026-10-18 · Reviewed 2026-10-05

Tools: Multi-tool
Audience: People getting started with AI
Topic: Build with AI

A calculator and financial report beside a chart on screen

You’ll finish with: a small task workbook with counts checked against supplied examples.

A spreadsheet needs clear rules more than it needs colourful tabs. Tell AI what each column means, which cells people can edit and how you will know the totals are right.

Set up

Allow 30 minutes. Use a spreadsheet-capable AI app and Excel, Google Sheets or another compatible viewer. CSV stores values, but not a complete styled workbook with all its behaviour.

Download this guide’s practice sheet ↓

Try this example

FICTIONAL PRACTICE MATERIAL
Tracker columns: Task, Owner, Due date, Status. Rows: A/Jo/8 October/Open; B/Unknown/Unknown/Waiting; C/Lee/7 October/Done. Review date: 9 October 2026. Overdue means not Done and due before the review date.

Do the task

Specify the columns and valid status values.
Ask for a tracker with the sample rows and clearly labelled summary formulas.
Open the actual file in your spreadsheet app and change one status to test the totals.

Your reusable prompt

Create a small task workbook from this brief. Preserve Unknown values. Show total, open-or-waiting, done and overdue counts. Explain formulas and make the review date an editable labelled cell.

PRACTICE INPUT
Tracker columns: Task, Owner, Due date, Status. Rows: A/Jo/8 October/Open; B/Unknown/Unknown/Waiting; C/Lee/7 October/Done. Review date: 9 October 2026. Overdue means not Done and due before the review date.

Refine your result

Test the rule on a task due exactly on the review date. It should not count as overdue. Do not convert Unknown dates into zero or today.

Check the result

Initially: three tasks, two outstanding, one done and one overdue. B has a missing date, which is a separate issue from being overdue.

Save and reuse

Save the workbook with a version number and test notes. If you export CSV, check which workbook features are lost.

Sources and notes

Writing clear prompts Checked 2026-10-05

The practice input and teaching prompt are original 5HO material. Examples are fictional; they are not screenshots or claims of a completed real-world task.
Official documentation supports the relevant product concepts. Setup availability depends on your account; where a guide offers a fallback, it does not prove the connected capability worked.