GUIDE

AI for Excel: Reviewing Data Step by Step

Where AI helps in Excel

AI reads and summarises a long sheet quickly. It lists duplicates, empty cells and unusual values in moments. It is also a strong helper for finding the right formula.

The same speed carries a risk. Sometimes the AI does not actually calculate the sheet, it writes a likely result. Every figure in its summary is therefore a claim until you verify it in the sheet.

The right split of work is simple: the AI finds and suggests, you verify in the sheet. The report or decision leaves your desk only after the data owner approves it.

Module 07 puts exactly this split of work into practice. You work with data like your own sheets and run the check step by step.

Preparing the sheet for the AI

A good review starts with a clean sheet. Give every column a single header and unmerge merged cells. Write dates, units and currencies in one consistent format.

Give the AI only the columns the task needs. Remove personal or confidential data, or use the tool your company has approved. Add a row number to every row so each answer links straight back to a row.

Write your request clearly: “Calculate the total, list the rows you added up, and mark anything you are unsure of.” Asking the AI to show its source makes your later check much easier.

Split large sheets into parts. Give one month or one group of items first, check the result, then continue. In small parts errors are rarer and easier to see.

Example (fictional): Example: Kaya Building Supplies, September sales sheet (invented sample data)

Row 4: Cement, 120 bags × 210 TL = 25,200 TL
Row 5: Sand, 18 tonnes × 950 TL = 17,100 TL
Row 6: Rebar, 2 tonnes × 24,500 TL = 51,000 TL
Excel SUM(rows 4–6): 93,300 TL
AI summary: “The three items total 91,300 TL. All rows are consistent.”

Both claims in the summary contradict the sheet. The SUM formula gives 93,300 TL, so 91,300 TL is an invented total. In row 6, 2 tonnes × 24,500 TL makes 49,000 TL, yet the sheet shows 51,000 TL. So “all rows are consistent” is wrong too. Row 6 goes to the sales owner, and the report waits until it is corrected.

Verifying totals and formula results

Never copy the AI's total straight into a report. Take the same total yourself with a SUM formula in Excel. If the two results differ, the formula result in the sheet is the one that counts.

If the AI suggested a formula, check the range first. Does it cover every row, and does it leave out the header row? In filtered sheets, check whether hidden rows are counted.

For derived figures such as percentages, averages and differences, redo the calculation in one cell. A figure you cannot trace to the sheet does not go into the report. This one rule keeps invented figures out.

Write your check as a short note next to the sheet. State which total you verified with which formula. Anyone reading the report can then see at a glance where each figure comes from.

Finding inconsistent rows

AI is strong at searching for rows that break a rule. Does quantity times unit price fail to match the amount? Does the same invoice number appear twice?

Write these rules into your request one by one and ask for findings by row number. Then open each finding in the sheet and see it yourself. The AI sometimes gives a row number that does not exist or mixes up two rows.

When the AI says “no issues”, still check a few rows by hand. Recalculating some randomly chosen rows against the same rule takes a few minutes. Before correcting any gap you find, ask the owner of that row.

Marking findings in a separate column makes the work easier. Use short labels such as “checked”, “asked owner” and “corrected”. That way no row stays open before the report goes out.

Checklist

Keep the list below next to you for every sheet review. It keeps errors out of the report without giving up the speed of AI.

Share it with your team so everyone follows the same steps. The check then becomes a habit tied to the work, not to one person.

You can extend the list to fit your own sheets. Adding an error you meet often as a new item makes the next review even faster.

Checklist

Every column has one header and every row has a number.
Personal or confidential data was removed, or an approved tool was used.
The AI's total was taken again with SUM in Excel.
The range of any suggested formula and any hidden rows were checked.
Every row the AI pointed to was opened and seen in the sheet.
After a “no issues” answer, a few rows were recalculated by hand.
Rows that did not match were raised with their owner before correcting.

In Module 07 (/academy/en/lessons/07) you review a realistic sheet with AI and catch the invented total and the inconsistent row yourself. You compare your work with the explained solution and finish with a checklist you can use at work. Modules 02–08 open with a seat once payment is confirmed. Team prices are at /academy/en/pricing, and Module 1 is free with no sign-up.

Go to the module: Module 07: Excel and data review Pricing