Last updated: December 2025
Spreadsheets are everywhere — budgets, project trackers, data analysis, reporting — but few people genuinely enjoy the process. Writing formulas feels like solving puzzles nobody asked for. Pivot tables make sense for about ten minutes after creating one, then the logic fades. And the VLOOKUP vs. INDEX MATCH debate never ends.
So when spreadsheet tools started adding AI features that promised to handle formulas, analysis, formatting, and visualization through plain English, expectations were high. This review covers two months of testing AI capabilities in Microsoft Excel (Copilot), Google Sheets (Gemini), and Rows, a newer spreadsheet tool built with AI from the ground up.
Here’s what each tool does well, where the AI falls flat, which one is worth switching to, and how they perform in daily use.
Microsoft Excel with Copilot
Microsoft added Copilot to Excel as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout, and it’s the most ambitious implementation of the three. You can ask Copilot to analyze data, create formulas, build charts, sort and filter, and even generate entire pivot tables, all through natural language prompts in a sidebar chat.
Notable strengths:
- Formula generation from plain English. I typed “calculate the percentage change between last month’s revenue and this month’s revenue for each product” and Copilot wrote the correct formula and applied it to the entire column. This alone saves me 10 minutes of Googling formula syntax every time.
- Data analysis is surprisingly deep. Select a data range, ask “what are the key trends?” and Copilot generates a summary with insights I might have missed. On a sales dataset, it identified that Tuesday orders were 23% higher than other weekdays, something I wouldn’t have spotted manually.
- Chart creation. “Create a bar chart comparing Q3 and Q4 revenue by region” produces a formatted chart in seconds. It picks reasonable colors and labels axes correctly. The evaluation used to spend 15 minutes tweaking chart settings; now I spend 2 minutes adjusting Copilot’s output.
- Pivot table generation. “Summarize total sales by product category and quarter” creates a pivot table without me touching the pivot table wizard. For people who avoid pivot tables because the interface is confusing (most people), this is a big deal.
- Python in Excel integration. Copilot can write and execute Python code directly in Excel cells. For advanced analysis (regression, clustering, statistical tests, and time-series forecasting), this bridges the gap between spreadsheet users and data scientists.
What frustrated me:
- Requires data formatted as a Table. Copilot works best (and sometimes only) when your data is in an Excel Table, not just a range. If your existing spreadsheets use plain ranges, you’ll need to convert them first.
- Complex multi-step analysis still needs hand-holding. Asking “build a financial model projecting next year’s revenue based on historical growth rates” produces something, but it’s usually too simplistic. You need to break complex requests into smaller steps.
- Speed varies. Simple formula requests take 2-3 seconds. Complex analysis can take 15-20 seconds, during which Excel feels frozen. On large datasets (50,000+ rows), timeouts happen.
- Hallucinated formulas. About 5% of the time, Copilot generates a formula that looks correct but references the wrong cells or uses the wrong logic. Always verify the output, especially for financial calculations.
- Pricing is enterprise-focused. You need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, which most individuals can’t buy directly.
Pricing: Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot ($30/user/month (Enterprise) or $18/user/month (Business), typically through enterprise) or Copilot Pro ($20/month for individuals, requires Microsoft 365 subscription)
Google Sheets with Gemini
Google integrated Gemini into Sheets, and the approach is more conservative than Microsoft’s. The “Help me organize” sidebar lets you ask questions about your data, generate formulas, create charts, highlight duplicates, and summarize trends. There’s also a “Help me create” feature that builds entire spreadsheets from a description.
Notable strengths:
- “Help me create” for new spreadsheets. I typed “create a project budget tracker with categories for personnel, software, marketing, and travel, with monthly columns and a total row” and Gemini built a complete spreadsheet with formatting, formulas, and even sample data. For starting new spreadsheets from scratch, this is the fastest option.
- Formula suggestions in cells. Start typing a formula and Gemini suggests completions based on your data context. It understands column headers and suggests relevant functions. Less powerful than Copilot’s full natural language, but faster for quick formulas.
- Connected to Google ecosystem. Gemini can pull data from other Google Sheets, reference Google Finance functions, integrate with Google Forms responses, and connect to BigQuery datasets. If your data lives in Google Workspace, the integration is smooth.
- Free tier is functional. Basic AI features work on the free Google Sheets plan. You don’t need a paid subscription to get formula help and simple analysis.
What frustrated me:
- Analysis depth is shallow compared to Copilot. Asking “what are the trends in this data?” produces generic observations. Copilot finds specific patterns; Gemini gives you surface-level summaries.
- No Python integration. For advanced statistical analysis, you’re limited to Sheets formulas. The ceiling is lower than Excel + Copilot.
- Chart generation is basic. Gemini creates charts, but the formatting and design options are limited compared to Excel. You’ll spend more time manually adjusting.
- Slower on large datasets. Google Sheets already struggles with performance on large files. Adding AI processing on top makes it worse. Anything over 10,000 rows feels sluggish.
- The AI sometimes misunderstands column relationships. On a sheet with multiple date columns, Gemini used the wrong one for a time-series analysis. It picked “Date Created” instead of “Date Closed” because it appeared first.
Pricing: Free (basic AI in Google Sheets) → Google One AI Premium $19.99/month (advanced Gemini features, longer context, priority processing)
Rows
Rows is the most interesting tool in this comparison because it was built with AI as a core feature, not an add-on. It’s a spreadsheet tool that looks and feels like Google Sheets but has AI capabilities baked into every layer. The standout feature: you can connect live data sources (APIs, databases, SaaS tools) directly into your spreadsheet without writing code.
Notable strengths:
- AI Analyst. Select any data range, click “Analyze,” and Rows generates a full analysis with charts, summaries, statistical highlights, and insights, presented in a clean dashboard format right inside the spreadsheet. The output quality is closer to a BI tool than a spreadsheet feature. the evaluation ran it on a marketing campaign dataset and got a breakdown by channel, cost-per-acquisition trends, and a recommendation to shift budget — all in about 10 seconds.
- Built-in data integrations. Connect to Stripe, Google Analytics, HubSpot, PostgreSQL, Salesforce, and dozens of other sources. Your spreadsheet updates automatically with live data. No more exporting CSVs and copy-pasting. I connected our Stripe account and had a live revenue dashboard in 15 minutes.
- Natural language formulas. Type what you want in plain English in any cell, and Rows converts it to a formula. Similar to Copilot, but the conversion is faster and the accuracy is slightly higher In benchmark testing, probably because Rows has a simpler formula language.
- AI-generated charts are publication-ready. The chart designs are modern and clean out of the box. Extended use of Rows charts directly in client reports without any modifications.
- Sharing and embedding. Rows spreadsheets can be embedded in websites, Notion pages, or shared as interactive dashboards. For reporting, this is more useful than sending a static Excel file.
What frustrated me:
- Not Excel or Sheets compatible. You can import CSV and Excel files, but you can’t open .xlsx files natively with full fidelity. If your workflow depends on Excel compatibility, Rows is a parallel tool, not a replacement.
- Formula language differences. Rows uses standard spreadsheet formulas but has some syntax differences from Excel and Sheets. If you have years of muscle memory for Excel formulas, there’s a small adjustment period.
- Limited offline support. Rows is web-only. No desktop app, no offline editing. If you work on planes or in areas with spotty internet, this is a problem.
- Smaller community and fewer templates. Excel and Sheets have decades of community-built templates, tutorials, forum threads, and Stack Overflow answers. Rows has a growing but much smaller ecosystem.
- The free plan caps at 10 AI credits per month. That’s enough to test the AI features but not enough for daily use.
Pricing: Free (limited AI credits, 10/month) → Pro $18/user/month (100 AI credits, integrations) → Team $36/user/month (unlimited AI, advanced integrations, admin)
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Excel Copilot | Google Sheets Gemini | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula from English | Excellent | Good | Very Good |
| Data Analysis Depth | Deep | Surface-level | Deep |
| Chart Quality | Very Good | Basic | Excellent |
| Pivot Tables | Yes (AI-generated) | Manual only | Dashboard-style |
| Python Support | Yes | No | No |
| Live Data Integrations | Power Query (complex) | Limited | Built-in (50+ sources) |
| Large Dataset Performance | Good (100K+ rows) | Poor (>10K rows) | Good (50K+ rows) |
| Collaboration | Good | Excellent | Good |
| Offline Support | Full (desktop app) | Limited | None |
| Free AI Features | No | Yes (basic) | Very limited |
| Paid Price | $20–30/mo | Free–$19.99/mo | $18–36/user/mo |
| Best For | Power users, enterprise | Casual users, Google ecosystem | Data teams, live reporting |
My Recommendation
If you already use Excel and your company provides Copilot licenses, stay where you are. Excel Copilot is the most powerful AI spreadsheet tool available. The formula generation, data analysis, pivot table creation, and Python integration cover everything from basic budgets to advanced statistical modeling. Push your IT team for Copilot access — it’s worth it.
If you’re a casual spreadsheet user or your team lives in Google Workspace, Google Sheets with Gemini is the practical choice. The free tier handles 80% of what most people need from AI in spreadsheets. The “Help me create” feature for building new spreadsheets from scratch is the fastest way to go from idea to working spreadsheet. Pay for Google One AI Premium only if you need deeper analysis on larger datasets.
If you work with live data from multiple sources and need reporting dashboards, try Rows. The built-in integrations and AI Analyst feature create something that’s more like a lightweight BI tool than a traditional spreadsheet. Rows proved especially useful for marketing dashboards and revenue reports that pull live data from Stripe, Google Analytics, CRM platforms, and Slack notifications. For that use case, nothing else comes close.
Recommended setup: Excel with Copilot for financial modeling and complex analysis. Google Sheets for quick collaborative spreadsheets. And Rows for live dashboards shared with stakeholders. Three tools sounds like overkill, but each one handles its niche better than the others could.
For a single pick, the best value is Rows Pro at $18/month. The AI analysis and dashboard features solve problems that Excel and Sheets require plugins or manual work to handle. It’s the most modern take on what a spreadsheet should be in 2026.
Related Reading
Related guide: AI spreadsheet tools.
Related guide: AI spreadsheet tools.
Related guide: AI spreadsheet tools.