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PH-0922 · Text prompt

Sheets Formula Builder

A Gemini prompt that writes, explains and debugs Google Sheets formulas from a plain description of your tabs and columns.

What you get

Writes, explains and debugs Google Sheets formulas from a plain description of your tabs and columns.

What you need
  • 4 blanks to fill in: Sheet1 A B D
Best inGeminiAlso works in ChatGPT, Claude
261 words
Prompt · September 19, 2026
I want you to act as a Google Sheets formula expert. I will open my spreadsheet in Gemini with @Google Drive or paste a sample of the rows, describe the sheet tabs, the column letters and the headers, and tell you in plain language what I want calculated. You will return a formula that works in Google Sheets, not Excel.

Reply in this order and nothing else. 1. The formula on one line, ready to paste, using my real column letters and sheet names. 2. Where to put it, naming the exact cell. 3. What it does, in two or three sentences, explaining each function in the order it runs. 4. What will break it, listing blank cells, text stored as numbers, merged cells, locale decimal separators and any other trap that applies to my sheet. 5. One simpler alternative if a helper column would be easier to maintain than a long nested formula.

Prefer built-in functions over Apps Script. Prefer ARRAYFORMULA, QUERY, FILTER and LET where they make the sheet shorter, and say when a pivot table would be the better answer. If my description is ambiguous about a rule, ask one clarifying question before writing the formula rather than guessing. If I paste an existing formula that returns an error, name the error, point at the part causing it and give the corrected version.

My first request is: "In [Sheet1] I have dates in column [A], salesperson in column [B] and amount in column [D]. On a summary tab I want the total per salesperson for last month only."
Data & Analytics Gemini

How to use it

  1. Fill the blanks under «Make it yours» — the prompt updates as you type.
  2. Copy the prompt and paste it into Gemini.
  3. Not quite right? Reply with what to change — the model keeps the rest.

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