Meta AI Spreadsheet Uploading: Excel And CSV File Support, Data Analysis Features, Formula Handling, And Limits

Meta AI supports spreadsheet uploads across select product surfaces, enabling users to ask questions about attached files and extract insights from tabular data. Capabilities vary by app, transport layer, and feature rollout, making spreadsheet handling best understood as conversational file analysis rather than a full analytics engine.

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Excel And CSV File Support Exists As Best‑Effort File Reading Rather Than A Dedicated Spreadsheet Engine.

Meta AI allows users to upload files through the “Add media or files” flow and ask questions about the uploaded content. This includes spreadsheets such as Excel workbooks and CSV files, though Meta does not publish a formal specification guaranteeing full spreadsheet compatibility.

CSV files generally offer the most predictable behavior because they present flat, row‑and‑column data without formulas, macros, or complex layout rules. Excel files may be accepted, but multi‑sheet workbooks, merged cells, hidden columns, and embedded objects can affect how reliably the content is interpreted.

In Meta’s messaging apps, spreadsheets can also be shared as document attachments. However, the ability to send a spreadsheet through Messenger or WhatsApp does not automatically imply that Meta AI will parse and analyze it as structured data.

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Meta AI Spreadsheet File Support By Surface

Meta Surface	File Transfer Capability	Spreadsheet Parsing Guarantees
Meta AI experience	Upload files for Q&A	General file reading, no formal spreadsheet spec
Messenger	XLSX and CSV attachments	Transport only, parsing not guaranteed
WhatsApp	XLSX and CSV documents	Transfer support, AI parsing unspecified

Spreadsheet support depends on where and how the file is uploaded.

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Data Analysis Features Focus On Conversational Questioning Of Tabular Content.

When a spreadsheet is successfully ingested, Meta AI’s data analysis capabilities center on conversational interrogation of the data. Users can ask questions about columns, summarize patterns, identify notable values, and request explanations based on visible table content.

This approach is designed for exploratory understanding rather than deterministic analytics. Meta AI is not positioned as a notebook‑style environment and does not guarantee reproducible multi‑step transformations or precise statistical workflows on large datasets.

For best results, users should limit uploads to the most relevant subset of data and ask narrowly scoped questions that reference exact column names and specific rows.

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Meta AI Spreadsheet Data Analysis Capabilities

Capability	Expected Behavior
Column summaries	Descriptive explanations
Row‑level questions	Targeted answers
Pattern identification	High‑level insights
Large dataset processing	Limited, context‑dependent

Conversational analysis works best with focused datasets.

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Formula Handling Is Limited To Interpretation Rather Than Execution.

Meta AI does not publish any indication that it executes Excel formulas, recalculates workbooks, or supports macro logic. Formulas within spreadsheets should be treated as text or explanatory artifacts rather than live computational instructions.

If a workbook depends on formulas for correct values, the safest approach is to upload a version where calculations are already resolved or to export the relevant worksheet as a CSV so the model sees finalized numeric values.

Expectations around formula dependency tracking, recalculation, or macro execution should remain conservative until Meta publishes explicit spreadsheet computation guarantees.

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Formula Handling Expectations In Meta AI

Scenario	Likely Outcome
Viewing formulas	Interpreted as text
Recalculation	Not guaranteed
Macro execution	Not supported
Pre‑computed values	Most reliable

Prepared data improves reliability.

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File Size And Upload Limits Are Defined By Transport Layers Rather Than AI Specifications.

Meta does not publish explicit spreadsheet‑specific size or row limits for Meta AI analysis. Instead, practical constraints are shaped by the app used to upload the file.

Messenger supports document attachments up to 100 MB. WhatsApp allows document uploads up to 2 GB, making it the most permissive channel for transferring large spreadsheets. These limits apply to file transfer, not to guaranteed AI analysis capacity.

Meta AI’s own analysis limits, such as maximum usable rows, columns, or retention duration, are not publicly documented and may vary by surface, region, and feature rollout.

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Meta Spreadsheet Upload Limits By Channel

Channel	Published File Size Limit	Applies To
Meta AI experience	Not publicly specified	Analysis entry point
Messenger	Up to 100 MB	File transfer
WhatsApp	Up to 2 GB	File transfer

Transfer limits do not equal analysis guarantees.

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Meta AI Spreadsheet Uploading Works Best With Simplified Data And Focused Questions.

Meta AI’s spreadsheet handling is designed for lightweight analysis and conversational insight rather than full spreadsheet computation. CSV files with resolved values, reduced complexity, and clearly labeled columns deliver the most consistent results, while Excel workbooks with heavy formula or structural dependencies should be simplified before upload.

Understanding the difference between file transfer capability and AI analysis support is essential for setting realistic expectations when working with spreadsheets in Meta AI.

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