Which AI chatbots can work with spreadsheets and how they do it in 2025
- Graziano Stefanelli
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Spreadsheet management has become a central test for chatbots.
In 2025, the demand for assistants capable of reading, interpreting, transforming, and returning Excel or CSV files has grown along with the complexity of business data. The top models no longer just describe tables: they upload workbooks of dozens of megabytes, execute code, rewrite formulas, or generate new workbooks ready for download. Not all, however, offer the same level of practical intervention; some are still focused on text analysis or extracting insights without modifying the original file.
ChatGPT turns Excel analysis into a conversational coding session.
With “Advanced Data Analysis” mode and, since July 2025, with the new ChatGPT Agent, users can upload .xlsx files up to about 50 MB, request calculations, charts, pivots, and receive in response an updated version of the workbook ready for download or integration on Drive. The model maintains a persistent Python state between messages, recognizes named tables, and automatically converts date/region formats. The Agent also operates on a “virtual computer” that opens, edits, and saves spreadsheets autonomously, with real-time preview.
Key ChatGPT functions for Excel
Upload | Edit | Analysis & Charts | Download | Formula Translation |
Yes, up to 50 MB | Yes (code execution) | Statistics, pivot, regressions | .xlsx/.csv | Explanation & auditing |
Microsoft Copilot brings AI directly into the Excel grid.
Inside Excel 365—desktop, web, and mobile—Copilot suggests formulas in natural language, explains complex syntax, and generates dynamic charts without macros. Users can select a range and ask, either verbally or in writing, to summarize trends, clean up columns, or create a regression model: the sheet updates live, keeping cell references intact. The June 2025 update added “Explain Formulas on the Grid,” which explains each component of a formula step-by-step and suggests alternatives with a single click.
Gemini brings model power directly into Google Sheets.
With the release of Gemini in Sheets, you can simply press the sparkle icon and ask: “predict next quarter’s net profit” or “create a heat map of support cases by category.” Gemini generates correlations, detects outliers, builds advanced visualizations, and returns results as native Sheets objects, ready for real-time collaboration. For external file analysis, Gemini Advanced accepts .xlsx/.csv and returns textual summaries or tables, but not a modified downloadable file yet.
Perplexity Labs generates entire sheets and dashboards with a guided flow.
The Perplexity Labs feature, included in the Pro plan, launches guided research flows of up to ten minutes that combine web search, code execution, and automatic creation of spreadsheets or interactive dashboards. At the end, the interface shows all produced files (.xlsx, .csv, etc.) ready for download, allowing users to go from conversational prompts to a structured report without any external tools.
Claude imports large workbooks to extract text and narrative insights.
In the Pro, Max, and Team editions with the “Analysis Tool” active, Claude uploads .xlsx up to 30 MB, indexes all sheets, identifies headers and notes, and enables immediate semantic searches (“summarize all rows with ‘Risk’”). While it doesn’t execute formulas, it returns text dashboards, summary comments, or quick counts across thousands of rows, using a context window of over 200k tokens.
xAI Grok processes Excel using on-the-fly generated code.
Grok 3, thanks to an integrated Python interpreter, serializes sheets into text, automatically detects tabular blocks, and uses pandas to create DataFrames. Users upload reports with dozens of sheets and receive tables ready for analysis, with documented extraction logic line by line.
Meta AI, Stella AI, and Constella App do not yet handle spreadsheets.
The current versions of Meta AI in messaging apps, the Stella chatbot integrated in retail environments, and the Constella knowledge-graph app do not accept Excel files or offer editing or structured data analysis functions; they focus on conversation, semantic search, and product recommendations.
Synthetic comparison of spreadsheet features in chatbots (July 2025)
Chatbot | Upload Excel | Direct Edit | Advanced Analysis | Download File | Native Spreadsheet Integration |
ChatGPT | ✔ | ✔ | Stats, Python, charts | ✔ | Agent on Drive/Office |
Copilot | ✔ | ✔ (in grid) | Insights, formula explain | ✔ | Excel 365 |
Gemini | ✔ (Advanced) | ✖ (insight only) | Heat-map, correlations | ✖ | Google Sheets |
Perplexity Labs | ✔ (workflow) | ✔ (auto-generation) | Dashboard, code | ✔ | Web + mobile |
Claude | ✔ | ✖ | Text summary, counts | ✖ | Analysis Tool |
Grok | ✔ | ✔ (Python) | DataFrame, multi-sheet parsing | ✔ (CSV/JSON) | Code-first environment |
Meta AI | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | — |
Stella AI / Constella | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | — |
The choice depends on editing, analytical power, and integration.
If you need to calculate complex KPIs, generate charts, or download an updated file, ChatGPT and Copilot remain the most complete options. For quick insights within Google Workspace, Gemini now offers a smooth in-sheet experience, while Perplexity Labs shines when you need to quickly produce a finished deliverable. Claude is great for extracting text and metadata from large workbooks, and Grok excels in data-engineer scenarios thanks to its programmatic approach. The other popular chatbots do not yet handle spreadsheets: advanced data management remains a key differentiator among the leaders in conversational AI.
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