Prompts for analyzing data and spreadsheets
AI works best on data questions when it knows what each column means, what decision the analysis supports and how to show the result. Without that, it tends to describe the data back to you instead of answering the question.
Before and after
Rough request
analyze my sales data
Becomes
I have monthly sales data with the columns: month, region, product, units, revenue. Find which regions and products drove the change in revenue between Q1 and Q2. Show the three biggest drivers in a small table (name, change in revenue, share of total change), then explain them in two sentences each. If something in the data looks wrong, list it before the analysis.
Illustrative example; your results will vary.
Why this prompt works
- It lists the columns, so the AI does not guess what the data contains.
- It asks a specific question (what drove the change) instead of 'analyze'.
- It fixes the output (a small table, then short explanations) and asks for data problems first.
Tips
- Describe each column and its unit, and paste a few sample rows.
- State the decision the analysis feeds, so the AI knows what matters.
- Ask the AI to show its calculation steps and check the key numbers yourself.
- Do not paste sensitive or personal data into any AI tool you do not control.
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