ChatGPT now has a Google Sheets add-on: install ChatGPT from the Google Workspace Marketplace, open it from Extensions in Google Sheets and sign in with your ChatGPT account. As of Nov 2026 OpenAI says it's available to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu and K-12 users.
OpenAI calls it a spreadsheet-native AI experience. It sits in a sidebar inside your spreadsheet and can build, update and explain sheets directly, including large, multi-tab files with formulas, references and assumptions. There's a matching add-in on the Excel side; OpenAI says the two are separate experiences that support similar workflows.
Install it in Google Sheets
The steps from OpenAI's help page, as of Nov 2026:
- Install ChatGPT from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
- Open Google Sheets.
- Open ChatGPT from the Extensions menu.
- Sign in with the ChatGPT account that has your supported plan.
If you're on a company account and it won't appear, your organisation may use role-based access control. In that case an admin needs to switch it on: Workspace settings, then Permissions & roles, then ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets, then Enable ChatGPT for Excel and Sheets. That one setting covers both Excel and Sheets.
Jobs it's built for
OpenAI lists the work it's meant for: building trackers, budgets, plans and templates from scratch; cleaning messy sheets, including formatting, labels, duplicates and broken formulas; understanding an unfamiliar spreadsheet; updating a model when inputs change and summarising what changed; running scenarios and sensitivity tables; and reviewing reporting, KPI, planning and forecasting work. The prompts below are OpenAI's own suggestions, word for word.
| Job | How OpenAI suggests wording it | What to check afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| Build from scratch | "Build a formatted monthly budget with categories, totals, and charts." | The categories match your business and the totals add up |
| Fix an error you inherited | "Why am I getting an error in cell B145? Explain the formula chain and propose a fix." | Read the explanation before you accept the fix |
| Spot patterns | "Summarize trends across these three tabs and call out anything unusual." | Each figure it quotes against the cells it came from |
| Tidy a messy sheet | "Clean up this sheet: standardize formatting, fix inconsistent labels, and remove duplicates." | Nothing you needed was removed as a duplicate |
| Update for new numbers | "Update this table to reflect the new assumptions and then list exactly what changed." | Its list of changes against the changed cells |
| Plan for good and bad months | "Create a new scenario tab that compares base, upside, and downside cases." | The formulas in the new tab, not only the results |
How to word a request so it only touches what you want
OpenAI's main advice is to be specific about what you want changed: what to keep, what to overwrite, and where. Its own example is a good one to copy:
Copy this instruction
Update assumptions on the Inputs tab only. Don't change formatting. Summarize changes.
For bigger edits, ask for a plan first, before it touches anything:
Copy this instruction
Before editing, outline exactly which tabs/ranges you'll modify.
Two more things help. You can @ mention particular sheets in the workbook to keep the request focused, and the add-on can search the web to pull information into your sheet.
What it can't do yet
OpenAI lists three current limits, and each one changes how you'd use it:
- It's a separate experience. Spreadsheet chats don't sit in your main ChatGPT history, and conversations and spreadsheet data don't sync between the two.
- It doesn't use your ChatGPT memory. Anything you've taught ChatGPT about your business elsewhere won't be there, so put the context you need into the request.
- Advanced spreadsheet features may not be fully supported. OpenAI names VBA and macros.
On usage: Free and Go include limited usage access, while Plus and Pro are subject to the plan's agentic usage limit. OpenAI says larger workbooks, multi-step edits and more complex analysis may use more of that limit. Check OpenAI's own page for the current price of anything beyond your plan.
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Skills and apps inside the sidebar
OpenAI describes Skills as reusable playbooks for spreadsheet work. They can hold workflows, standards, formatting rules and output structures, so you don't rebuild the same prompt each time. The default Skills cover financial modelling and corporate finance formatting, and OpenAI says more may be added.
To use one, open ChatGPT in Google Sheets, select the plus button to browse Skills, then pick a Skill or call it with @ in your prompt. Apps work in the same menu: they let the add-on use approved files, systems and data sources from your ChatGPT account. If an app you expect isn't there, your workspace admin may not have enabled it.
Check its work before anyone else sees it
OpenAI is plain about this: outputs may be incomplete or incorrect. It also says ChatGPT isn't a financial, legal or tax advisor, and its outputs shouldn't be treated as advice. Here's the routine I'd follow on any sheet that matters:
- Duplicate the file first, so you can go back if needed. OpenAI recommends this for important work.
- Give it one narrow job, using the be-specific wording above.
- For anything big, ask for the plan before it edits.
- Review the formulas, calculations, citations and every changed cell before sharing the sheet or relying on it.
- If something's wrong, return to your duplicate rather than asking it to undo a long chain of edits.
On privacy, OpenAI says ChatGPT for Google Sheets runs in Google Sheets, so your use of Sheets is governed by your agreement with Google. Your data is stored locally in the product, you can delete or download it in Settings, and some data logs may be kept by OpenAI for 30 days for safety and integrity purposes.
If you'd rather stay with the assistant Google builds into Sheets, I've written up how to use Gemini in Google Sheets too. One isn't a replacement for the other; they're different tools from different companies.
What I'd do
I'd try it on a copy of a real budget or tracker, with one narrow instruction, and see how it handles the changed cells. I'd skip it for anything that depends on macros until OpenAI says they're supported. And I'd never send a sheet it edited to a client, an accountant or my team without checking every changed cell first. It's quick, but quick and wrong is worse than slow and right.
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT for Google Sheets free?
It's available on the Free plan with limited usage, and on Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu and K-12. Plus and Pro use the plan's agentic usage limit. Check OpenAI's own page for the current price of extra usage.
Does it remember my other ChatGPT chats?
No. Spreadsheet chats are separate from your main ChatGPT history, they don't sync, and they don't have access to ChatGPT memory.
Does ChatGPT for Google Sheets work with macros?
OpenAI says advanced spreadsheet features such as VBA and macros may not be fully supported, so I'd keep it away from macro-heavy files for now.
Why can't I find it on my work account?
If your organisation uses role-based access control, an admin may need to enable it in Workspace settings under Permissions and roles. That setting applies to both Excel and Google Sheets.
Can it pull information from the web into my sheet?
Yes. OpenAI says ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets can search the web for information to pull into your workbook. Check any figures it brings in before you rely on them.
