Good morning all! Here are my slides from last week's webinar.

In case you missed my LinkedIn post yesterday: In my 20’s I was a legit Microsoft Excel Wizard. I could write a complex formula in minutes. Today, I’m half the Wizard I used to be since I don’t use excel as much. I find myself struggling to put together a formula like I used to. Can you relate? You’re staring at a sheet, trying to remember: • the right function • the right syntax • the right order of operations • the right way to not break the whole workbook. AI makes that a lot easier. Here’s what AI actually helps with in Excel or Google Sheets: • Writing formulas from plain English. • Explaining formulas in simple language. • Debugging broken logic. • Cleaning messy data. • Summarizing trends and patterns. • Helping you decide what to do when a sheet gets complicated. That’s why tools like ChatGPT , Claude , Gemini , and Microsoft Copilot are showing up in Excel workflows in 2026. They’re not replacing Excel… they’re making it easier to use. The beginner mistake: People wait until they already know the formula. That’s backwards. The better move is to ask AI: • What formula should I use? • Why is this formula broken? • How do I clean this sheet? • What does this data suggest? • How should I structure this report? If you can describe the outcome, AI can usually help you get there faster. The simple tool stack: ChatGPT — best for formulas, explanations, and quick troubleshooting. Claude — better for deeper reasoning, long context, and messy workbook logic. Gemini — useful for quick help and Google-connected workflows. Copilot in Excel — best when you want AI directly inside Microsoft’s spreadsheet environment. What beginners should focus on first: 1. Writing formulas with AI. 2. Fixing formulas with AI. 3. Cleaning data with AI.