1. Get a formula that fits your sheet
You track project hours in Google Sheets. Column B has hours worked and column C has each person's hourly rate. You want column D to show the cost for each row from row 2 down, and to stay blank when B is empty.
Done when your prompt covers background facts and length, and scores 4 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Say which spreadsheet app you use and what's in each column, then say how much explanation you want with the formula.
Show one good answer
Give me a formula for Google Sheets that I can put in D2 and copy down. Column B is hours worked and column C is the hourly rate, so D should show the cost, B times C. If B is empty, D should stay blank. Show just the formula in a code block, then one sentence on how it works.
It scores 4 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. You get one formula that fits your columns and your app, instead of a tutorial built around an example sheet that looks nothing like yours.
2. Make a list of dates consistent
You pasted delivery dates from several suppliers' emails into one list, written as 3/4, March 12th, 04-15-2026 and so on. You need them all as YYYY-MM-DD to paste into a sheet. They're all from 2026, and most suppliers are in the US, but the ones marked UK write the day first.
Done when your prompt covers background facts, format and what to avoid, and scores 4 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Name the exact format you want back, tell the AI which dates are written day first, and rule out anything extra that would break your paste.
Show one good answer
Convert each date below to YYYY-MM-DD so I can paste them into a spreadsheet column. All the dates are in 2026. Most come from US suppliers, so 3/4 means March 4, but the ones marked (UK) are written day first. Return one line per date, in the same order. Don't add notes or explanations, or the rows won't line up with my sheet. """ 3/4 March 12th 04-15-2026 7/5 (UK) Apr 2 11/6 (UK) """
It scores 6 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. You get a clean column of dates in one format, in the original order, with the UK dates read the right way around.
3. Ask for analysis your director can use
You're a sales coordinator with monthly sales, in thousands of dollars, for 4 regions from January to June. Your regional director wants to know which region is slipping before Thursday's call.
Done when your prompt covers who it's for, background facts, length and format, and scores 5 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Say who the analysis is for and what they need to know, tell the AI what the numbers are in, then set the shape and length of the answer.
Show one good answer
Look at the monthly sales below, in thousands of dollars, and tell me which region is slipping. This is for our regional director, who will raise it on Thursday's call. Give a table with each region's change from January to June, in dollars and percent, sorted from worst to best, then 2 or 3 sentences on the region that's slipping and how steady the decline is. """ Region,Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun North,82,85,88,90,91,95 South,77,74,72,70,69,66 East,64,66,63,67,65,68 West,90,92,96,94,99,101 """
It scores 5 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. Instead of a paragraph on each region, the director gets a sorted table and a few sentences on the one that's slipping.
4. Fix a lookup formula that returns errors
Your Excel VLOOKUP returns #N/A for about a third of the product codes, even though every code is in the price list in columns F to H. Some codes in column B were typed with trailing spaces. Other people paste data into this sheet every day, so retyping isn't an option.
Done when your prompt covers background facts, length, what to avoid and what good looks like, and scores 6 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Paste the formula and describe what's wrong with the data, then say how much explanation you want, what you can't do instead and what the fix has to handle.
Show one good answer
My Excel formula in D2 is =VLOOKUP(B2,F:H,3,FALSE). It returns #N/A for about a third of the product codes, even though every code is in the price list in columns F to H. Some codes in column B were typed with trailing spaces. Fix the formula so it ignores the spaces and shows "Not found" for codes that really are missing. Give me the fixed formula in a code block, then one sentence on what changed. Don't suggest retyping the codes or using a script, since other people paste data into this sheet every day. The fix has to work when I copy it down to row 2,000.
It scores 6 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. You get one corrected formula that trims the spaces and copies down cleanly, instead of a lecture on how lookups work.
5. Get the weekly table in the layout you already use
Each Monday you turn an export of last week's orders into a summary table for the ops team, who use it to plan staffing. You want the AI to produce the same table every week, matching last week's columns and order.
Done when your prompt covers who it's for, background facts, format and an example, and scores 6 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Say who reads the table and when, and paste last week's version so the AI copies its columns and order.
Show one good answer
Make a summary table from the order export below for our ops team, who check it every Monday to plan staffing. Use exactly the layout of last week's table, shown here as an example: | Channel | Orders | Items | Revenue | Avg order | | Web | 412 | 1,030 | $28,940 | $70.24 | | App | 288 | 610 | $14,410 | $50.03 | | Phone | 41 | 120 | $3,900 | $95.12 | | Total | 741 | 1,760 | $47,250 | $63.77 | One row per channel, sorted by revenue, with the Total row last. Round money to cents. """ order_id,date,channel,items,total 10231,2026-10-19,web,3,84.50 10232,2026-10-19,app,1,22.00 10233,2026-10-20,web,2,61.25 10234,2026-10-21,phone,4,118.00 10235,2026-10-21,app,2,40.75 """
It scores 7 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. The table comes back with the same columns and order every Monday, so the ops team can compare weeks at a glance.
6. Ask what the data shows, and only that
You're an operations analyst at a clinic. Average wait time rose from about 14 minutes in August to 22 in September. You have weekly wait times and staffing, and your manager wants to know whether staffing explains it before the staff meeting on the 8th.
Done when your prompt covers who it's for, background facts, length, what to avoid and if unsure, and scores 6 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Keep the AI to the figures you pasted, say who the answer is for and how long it should be, rule out outside causes, and say what to do if the data can't answer the question.
Show one good answer
Using only the weekly figures below, tell me whether the drop in nurse staffing explains the rise in average wait time, from about 14 minutes in August to 22 in September. This is for my manager, who will raise it at the staff meeting on the 8th. Answer in 3 to 5 sentences, starting with yes, no or partly. Don't bring in causes that aren't in the data, such as flu season, since we can't check them. If the data can't settle the question, say so and name the one figure that would. """ week_starting,avg_wait_min,nurses_on_shift,patients_seen Aug 4,13,6,410 Aug 11,14,6,422 Aug 18,15,6,418 Aug 25,14,6,430 Sep 1,19,5,425 Sep 8,23,5,441 Sep 15,24,5,450 Sep 22,22,6,468 """
It scores 6 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. You get a short yes, no or partly that rests on the staffing numbers, not a list of plausible causes nobody can check.
7. Design a tracking sheet people will actually fill in
You run equipment loans for a school media department: 25 cameras, 12 tripods and 8 microphones, each with an asset tag. Students borrow items for up to 3 days. You want a Google Sheets tracker that flags overdue loans, and the school's IT team blocks scripts and add-ons.
Done when your prompt covers what to make, who it's for, background facts, length, format, what to avoid, what good looks like and if unsure, and scores 8 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Say who fills the sheet in and where, give the counts and the loan rule, ask for the columns and formulas you need, rule out what IT blocks, and say what to do about anything you haven't explained.
Show one good answer
Design a Google Sheets tracker for equipment loans in our school's media department. It's for the media teacher and two student assistants, who will use it at the loan desk on a laptop, so it has to be quick to fill in. What we lend: 25 cameras, 12 tripods and 8 microphones, each with an asset tag such as CAM-07. Students can borrow an item for up to 3 days. Give me the column headers in order with one line on what goes in each, then the formula that marks a loan as overdue, and a conditional formatting rule that turns overdue rows red. Keep it to one sheet and no more than 8 columns. Don't use scripts or add-ons, because the school's IT team blocks them. If something about how our loans work isn't clear from this, list your assumptions at the end.
It scores 10 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. You get a one-sheet tracker with named columns, an overdue formula and a formatting rule that work without scripts, instead of a generic inventory template.
8. Pull invoice details into rows you can import
Your accounts team gets about 60 supplier invoices a month as email text. You want the AI to pull out the supplier, invoice number, date, total and due date as CSV for the payables sheet. Some invoices give payment terms instead of a due date.
Done when your prompt covers what to make, who it's for, background facts, length, format, what to avoid, what good looks like, an example, if unsure and layout, and scores 9 or more out of 10. Edit the prompt below; the score changes as you type.
A hint
Software reads this output, so name every column and its format, show one row done right, rule out anything that would break the import, and say what to put in a field the invoice doesn't give.
Show one good answer
Task: Extract the details from each supplier invoice below into CSV rows for our accounts team, who import them into the monthly payables sheet. Columns, in this order: supplier, invoice_number, invoice_date, total, due_date. Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD and totals as plain numbers with two decimals and no currency sign. Here is an example row: Brightline Office Supplies,BO-1187,2026-09-14,86.40,2026-10-14 Rules: output only the CSV, with a header row and one row per invoice, since it goes straight into the import. Use only what's written on each invoice. A good result is one that imports without a single edit. If a due date isn't on the invoice, leave that field empty rather than working one out from the payment terms. If a total is unclear, write CHECK in that field. Invoices: """ Invoice HP-20931 from Harbor Paper Supply. Date: 2 October 2026. Total due: $412.80. Payment due by 1 November 2026. --- Clearwater Cleaning Co. Invoice no. 7781, dated Oct 5, 2026. Amount: $1,150.00. Terms: net 30. --- Invoice A-554, Northline Couriers, 10/07/2026. Subtotal $96.00, tax $7.68, total $103.68. Due on receipt. """
It scores 10 out of 10. Yours does not need to look like it: any prompt that passes is right.
What changes. Every invoice comes back as one importable CSV row, with missing due dates left empty instead of worked out from the payment terms.
More practice: emails, meetings and notes, reports and summaries, customer support, sales and marketing, hr and people, plans and projects. Or learn the checks in order in the prompt course.