Analyse Excel Sales Data With AI (Step-by-Step Project)
A hands-on project: use an AI assistant to clean, analyse and chart a real sales spreadsheet — then turn the results into business decisions.
- Intermediate
- 25 min
- Updated
What you will learn
- Prepare spreadsheet data for AI analysis
- Ask AI for formulas, pivot tables and insights
- Turn findings into a short management summary
Most small businesses already have valuable data in Excel or Google Sheets — they just don’t have time to analyse it. In this project you will use AI to go from raw rows to clear decisions.
Why use AI for spreadsheets?
- It writes formulas you don’t remember (SUMIFS, XLOOKUP, COUNTIFS).
- It explains pivot tables step by step.
- It spots patterns and unusual values quickly.
- It turns numbers into plain-language conclusions.
Before you start: protect your data
Remove customer names, phone numbers and any personal details. Use your organisation’s approved AI tool for confidential data.
Example formulas the AI might give you
Total sales for Surat:
=SUMIFS(G:G, D:D, "Surat")
Number of invoices for "School bag":
=COUNTIFS(C:C, "School bag")
Month from a date (for grouping):
=TEXT(A2, "yyyy-mm")Turning results into decisions
An analysis is only useful if it changes what you do. Ask the AI: “Based on these results, what three actions should a small stationery business take next month?” Then judge the suggestions with your own knowledge of customers and suppliers.
Always double-check
Recalculate one or two totals yourself with the formulas. If the AI’s numbers don’t match, trust the spreadsheet and ask the AI to re-check.
Step by step
- 1
Download the sample data
Use the SteryTech sample sales file (240 rows of stationery sales across four Gujarat cities) or your own data with personal details removed.
- 2
Describe the columns
Tell the AI the column names and what each means. Paste 10–20 sample rows, or upload the file if your tool supports it.
- 3
Ask for the analysis
Request total sales by month, region and product, the best and worst sellers, and any unusual values.
- 4
Get formulas and charts
Ask for the exact Excel formulas or pivot-table steps so you can reproduce the results yourself.
- 5
Write the summary
Ask for a 5-bullet summary with one recommended action per bullet.
Analysis prompt
I have a sales spreadsheet with columns:
Date, Invoice, Product, Region, Quantity, Unit Price (INR), Total (INR).
1. Give me the Excel formula for total sales per Region (SUMIFS).
2. Explain how to build a pivot table of monthly sales by Product.
3. Which chart best shows the trend over months?
4. List 3 questions I should ask of this data to improve sales.