Google Gemini can help you create content and calculations for Google Sheets. Gemini can serve as a smart list generator that produces content in a table that you can export to a Google Sheet, or its answers can help you design formulas and functions. These uses of Gemini offer capabilities that go beyond the norm auto fill And correction capabilities of leaves.

SEE: ChatGPT vs Google Gemini: An In-Depth Comparison (TechRepublic)

For the actions below, you must be signed in to an active Google account authorized to use both Google Sheets And Google Gemini. If you use a Google Workspace account at work or school, you may need to contact an administrator to request access to Gemini.

Once you have access, open Gemini in any modern browser to get started. Enter a natural language prompt and Gemini will respond. Answers may differ: two people who enter the same prompt may not receive the same answer.

How to get content from Gemini for a Google Sheet

With Geminiyou can request various comparisons and lists from the system. For example, a request to compare two or more products might produce a table with a column for each product and each row with a different comparison functionality. You can also ask Gemini for lists of people, places or things. Since Gemini accepts sequences, you can first ask:

List the 10 cities in the United States with the most annual rainfall.

Then, after receiving the initial response, ask again:

Add a column for the population.

The tables that Gemini can generate in response vary much more than the conventional autocomplete sequences available in Google Sheets with the Tools | Autofill | Enable autocomplete option enabled.

In Google Sheets, you enter a predictable series of alphabet letters, numbers, days of the week, months, or other standard patterns in two or more cells. Then select the cells, then select and extend the corner of the box to cover the entire range of cells to fill. For example, if you type Mon in one cell and Tue in an adjacent cell, you can select those two cells and then drag the dot to fill five more cells with the remaining respective three-character descriptions of the days of the week in English.

In contrast, the tables you can ask Gemini to create can include a much wider range of listable data.

SEE: Google Gemini Cheat Sheet: What is Google Gemini and how does it work?

Choose Export to Sheets

When a response includes a table, select the Export to Sheets option in the lower right corner of the table. This exports the table to a new Google Sheet. The system will use your prompt as both the name of the newly created file and the initial sheet of the file. The contents of the table will be placed in the cells of the sheet, with the column titles in row A.

Prompt “in a table”

Gemini will often automatically format comparisons and lists into a table. When the system does not do this, add the phrase “in a table” to your request. This would render the prompt listed above:

In a table, list the 20 cities in the United States with the most annual rainfall.

View other drafts or reset chat

Sometimes Gemini provides either a partial response or a strangely formatted response. For example, try the prompt:

List all 50 U.S. states sorted by population.

Gemini returned a table of 40 states, which is an incomplete answer. In another example, a prompt for:

List of elements by name and atomic weight.

In response, Gemini produced a list formatted as a snippet, not a table. When a response is not what you expected, select the Show other drafts button to access alternative drafts. Sometimes one of these drafts will be formatted as a table rather than a snippet.

Another option when this type of error occurs is to start a new discussion and then try again with a reworded prompt. This may return a more complete or better formatted answer.

SEE: How to Use Google Gemini: A Complete Guide

How to get help from Gemini with a Google Sheets calculation

You can ask Gemini to explain and provide examples of Google Sheets formulas and functions. Unlike Google Sheets help pages, which provide details and a static set of examples, you can ask Gemini for various examples and a detailed description of how a feature works.

For example, if you want to know a little more about one of the new Google functions added to Sheets in March 2023, you could ask:

How do I use the WRAPCOLS function in a Google Sheet? Can you give an example of how I might use it to group a list of employee names into groups of 4 people each?

Gemini’s response included, in order:

• A description of how the function is used.
• An example formula for grouping a list into a set of four.
• An example with demo names.
• Additional tips, such as how to handle additional rows or combine WRAPCOLS with other functions.

To explore additional features of Google Sheets, you can then ask:

Are there other Google Sheets functions that achieve something similar?

Gemini tends to offer a few other functions that help you with related aspects of your original task.

Additionally, Gemini can help you create the exact formula you need, but it can be a bit of a trial and error process. For example, let’s say you want to analyze weather data to identify how many days the wind blew primarily from the west. First, try a detailed first prompt.

I have a Google Sheet with data in cells F2 through F367. The data is all numbers, from 0 to 359, and represents wind direction, with 0 being the north and 270 being the west. I would like a formula to indicate the percentage of days that the wind is from the west, where the value is anywhere between 240 and 270 degrees. Can you provide that?

The response returned a =COUNTIF formula which generated an error. After a quick review of the function, ask Gemini to try again:

I think the range indicator portion needs to be different. Maybe a logical AND not a text field?

This time the response included a =COUNTIFS formula. Select the Copy Code button, switch to Google Sheet, navigate to the desired destination cell, and choose Edit | Paste to add the formula. This time, with a few tweaks, the code snippet worked as desired.

And that’s a good overview of how you should work with Gemini. If the first answer meets your needs, that’s great! But always take the time to verify the accuracy of the results and be prepared to ask again – and differently – to evoke a more relevant, useful or accurate answer.

Can Gemini create tables in Google Sheets?

Yes! As described above, if the Gemini app creates a table, it comes with an Export to Sheets button that opens the table in a spreadsheet.

Alternatively, in Google Sheets, you can click the “Ask Gemini” button at the top right of the screen, which appears as a white flash within a blue circle. A panel will then open with some suggestion prompts, including a “Create Board” button. After clicking on it, you can replace the sample text with your own to create your prompt. You can also write a prompt from scratch without using a suggestion.

By tapping the small diagonal arrow below the table, Gemini will generate it and move it into the spreadsheet.

How to access Gemini in Google Sheets?

If you’re signed in to a Google account with Gemini enabled, you’ll see the “Ask Gemini” button next to your profile picture at the top right of the screen. Clicking will open a panel with a box where you can write a prompt related to your sheet.

Is Gemini available in all versions of Google Sheets?

Gemini is a paid add-on for anyone with a Google Workspace account.

If you have a Business edition, it costs $24 per month per user if you pay monthly, and $20 per month per user if you pay annually.

If you have an Enterprise edition, it costs $36 per month per user if you pay monthly, and $30 per month per user if you pay annually.

This is paid in addition to the price of your Google Workspace account:

• Business Starter: $7.20 per user per month.
• Commercial standard: $14.40 per user per month.
• Business Plus: $21.60 per user per month.
• Business: Individual to organization award

SEE: Gmail vs Google Workspace: Key Differences for Users and Businesses

Can Gemini convert Google Docs content to Google Sheets?

No, Gemini cannot directly move data between Google Workspace apps. If you have a table in a Google Doc and want to move it to a sheet, you can highlight and copy it, click a cell on the sheet, and then paste it. If the pasted data appears in only one column, click “Data” and “Split text into columns” to split it based on a delimiter, such as a comma or space. You can also use “Ask Gemini” to generate a table in the same format as the document, describing its structure.