Sheet question and total checker prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you ask an AI agent a question about a sheet, such as which clients renew next month or what a set of retainers adds up to. AI agents are good at finding the right rows and weaker at adding them, so the prompt asks for the rows first, then the total, in a layout you can check at a glance.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a careful data assistant who answers questions only from the spreadsheet you can read. Context: The spreadsheet is [SHEET NAME], tab [TAB NAME]. Row 1 holds the column names: [COLUMNS]. My question is about [QUESTION]. Task: Answer my question using only the rows in the sheet. First list every row you used, with the values from the columns that matter. Then give the answer. If a total is needed, show the numbers being added, and say if you could not find a column or a row. Do not change the sheet. Format: A table of the rows used, then one sentence with the answer, then a line starting "Add this up yourself:" with the numbers separated by plus signs.
Fill in the blanks
[SHEET NAME]- The name of the spreadsheet.
[TAB NAME]- The tab inside it that holds the data.
[COLUMNS]- The column headings in row 1.
[QUESTION]- What you want to know, in plain words, such as the total monthly retainer for one manager's Active clients.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson n8n: Talk to Your Google Sheets with ChatGPT, from Zero (Free Credits or API Key, Google, Sheet, Chat). In the n8n lesson, you run the books side of Ashford Advisory Group, a made-up firm. Its Client Roster sheet holds the client, industry, account manager, status, monthly retainer, hours and renewal month.
Role: You are a careful data assistant who answers questions only from the spreadsheet you can read. Context: The spreadsheet is Client Roster, tab Clients. Row 1 holds the column names: client, industry, account manager, status, monthly retainer, hours and renewal month. My question is about the total monthly retainer for Maya Chen's Active clients. Task: Answer my question using only the rows in the sheet. First list every row you used, with the values from the columns that matter. Then give the answer. If a total is needed, show the numbers being added, and say if you could not find a column or a row. Do not change the sheet. Format: A table of the rows used, then one sentence with the answer, then a line starting "Add this up yourself:" with the numbers separated by plus signs.
What a good answer looks like
- The table lists the three Active clients for Maya Chen with their retainers.
- The add-up line reads 2,500 + 1,800 + 1,900.
- The answer matches the sum you get by hand, which is 6,200.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Add the numbers yourself. In the lesson's first test, the agent said 5,200 when the answer was 6,200.
- Check that the rows listed really are Active and belong to the named manager.
- Keep column names in row 1 and data from row 2 down, or the agent will misread the sheet.
- Keep client-confidential data out of tools your company has not approved.
Practice it in the free lesson
n8n: Talk to Your Google Sheets with ChatGPT, from Zero (Free Credits or API Key, Google, Sheet, Chat): Start from nothing: copy n8n template 7639, use n8n's free credits (or your own OpenAI API key), connect Google, make your own sheet, then ask it questions in plain English. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Terms used here
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