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Kevin Stratvert - Is Excel Dead? Meet the ChatGPT Data Analyst.

Thumbnail of the video “Kevin Stratvert - Is Excel Dead? Meet the ChatGPT Data Analyst.”
Community upload. AI output has not been independently verified.
Author: Kevin Stratvert
Categories: Technology Science Business
Tags: technology, science, business
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-15 07:48 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Use the ChatGPT Data Analyst, a custom GPT in ChatGPT (requires a premium subscription), to analyze Excel data by uploading the file and asking plain-language questions instead of building pivot tables or formulas. The video demonstrates it on a sample cookie company dataset, covering customer counts, cross-sheet lookups, profit charts, trend explanations, and seasonal patterns.

Key Points

  • The Data Analyst is found by opening Explore GPTs on the left side of ChatGPT, then scrolling to the "By ChatGPT" category, where it appears at the top as one of the most popular options.
  • Data is loaded by clicking the paperclip icon in the text box or dragging and dropping an Excel file into the chat.
  • The tool shows its step-by-step reasoning (sheet structure, which sheet it used, how it aggregated), which the presenter says builds confidence in the answers.
  • It can join separate worksheets by a shared key: it linked customer IDs in the Orders sheet to customer names in the Customers sheet to identify the top-ordering customer.
  • It can calculate values not present in the file (profit = revenue minus cost) and build bar charts, which can then be revised through follow-up text requests.
  • It can offer possible explanations for trends (such as a flat profit year) and hypothesize seasonal patterns, such as a December sales spike linked to the holidays.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    • A premium ChatGPT subscription is needed to access Explore GPTs, which may be an incentive to upgrade, but the presenter does not explicitly instruct viewers to subscribe.
    • Open ChatGPT, click Explore GPTs on the left, find the Data Analyst (under "By ChatGPT" or at the top of the trending list), and click into it.
    • Attach your Excel file with the paperclip icon or drag it into the chat. The presenter provides the same sample file in the video description so you can follow along.
    • Ask direct questions in the text box, for example "How many customers does the company have?" or "Which customer ordered the most cookies?"
    • To refine a chart, type specific format requests, such as showing the Y axis in USD currency format in millions, or changing bar colors to green.
    • Check answers against the spreadsheet: the presenter verified the top-customer total of 667,698 cookies in Excel and found it correct (customer name: Cascade Grovers).
  • The sample workbook has two sheets: Orders (order ID, customer ID, cookies shipped, revenue, cost, order date) and Customers (five customers linked by customer ID). Profit is not in the file and must be calculated.
  • The presenter contrasts this with Excel, where the same cross-table answer would require building a pivot table with both tables, which requires some Excel knowledge.
  • The video's trend explanations (such as stagnant sales or product mix changes) are hypotheses generated by the tool, not verified conclusions from the data.

Bottom Line

Custom AI data analysts can replace much of the manual work of spreadsheet analysis, shifting the skill from knowing Excel functions to asking good questions and checking the results.