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Highlights
- Gemini in Google Sheets has evolved from offering static chart insights to enabling dynamic spreadsheet editing using natural language.
- With the May 2025 update, users can now create dropdowns, pivot tables, and apply formatting through simple typed prompts.
- Though limitations remain, such as one-table-at-a-time actions, the overall experience greatly enhances productivity.
- Available across multiple Google Workspace plans, Gemini is simplifying data tasks for both casual and power users alike.
Google has once again elevated the capabilities of Google Sheets by expanding the functionalities of Gemini, its AI-powered assistant. Building on the momentum of its January 2025 release, which brought with it a host of powerful features like AI-generated charts and data insights. Gemini has now evolved into a hands-on editing tool.
With the May 2025 update, Google shifts focus from better understanding to interactivity. Users can now instruct Gemini to perform a wide range of spreadsheet editing tasks using plain, natural language. Whether it is creating dropdown menus, applying conditional formatting, generating pivot tables, or organizing data, Gemini is making spreadsheet management more intuitive and efficient than ever.
Gemini’s Evolution: Static Charts to Smart Actions
In January 2025, Google introduced Gemini’s ability to analyse data and generate visualizations within Sheets. Users could pose questions like, “Provide some insights on my top 3 performing channels by conversion rate,” and receive a detailed analysis accompanied by static charts. Alternatively, a small business owner could manage their cash flow by asking to “Predict my net income for the next quarter based on historical data,” and identify potential shortfalls.
This functionality utilizes Python code in the background to carry out complex operations, delivering these insights without requiring users to write any code themselves. While useful, these charts generated in this phase were static images, meaning users had to regenerate them whenever the source data changed.
Advanced Editing with Natural Language
The May 2025 update extends Gemini’s capabilities beyond analytics and visualization. Now, users can perform complex spreadsheet editing simply by typing natural language prompts. This represents a shift from passive insight delivery to active data manipulation.
For example, users can ask Gemini to create dropdowns by typing something like, “create a dropdown for product categories in column B.” Gemini will then add data validation dropdowns to the specified column, saving users the hassle of manually configuring settings.
Conditional formatting is also easier than ever. Commands like “highlight sales above $1000 in green” will automatically apply the appropriate formatting rules, making it simple to spotlight key data trends.
Users can also create pivot tables through simple requests such as, “create a pivot table showing total sales by region.” This capability makes it easier to summarize and interpret large datasets without navigating through multiple menu options.
Organizing data also becomes more intuitive with sorting and filtering options. A prompt like “filter the sheet to only show orders placed in April” or “sort the sheet by revenue, highest to lowest” allows Gemini to handle these tasks in seconds.
After receiving a command, Gemini displays a preview card summarizing the proposed changes. Users can accept the changes, undo them, or adjust further using the settings option that is provided.
Some Practical Constraints to Keep in Mind
Despite these powerful upgrades, there are still a few limitations users should be aware of. Conditional formatting does not yet support gradient-based rules or text style changes like bold or italic. Dropdown menus are limited to single-select options and lack advanced features like colour choices or dynamic range selection. Pivot tables currently do not support calculated fields or grouped data columns.
Another constraint is that Gemini can only act on one table range at a time. For users managing more complex spreadsheets with multiple tables or sections, this may require breaking down tasks into separate steps.
Getting Started with Gemini
Using Gemini in Google Sheets is simple. Just click on the “Ask Gemini” spark icon in the top right corner of your Google Sheets window to activate the assistant.
Once activated, you can issue commands in natural language; just type what you want to achieve. For example, say, “create a dropdown for product categories in column B” or “highlight all expenses over $500 in red.”
After submitting your request, Gemini will show a preview of the proposed change. You can then decide whether to apply the changes, undo them, or customize further.
It is important to have smart features and personalization enabled in order to access Gemini’s full capabilities. Admins can control this setting in the Google Workspace Admin console.
Availability of Gemini’s Enhanced Features
These advanced Gemini features are now available for users subscribed to various Google Workspace plans. This includes Business Standard, Enterprise Standard, and those with the Gemini Education and Gemini Education Premium add-ons. Google One AI Premium users also have access.
Users who have previously purchased the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-ons will automatically gain access to these features as part of their current plan. Full rollout will start on May 14, 2025.
The integration of natural language-powered editing into Gemini for Google Sheets represents a major leap in user productivity. By allowing users to perform complex data tasks with simple instructions, Google is reducing the friction of working with spreadsheets and opening up powerful tools to a broader audience.
With its continued focus on usability and intelligence, Gemini is quickly becoming an essential assistant for users who want to make the most of their data without spending time navigating menus and formulas.
This article first appeared on Techgenyz
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