The honest answer for most professionals considering AI in spreadsheets in 2026 isn't to switch tools — it's to use the AI integration in the tool you already use. Excel users should use Copilot; Sheets users should use Gemini; everyone else can use Claude Pro alongside whatever they have. Switching spreadsheet tools just for AI features is almost always more disruptive than the AI features are worth.
Businesses spend extraordinary amounts of time in spreadsheets, and AI is now meaningfully reducing that time across specific workflows: formula generation, data cleanup, summarisation, custom function creation. The category divides cleanly by where you already work.
How to actually pick
Already in Microsoft 365 Excel: Microsoft Copilot in Excel at £19/month add-on. Worth the £19/user/month for businesses already standardised on M365.
Already in Google Sheets: Gemini in Sheets, bundled with Workspace Business Plus and above tiers (~£13/user/month upward).
Want spreadsheet-native AI features: Rows at £0-£20/month. New entrant; spreadsheet built around AI features and live data integration (CRM imports, web scraping, API calls inside cells). Genuinely impressive for specific workflows; meaningful learning curve.
Want AI-spreadsheet hybrid for non-spreadsheet users: Numerous or Equals.
Just want occasional AI formula help: Claude Pro at £18/month alongside your existing spreadsheet. Often eliminates the case for Copilot or Gemini for occasional users.
What the AI integrations actually do
Common useful queries in Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Sheets:
- "Add a column that calculates X based on Y"
- "Find anomalies in this column"
- "Summarise the trends in this dataset"
- "Suggest the best chart type for this data"
For occasional formula help: paste a sample of your data into Claude Pro, ask Claude what to do, paste the resulting formula back into Excel or Sheets. This often works as well as the native AI integration at lower cost — especially if you already pay for Claude.
The four worth knowing, briefly
Microsoft Copilot in Excel at £19/user/month. Native integration, formula generation, data analysis, chart suggestions, summarisation. The right answer for daily Excel users in M365 enterprises.
Gemini in Sheets. Bundled with Workspace Business Plus and above tiers. Similar capability to Copilot in Excel inside Sheets.
Rows at free / £20-£60/month. AI-native spreadsheet built around live data integration. Genuinely impressive for specific workflows like building dashboards that pull from APIs; not a drop-in replacement for general Excel work.
Claude Pro at £18/month. Not a spreadsheet integration but a cheap alternative for occasional formula help, alongside whatever spreadsheet tool you already use.
How I'd actually advise picking
Microsoft 365 enterprise: Copilot in Excel if you'll use it daily; Claude Pro if occasional.
Google Workspace: Gemini in Sheets if you'll use daily; Claude Pro if occasional.
SMBs not deep in either: Claude Pro alone plus your existing spreadsheet tool.
Power users wanting AI-native spreadsheet: Rows, with eyes open about the learning curve and the time cost of switching from Excel or Sheets workflows you already know.
What I'd swerve: switching spreadsheet tools just for AI features. The cost of disrupting an existing workflow almost always exceeds the AI productivity gain in the new tool.
Affiliate disclosure: Morningfold has affiliate partnerships with Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, and Rows — see editorial standards.