Choose the right way to work with the AI assistant

Say what to change, where to change it, and what a good result looks like. A request such as “clean this data” leaves too much open. A request such as “standardize the dates in column B, leave the header alone, and show me the rows you changed” is easier to review.

Name the sheet and range when more than one table is visible. If the result depends on a business rule, include the rule in the prompt instead of expecting the assistant to infer it.

• Read the proposed plan when one is shown.
• Confirm the target sheet and range.
• Check a few changed values against the original data.
• Undo or correct the change when the result is not what you meant.

A follow-up correction can be narrow: ask the assistant to update only a named range, preserve a column, or explain why a row was classified a certain way. The Prompting and Prompt Library guide has more examples.

Some requests return an answer immediately. Others show a plan or ask for permission before making a change. When the work is complete, read the summary and check the ranges or sheets mentioned there.

If the result is not right, use the undo control when it is available, then describe the correction in a new request. You can also ask for an explanation without asking for another edit.

Ask is the right starting point when you are learning what is in a sheet or deciding what to do next. Plan is useful when a task involves several sheets, a long list of changes, or a rule you want to inspect before it runs. Act is best when the requested edit is clear and you are ready to review the result.

You can combine the modes during one piece of work. Ask for an inspection, review the answer, make a plan for the larger task, and then approve a focused change. This keeps discovery separate from editing.

All three controls sit directly under the message box, always visible: the mode (Act, Ask, Plan), the approval setting for this sheet (Manual asks before each edit; Auto-accept applies edits without asking), and the thinking level from Off to Max. Higher thinking levels reason longer on hard tasks and use more credits. Typing /ask, /act or /plan switches the mode too.

Describe the shape of the answer as well as the action. Ask for a table of exceptions, a short summary with supporting rows, or a new column with a reason for each label. This makes the response easier to check than a general request for improvement.

If the task affects several sheets, name the order in which they should be considered. If a value should never change, say so before sending the request.