Nearly five decades after the launch of VisiCalc, AI is reshaping one of the world’s most familiar productivity tools — the humble spreadsheet.
While a lot of knowledge workers interact with spreadsheets on a regular basis, many lack the skills and confidence to access more advanced functions.
“For a very long time, spreadsheets forced you to learn spreadsheet syntax and spreadsheet ways of working,” said Eric Birnbaum, director of product management for Google Sheets. “But think about how many people need to use spreadsheets at work and don’t have the skill set to create the kinds of spreadsheets that can be really helpful for them.”
The addition of artificial intelligence can help handle that issue, he said, making the software more accessible to a wide range of office workers. “AI is unlocking the power of spreadsheets, taking on a lot of the difficult work that’s required to use them. That can be incredibly empowering for users,” said Birnbaum.
Google has steadily expanded generative AI (genAI) capabilities in Sheets since launching Duet AI — now Gemini — for Workspace in 2023.
