AI Companion - Intelligent Excel Chat Assistant

AI Assistant
AI Companion in Excel

AI Companion is an intelligent chat-based assistant that provides real-time AI support directly within Excel. With its professional task pane interface, contextual data understanding, and conversation memory, AI Companion helps you analyze data, generate formulas, get insights, and solve Excel challenges through natural language conversations. Powered by local AI models through Ollama, it ensures complete privacy while delivering expert-level assistance for any Excel task.

Key Benefits

Natural Language Interface
Ask questions in plain English, get expert Excel help
Contextual Understanding
AI analyzes your selected data and provides relevant insights
Conversation Memory
Build on previous responses with follow-up questions
Local AI Processing
Complete privacy with Ollama-powered local AI models
Real-time Assistance
Instant responses for Excel tasks, formulas, and data analysis
Professional Integration
Seamlessly integrated into Excel workflow with task pane interface

How to Use

Getting Started

  1. Launch AI Companion: Go to UF Advanced tab → AI Tools → AI Companion
  2. Select Data (optional): Highlight Excel range you want to analyze
  3. Start Conversation: Use quick prompts or type your own questions
  4. Enable Context: Check "Include selected range in prompt" for data-specific help

Data Analysis Conversations

  1. Select Your Data: Highlight the Excel range containing your data
  2. Enable Context: Check the context inclusion checkbox
  3. Ask Questions: Use prompts like "Analyze my selected data" or ask specific questions
  4. Follow Up: Ask additional questions based on AI insights
  5. Get Recommendations: Request specific actions or next steps

Formula and Function Help

  1. Describe Your Need: Explain what calculation or operation you need
  2. Provide Context: Include sample data or expected results in your description
  3. Get Formula: AI generates appropriate Excel formulas with explanations
  4. Refine Results: Ask follow-up questions to modify or optimize formulas

Interface & Features

Professional Chat Interface

  • Dedicated Task Pane: Clean, professional chat interface with conversation history
  • Multi-line Input: Smart text input with send button and Enter-to-send functionality
  • Visual Feedback: Real-time status indicators showing "📊 Analyzing...", "🤖 Thinking...", etc.
  • Conversation Memory: Maintains chat history for contextual follow-up questions
  • Context Integration: Optional checkbox to include selected Excel range in prompts

Quick Start Prompts

When chat is empty, AI Companion shows helpful prompt buttons:

  • "Analyze my selected data" - Instant data analysis and insights
  • "Help me write a SUM formula" - Formula assistance and generation
  • "Suggest chart types for my data" - Visualization recommendations with explanations
  • "Find patterns and insights in my data" - Advanced pattern recognition and analysis

Smart Controls

  • 🗑️ Clear Chat: Reset conversation history and start fresh
  • ⚙️ Settings: Access AI configuration and model settings
  • Include selected range in prompt: Toggle to include current Excel selection in AI analysis

Best Practices

Effective AI Conversations

  • Be Specific: Provide clear, detailed questions for better AI responses
  • Use Context: Include relevant data selections when asking data-related questions
  • Build Conversations: Ask follow-up questions to dive deeper into insights
  • Provide Examples: Include sample data or expected outcomes when requesting formulas

Data Analysis Excellence

  • Start Broad: Begin with general analysis questions, then drill down into specifics
  • Validate Results: Always verify AI insights against your domain knowledge
  • Document Insights: Save important AI recommendations for future reference
  • Combine Approaches: Use AI insights to guide manual Excel analysis

Common Use Cases

1

Business Data Analysis

  • Sales Performance: "Analyze my sales data and identify top-performing products"
  • Trend Analysis: "What trends do you see in this quarterly data?"
  • Comparative Analysis: "Compare performance between different regions"
2

Formula Assistance

  • Complex Calculations: "Help me create a formula to calculate compound growth rate"
  • Conditional Logic: "I need a formula that applies different rates based on categories"
  • Data Validation: "Create a formula to check if dates are within business hours"
3

Insights and Recommendations

  • Chart Suggestions: "What's the best way to visualize this data?"
  • Data Quality: "Are there any issues with my dataset?"
  • Next Steps: "What analysis should I do next with this data?"

Frequently Asked Questions

No, AI Companion works completely offline using local Ollama models for complete privacy.

Yes, all processing is local through Ollama, so your data never leaves your computer.

Click the 🗑️ Clear Chat button to reset conversation history and start fresh.