4 ms·

Seems everyone is speculating features instead of just reading TFA which does in fact list features: - Get answers about any cell in seconds: Navigate complex

by causal 1y ago

Seems everyone is speculating features instead of just reading TFA which does in fact list features: - Get answers about any cell in seconds: Navigate complex models instantly. Ask Claude about specific formulas, entire worksheets, or calculation flows across tabs. Every explanation includes cell-level citations so you can verify the logic. - Test scenarios without breaking formulas: Update assumptions across your entire model while preserving all dependencies. Test different scenarios quickly—Claude highlights every change with explanations for full transparency. - Debug and fix errors: Trace #REF!, #VALUE!, and circular reference errors to their source in seconds. Claude explains what went wrong and how to fix it without disrupting the rest of your model. - Build models or fill existing templates: Create draft financial models from scratch based on your requirements. Or populate existing templates with fresh data while maintaining all formulas and structure.

Balgair 1y ago
If this can reliably deal with the REF, VALUE, and NA problems, it'll be worth it for that alone. Oh and deal with dates before 1900. Excel is a gift from God if you stay in its lane. If you ever so slightly deviate, not even the Devil can help you. But maybe, juuuuust maybe, AI can?
- libraryatnight 1y ago
  "not even Devil can help you. But maybe, juuuuust maybe, AI can?" Bold assumption that the devil and AI aren't aligned ;)
  - lavishlibra0810 1y ago
    The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
    - ACCount37 1y ago
      Nah, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that Machine Learning is a legitimate field of study, and not just thinly veiled demon summoning.
- globular-toast 1y ago
  I feel similarly about MS Word. It can actually produce decent documents if you learn how to use it, in particularly if you use styles consistently and never, ever touch the bold, italic, colours etc. (outside of defining said styles, although the defaults are probably all most people need). Unfortunately I think the appeal of Word is that you don't have to learn this and it will just do what you want. Is AI the panacea that will both do what you want and give you the right answers every time?
  - HPsquared 1y ago
    Word and Excel both have low barrier to entry, and a high skill ceiling.
beefnugs 1y ago
Also people complaining about AI inaccuracy are just technical people that like precision. The vast majority of the world is people who dont give a damn about accuracy or even correctness. They just want to appear as if not completely useless to people that could potentially affect their salary
- lionkor 1y ago
  "just" technical people who like precision are the reason we are here, typing this, and why lots of parts of our world is pretty cool and comfortable. I wouldn't say that's useless and "just" some people when it clearly is generating unmistakable value
- Yizahi 1y ago
  I can pretty reliably guess that approximately 100% of all companies in the world use excel tables for financial data and for processes. Ok, this was a joke. It's actually 99.99% of all companies. One would think that financial data, inventory and stuff like that should be damn precise. No?
  - fragmede 1y ago
    How precise do they really need to be? If there's 3 of a widget on the shelf in the factory, and the factory uses 1000 per day, is it crucial to know that there's 3 of them, and not 0 or 50? Either way, the factory ain't running today or tomorrow or until more of those things come in. Similarly, what's $3 missing from an internal spreadsheet when the company costs $5,000 an hour to operate (or $10 million a year). Obviously errors accumulate so the books need to be reconciled, but apl that stuff only need to be sufficiently directionally accurate with enough precision. If precision is free, then sure, but if a good enough job is cheaper? We all make that call every day.
    - HPsquared 1y ago
      A small error in a spreadsheet (or other program but spreadsheets can hide errors) can cause huge errors in the output.

by causal 1y ago

Balgair 1y ago

If this can reliably deal with the REF, VALUE, and NA problems, it'll be worth it for that alone. Oh and deal with dates before 1900. Excel is a gift from God if you stay in its lane. If you ever so slightly deviate, not even the Devil can help you. But maybe, juuuuust maybe, AI can?

libraryatnight 1y ago
"not even Devil can help you. But maybe, juuuuust maybe, AI can?" Bold assumption that the devil and AI aren't aligned ;)
- lavishlibra0810 1y ago
  The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
  - ACCount37 1y ago
    Nah, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that Machine Learning is a legitimate field of study, and not just thinly veiled demon summoning.
globular-toast 1y ago
I feel similarly about MS Word. It can actually produce decent documents if you learn how to use it, in particularly if you use styles consistently and never, ever touch the bold, italic, colours etc. (outside of defining said styles, although the defaults are probably all most people need). Unfortunately I think the appeal of Word is that you don't have to learn this and it will just do what you want. Is AI the panacea that will both do what you want and give you the right answers every time?
- HPsquared 1y ago
  Word and Excel both have low barrier to entry, and a high skill ceiling.

beefnugs 1y ago

Also people complaining about AI inaccuracy are just technical people that like precision. The vast majority of the world is people who dont give a damn about accuracy or even correctness. They just want to appear as if not completely useless to people that could potentially affect their salary

lionkor 1y ago
"just" technical people who like precision are the reason we are here, typing this, and why lots of parts of our world is pretty cool and comfortable. I wouldn't say that's useless and "just" some people when it clearly is generating unmistakable value
Yizahi 1y ago
I can pretty reliably guess that approximately 100% of all companies in the world use excel tables for financial data and for processes. Ok, this was a joke. It's actually 99.99% of all companies. One would think that financial data, inventory and stuff like that should be damn precise. No?
- fragmede 1y ago
  How precise do they really need to be? If there's 3 of a widget on the shelf in the factory, and the factory uses 1000 per day, is it crucial to know that there's 3 of them, and not 0 or 50? Either way, the factory ain't running today or tomorrow or until more of those things come in. Similarly, what's $3 missing from an internal spreadsheet when the company costs $5,000 an hour to operate (or $10 million a year). Obviously errors accumulate so the books need to be reconciled, but apl that stuff only need to be sufficiently directionally accurate with enough precision. If precision is free, then sure, but if a good enough job is cheaper? We all make that call every day.
  - HPsquared 1y ago
    A small error in a spreadsheet (or other program but spreadsheets can hide errors) can cause huge errors in the output.