Google Gemini FAILS in Spreadsheets: Data Analysis Nightmare

Introduction

Google Gemini finally rolled out its AI services to those with workspace accounts this week after the world waited for over a year and a half. While various free and enterprise accounts have had access to Google Gemini for six to nine months, the rest of the world recently obtained access. Let’s dig into how Google Gemini AI performs in spreadsheets, specifically in data analysis.

I'm Jordan Wilson, host of the "Everyday AI" podcast and newsletter. Our mission is to help everyday people learn and leverage generative AI to grow their companies and careers. Subscribe to our channel and visit everydayai.com to sign up for more.

Setup Process

Before jumping into the specifics, it's important to note that enabling Google Gemini in your workspace account requires admin access. The process is not very straightforward. You can find the detailed steps in another video where I shared my first impressions. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t good.

Once enabled, you'll notice a new button labeled "Ask Gemini" in Google Sheets. I used this feature to analyze a spreadsheet containing over 16,000 rows of YouTube analytics data from our channel.

Initial Impressions

Upon pressing the Ask Gemini button, I noted that the user interface allows users to easily adjust the view, although it had some finicky behaviors. For example, it was challenging to view suggested prompts without constantly adjusting the interface.

Simple Prompt Test

I started with a simple prompt: "Please tell me what you see in this spreadsheet. Keep it brief yet specific."

Google Gemini responded: "This spreadsheet appears to track the performance of various YouTube videos."

Complex Prompt Test

Next, I inquired about optimizing publish time and content type to maximize video performance metrics. The response was slower than expected and provided vague trends rather than actionable insights.

Advanced Analysis Attempts

I asked Gemini to identify the top-performing videos across multiple metrics and to share common attributes. Surprisingly, Gemini failed to analyze the data and returned a generic response suggesting it was unable to perform data analysis.

Visualization Request

Attempting to create a simple funnel chart visualizing Impressions to views resulted in another failure. Gemini indicated it could not handle data visualization tasks.

Insight Extraction

I then asked for 20 specific and creative takeaways to grow our channel. This time, Gemini produced some useful insights like capitalizing on Chat GPT content and AI applications in specific industries.

Simple Data Analysis Prompt

Testing one last simple query—finding videos with the highest like-to-view ratio—again led to a failure. Gemini said it was unable to do any data analysis on the spreadsheet.

Conclusion

Google Gemini's lackluster performance in Google Sheets raises questions about Google's AI strategy. While it managed to produce some useful creative insights, its inability to handle even basic data analysis is bewildering, especially considering the widespread use of Google Sheets. If you have any thoughts or want to see something specific, let us know in the comments. Also, subscribe to our newsletter for more insights.

Keywords

• Google Gemini
• Google Sheets
• AI
• Data Analysis
• YouTube Analytics
• Generative AI
• Workspace Accounts

FAQ

Q: What is Google Gemini? A: Google Gemini is Google's AI service designed to assist with tasks in applications such as Google Sheets.

Q: How do I enable Google Gemini in my workspace account? A: You need admin access to enable Google Gemini in Google Workspace settings. The process is detailed in another video.

Q: Can Google Gemini perform data analysis in Google Sheets? A: As tested, Google Gemini failed to perform even basic data analysis in Google Sheets.

Q: Can Google Gemini create data visualizations in Google Sheets? A: No, it was unable to create data visualizations like funnel charts.

Q: Is Google Gemini useful for content insights? A: Yes, Google Gemini was able to generate some creative insights for content improvement.

Q: Where can I learn more or provide feedback about this? A: You can subscribe to our channel and sign up for our newsletter at everydayai.com.