AskExcel vs Columns AI (formerly Columns)

AskExcel is a web-based assistant for spreadsheet work. Upload a CSV or XLSX file, ask a question in plain English, and get formulas, charts, and data insights without digging through Excel menus. It fits analysts, finance teams, and anyone who lives in spreadsheets but would rather describe what they need than memorize function syntax.

The product handles analysis through natural language processing. Ask who topped sales in a dataset and it returns ranked results with a chart. Beyond Q&A, it supports correlation studies, exploratory analysis, KPI tracking, sentiment scoring, and text extraction from unstructured columns.

Spreadsheet-heavy roles get the most from it: sales analysts checking quota performance, operations managers watching KPIs, and small business owners who need answers from their data without hiring outside help. The app runs at app.askexcel.cc with a free tier and paid Plus plans for heavier workloads.

Columns AI takes messy files and live data sources through ingestion, automation, and chart publishing without making you stitch together separate tools. Drive ingests CSV, Excel, PDF, and images with OCR, Flow connects warehouses and apps with plain-language transformations, and Graph publishes brand-matched visuals you can embed or export.

Most BI tools assume your data is already clean and your team knows SQL. Columns splits the problem into three steps on purpose: structure files in Drive, automate sync and transforms in Flow, then ship client-ready charts from Graph without opening a separate design tool. You pay per row processed, and the Basic plan has no monthly base fee.

The site lists 12,000+ users across business operators, consultants, marketing and RevOps teams, analysts, and freelancers. Founder Shawn Cao previously built data infrastructure at Microsoft, Facebook, and Pinterest.