# Session 4 Handout: Spreadsheets and the Playbook

<p class="meta">FAST-04 AI Productivity with Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini · 7formations · Instructor: Wadood Chaudhary · All examples fictional</p>

## Why this session matters

Asking a spreadsheet a question in plain English is powerful, and the answer is only as good as the data the assistant sees. A leftover filter can flip "which region dropped most." This session adds a manual check, shows why over-shared files become everyone's files once an assistant is involved, and pulls the course into a personal playbook with honest time measures.

## Key concepts

### 1. Plain-language spreadsheet questions

Copilot in Excel and Gemini in Sheets can answer questions ("which region dropped the most last quarter?"), add formula columns, build pivots, and highlight patterns. Good habits:

- **Clean table:** one header row, consistent data types, no merged cells, no totals mixed in the data. (Excel: format as a Table.)
- **Ask to see the formula or pivot** the answer is based on.
- **Keep the original untouched**; work on a copy or have the assistant add new columns or sheets.

Feature details change frequently (some 2026 Excel features changed status mid-year). Confirm what your version supports.

### 2. Verify one answer by hand

Rebuild the answer with a pivot or formula (SUMIFS, a pivot of Region × sum). Compare. **If they differ, stop and investigate:**

| Cause | Example |
| --- | --- |
| Hidden filter | Only LTL rows visible |
| Blanks | Empty cells treated as zero |
| Duplicates | A customer's rows pasted twice |
| Different method | Dollars vs percentage; wrong date range |

Log what you checked and what you found.

### 3. Over-sharing: what the assistant can see

If a file is shared with "everyone" (Microsoft: a site open to "Everyone except external users"; Google: general access set to your whole organization), **everyone's assistant can surface it** when they ask a related question. Over-sharing that used to be obscure becomes easy to find.

What to do: check sharing on sensitive files you own; restrict to the right group; tell the owner if it's not yours; report anything that looks like an exposure. Don't download or screenshot sensitive content "to check." IT can use admin tools (Microsoft's data-access governance and Purview, Google's Drive sharing controls) to find over-sharing at scale.

### 4. The productivity playbook

Five recurring tasks. For each: **steps, prompt, check, and time saved after checking.** Demonstrate two live.

**Honest time** = time by hand − (AI run time + checking and fixing time). If the saving disappears, adjust or stop. That's a valid result.

## Worked example: which region dropped most?

| Region | Q2 total | Q3 total | Change | % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Merrimack Valley | 69,600 | 68,000 | −1,600 | −2.3% |
| North Shore | 55,400 | 50,400 | −5,000 | −9.0% |
| Metro West | 56,200 | 49,700 | **−6,500** | **−11.6%** |
| Southern NH | 32,100 | 32,500 | +400 | +1.2% |

The assistant answered **North Shore (−$6,300)**. A filter on Service = LTL was still on. Cleared filters and a pivot show **Metro West**, driven by FTL (41,000 → 33,700). The tool answered the data it was shown; the sheet was the problem.

## Checklist: spreadsheet and sharing

- [ ] Data in a clean, labeled table; filters cleared.
- [ ] Formula or pivot shown for each answer.
- [ ] One answer rebuilt manually; differences explained.
- [ ] Original data untouched.
- [ ] My sensitive files' sharing checked; over-shares fixed or reported.
- [ ] Playbook: five tasks, steps, prompt, check, honest time.

## Do and don't

| Do | Don't |
| --- | --- |
| Clear filters before asking | Ask with leftover filters or hidden rows |
| Rebuild one answer yourself | Paste the AI's number straight into a report |
| Restrict sensitive files to a named group | Use org-wide links for HR or pricing files |
| Tell owners and report exposures | Download sensitive files to "check" them |
| Record checking time | Report only the AI's run time |

## Try this at work

1. Ask three questions of a non-sensitive work sheet; verify one manually.
2. Open "Shared" in OneDrive or Drive and review files you've shared widely.
3. Finish your playbook and time two tasks this week.

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Pivot table | Summary table grouping and totaling data |
| SUMIFS | Formula summing values that meet conditions |
| Hidden filter | An active filter that hides rows from view and some calculations |
| Over-sharing | A file accessible to far more people than need it |
| Productivity playbook | Your documented AI-assisted tasks with checks and time |
| FTL / LTL | Full truckload / less-than-truckload freight |

## Key takeaways

- Plain-language questions still need a manual check.
- Fix over-shared files; the assistant sees them too.
- Playbook: five tasks with steps, prompt, check, honest time.