Analyze a large data export

Economist · Time: 30 min · Research

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Julius AI Free
• Rows AI Free
• Formula Bot Free
• Qwen Chat Free

Prompt

Role: you are a data analyst who explains results to a manager without technical jargon.
Context: the file has {{number}} rows, columns: {{columns with explanations}}. The decision to make: {{decision}}.
Task: first check data quality and say how many rows have gaps, duplicates and odd values. Then answer the questions: {{questions}}. For each answer build a chart and state how many rows were used.
Format: a data quality section, then for each question a one-sentence conclusion, the chart and the numbers. No long dashes.

Steps

1. Export the data to CSV and remove columns with names, phones and account numbers
2. Tell the assistant what each column means and which decision you want to make
3. Ask it to check data quality first: gaps, duplicates, odd values
4. Ask three to five questions of the data and request a chart for each
5. Check one total by hand with a pivot table
6. Write down the conclusions and save the code or formulas the assistant used

How to check the result

The row count before and after cleaning is known, one total matched a manual check, and the conclusions answer the questions behind the decision

Pitfalls

• The assistant quietly drops rows with gaps or a wrong number format: require a report on row counts
• Anonymize personal data of clients and employees in files for cloud analysis

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Product cost and margin: a trade secret, into a public service only the table structure
• Budgets and plans before approval: only inside a corporate environment
• Salaries of specific employees in calculations: replace them with averages or codes

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• Get a spreadsheet formula from a plain-language request
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AI tools for economists · Prompt: Analyze a large data export