Introduction: As Australian buyers evaluate four AI spreadsheet assistants—Claude for Excel, Copilot in Excel, ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets, and Gemini in Google Sheets—they're analyzed on how and where they run, pricing, data handling, and ease of switching as of October 27, 2026.

Core finding: No single tool dominates; each excels in different environments—Microsoft-centric, Google Workspace, or cross-app coverage—so deployment decisions hinge on file location, existing licenses, and data access governance.

Copilot in Excel is a built-in option inside Microsoft 365 Copilot, available across Windows, Mac, web, and mobile; it offers change history, context-aware data handling, and a model picker, but requires cloud workbooks stored in OneDrive or SharePoint with distinct pricing implications.

Real-world testing: Six spreadsheet scenarios, including messy ledgers, multi-tab files, and specific workflow needs, are used to pilot tools before wide deployment.

Gemini in Google Sheets is native to Workspace and rolled out gradually; it may not appear on Excel files in Drive, with Gemini 4 Argon API pricing and ongoing rollout and availability caveats.

Specs snapshot: A 13-row comparison outlines where each tool runs (Excel or Sheets), access and device support, model switching, change tracking, enterprise controls, pricing basis, and file support, noting gaps like cloud-storage requirements and model visibility.

ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets presents a common sidebar for both apps, with tiered pricing (Free, Go, Plus, Pro) and Enterprise/Edu/K-12 access; governance features include role-based access and data residency where available, with a token-based credit model for some enterprise plans.

Claude for Excel’s availability spans Max/Team/Enterprise plans, though beta status and general-availability labeling clash, and admin steps exist to enable Anthropic as a subprocessor when Claude models appear via Copilot.

Bottom-line: The best AI for Excel depends on file locations and licenses; organizations should pilot to evaluate data governance, model behavior, and cost before committing to a single tool.

Evidence gap: Independent, spreadsheet-specific benchmarks are scarce; while Forrester provides Copilot data, there is no published cross-tool, spreadsheet-specific accuracy test, so a five-task bake-off is recommended.

Pricing guidance for Australian buyers: U.S.-listed prices are converted for planning, with plans bundled inside broader subscriptions and token-based pricing adding cost variability for heavy usage.