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Catch what's wrong with the AI's price lookup formula
- For Sales and customer success
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
An AI gave you a lookup formula for unit prices and some rows came back wrong. Your team uses Excel 2016, which has no XLOOKUP. Ask for exactly 2 numbered lines labeled Problem 1: and Problem 2:, then the fixed formula for C2 in one code block. Under 60 words outside the code, and no XLOOKUP anywhere.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not saying your Excel version. The AI's favorite fix is XLOOKUP, which Excel 2016 doesn't have. Try: Add: "Excel 2016, no XLOOKUP."
- Asking only for a fix. You get a new formula but don't learn why the old one broke, so you'll trust the next bad one. Try: Add: "First name the 2 problems: Problem 1:, Problem 2:."
- Getting a menu of options. The AI likes to offer two or three versions of the formula, so you're left to pick and test them yourself. Try: Add: "Give one formula only, in one code block, no alternatives."
- Getting a tutorial. By default the AI explains every part of the formula at length, in bullets and bold. Try: Add: "Exactly 2 numbered problem lines, each under 20 words. Nothing after the code."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says the Excel version
- Asks what went wrong
- Asks for one fixed formula
- Keeps the explanation short
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