API Archives -

Three Ways To Use AI Tools With Google Sheets

AI course for Google Sheets

Although AI has been around for decades, it’s only really been available to the public in its current form for the past year or so. And with the rise of these generative AI tools, like ChatGPT and Google Bard, AI is more accessible than ever.

But where does AI fit with Google Sheets?

And how do we use AI tools with Google Sheets?

💡 Add AI to your Google Sheets toolboxLearn how to use AI effectively with Google Sheets in my new online course: The AI Playbook for Google Sheets

In this post we’re going to look at how to use the most popular AI tools with Google Sheets. You’ll see how easy it is get started and learn that AI isn’t rocket science. It’s simply another useful tool that can save you time when you work with Google Sheets.

Specifically, we’ll look at three ways to use AI tools with Google Sheets:

Chatbots like ChatGPT or Bard
Google Sheets Add-Ons
Via the API and Apps Script (advanced)

Continue reading Three Ways To Use AI Tools With Google Sheets

What AI Can Do For You As A Google Sheets User. Is The Hype Justified?

💡 Add AI to your Google Sheets toolboxLearn how to use AI effectively with Google Sheets in my new online course: The AI Playbook for Google Sheets

In this post, we’re going to take a 40,000 ft view of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape and see how you can use it alongside Google Sheets to boost your productivity.

And, at the end of the post, I’ll answer the question about whether I think the AI hype is justified.

Before looking at what AI can do with Google Sheets though, let’s start with a quick AI 101 to ensure we’re up to speed with the lingo.

Green Tea Image generated by Dall-E — Image generated by Dall-E, a deep learning model, using the prompt “a cup of tea with a green potion inside with thin swirling vapors rising out of it”

How To Get Fathom Analytics Data Into Google Sheets, Using Apps Script

In this post, we’re going to create a tool that calls the Fathom Analytics API and pastes website traffic data into Google Sheets:

Get Fathom Site Data

But first, a quick backstory:

Earlier this year (2022), Google announced the sunsetting of the old implementation of Google Analytics, in favor of GA4.

At the time I was running the old Google Analytics software, implemented through Google Tag Manager (along with Facebook’s pixel tracker).

It was time for me to update my web analytics software.

But I didn’t want to just shove GA4 into my existing tag manager setup. From what I’d heard, GA4 was difficult to use and way overblown for my needs.

Also, I really wanted to remove the dependency on Tag Manager from my site, because it’s too complex for my use case and I’m not particularly familiar with it. Plus, it’s been years since I’ve used the Facebook analytics pixel so I wanted to get rid of that too. I wanted to improve my site speed, and removing all this javascript would help with that goal.

So I cast around for alternative analytics software and landed on Fathom.

Fathom Analytics is a lightweight, easy-to-use, privacy-focused analytics software that is perfect for my website.

It was ridiculously easy to set up and I’ve been delighted with how easy it is to use. I jump in and can quickly see everything I need to know for my website:

Continue reading How To Get Fathom Analytics Data Into Google Sheets, Using Apps Script

API Authentication Apps Script Reference

This post is a summary of common authentication protocols for API authentication with Apps Script.

I got fed up digging around in my Drive folder for old scripts to refresh my memory on the syntax, so I created this reference.

It’s not a comprehensive post on how to connect to APIs, instead, it’s a short summary of common protocols for easy reference.(If you’re new to APIs, start with my Apps Script API tutorial for beginners.)

This post looks at four different API authentication methods: