How to Write Effective Prompts Using Gemini AI?

Need to clean a row, summarize text or draft an email? Pick a formula below and try it on one row with AI for Sheets. Check the result, adjust the prompt, then fill down when it does what you need.

How to use this library

• Place your source text or variables in cells (e.g., topics in A2:A, audiences in B2:B).
• Paste one formula into an empty cell outside the range it reads. Replace references such as $A2 with your input cells.
• Check the first result before filling down. Ask for the format you need, such as bullets, JSON or CSV, but validate it before using it in another tool.
• For current information, use =AISEARCH() with a date range and check the answer against reliable sources.

Prompt library: 25 copy‑paste examples

Research & trends (3)

=AISEARCH("In 5 bullets under 12 words, summarize trends in " & $A2 & " from the last 6 months. Return '- ' bullets only. Be neutral and include the period covered.")

=AISEARCH("For " & $A2 & ", list 5 direct competitors and a one-line differentiator. Return '- Competitor — differentiator' lines only. Be current (12 months).")

=AISEARCH("Create a 3-bullet executive brief on the latest news about " & $A2 & ". Max 20 words per bullet, '- ' only, include (Mon YYYY).")

Data cleaning & row QA (3)

=GEN("You are a data QA bot. Given this row: " & TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:D2) & ". Flag inconsistencies or missing fields. Return ONLY valid JSON: {""issue"": """", ""field"": """", ""severity"": """"}. No extra text.")

=GEN("Map the product category in this row to one of [Electronics, Apparel, Home, Beauty, Other]. Row: " & TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:D2) & ". Return exactly one label.")

=GEN("From this row: " & TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:D2) & " extract entities: product, brand, color, size. Return ONLY valid JSON: {""product"": """", ""brand"": """", ""color"": """", ""size"": """"}. No extra text.")

Summaries (2)

=SUMMARIZE("Audience: exec. Limit: 5 bullets under 15 words. Tone: neutral. Input: " & E2)

=SUMMARIZE("Summarize with 3 bullets + 1 'Risks' bullet. Max 15 words each. " & E2)

Marketing (3)

=WRITE("Outline a blog post on " & $A2 & " for " & $B2 & ". 5 H2 sections with 3 bullets each. Return markdown only.")

=GEN("Write 3 Google Ads headlines (max 30 chars) and 2 descriptions (max 90 chars) for " & $A2 & " targeting " & $B2 & ". Return '- H: …' and '- D: …' lines only.")

=GEN("Create a 7-day social calendar for " & $A2 & ". Return a table with columns Day, Post, CTA, Hashtags. Keep posts under 20 words.")

SEO (2)

=TAGS("Suggest 8 long-tail keywords for " & $A2 & " focused on " & $B2 & ". Return a comma-separated list.")

=GEN("Write an SEO title (≤60 chars) and meta description (≤155 chars) for a page about " & $A2 & ". Return 'Title: …' and 'Description: …' only.")

Support macros (2)

=GEN("You are a support agent. Write a concise apology email for a damaged order: " & $A2 & ". Include 3 resolution options. 120 words max.")

=GEN("Classify this ticket into one of [billing, technical, shipping, account]. Return just the label: " & $A2)

Localization (2)

=TRANSLATE(B2, "Spanish")

=GEN("Rewrite for a Japanese business audience (formal, concise). Keep meaning. Text: " & B2)

Sales outreach (3)

=GEN("Act as an AE. Draft a 120-word first-touch email to " & $A2 & " about " & $B2 & ". Include 1 tailored insight and a CTA for a 15-min call.")

=GEN("Write a 3-email follow-up sequence over 10 days for " & $A2 & ". Keep each under 80 words. Return sections: Day 1 / Day 4 / Day 10.")

=GEN("From call notes: " & $A2 & " return ONLY valid JSON: {""decision_maker"": """", ""timeline"": """", ""budget"": """", ""blockers"": """"}. No extra text.")

Product & analytics (3)

=GEN("Given this metric change context: " & TEXTJOIN("; ", TRUE, A2:D2) & ". Generate 5 hypotheses (<=12 words) and 3 quick checks. Return '- ' bullets only.")

=GEN("Write an A/B test brief for " & $A2 & ". Include goal, primary metric, min detectable effect, guardrails. 120 words max.")

=GEN("Define 6 core metrics for " & $A2 & " with formula and decision trigger. Return a table: Metric | Formula | Trigger.")

Structured outputs (2)

=GEN("Return ONLY valid JSON for this config: {""title"": """", ""audience"": """", ""tone"": """", ""length_words"": 0}. Input: " & $A2)

=GEN("Return a CSV table with columns Feature, Impact, Effort for these ideas: " & $A2 & ". 5 rows. No extra text.")

Tips

• Be concise: Cap words per bullet and total bullets.
• Check the format: Name the fields or labels you want. Clear instructions help, but do not guarantee identical answers or valid JSON every time.
• Give an example: Include it in the prompt or pass its cell to =GEN() as the second argument. Putting an example above the formula is not enough unless the formula references it.