Track AI news in Google Sheets with ChatGPT

The add-on puts ChatGPT in a sidebar that can read, search the web and edit your sheet.

1. 1Go to chatgpt.com/apps/spreadsheets and select Install ChatGPT for Google Sheets.
2. 2On the Marketplace page, check that the developer is OpenAI, then click Install and allow access.
3. 3Or, inside Sheets, go to Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons and search for ChatGPT.

You should see ChatGPT listed under the Extensions menu in Google Sheets.

Letting ChatGPT build the sheet gives you headers, checkboxes and formatting in one go.

1. 1Open a blank sheet at sheets.new and name it AI news tracker.
2. 2Go to Extensions > ChatGPT > Open and sign in with your ChatGPT account.
3. 3Paste the prompt below, then approve the changes when ChatGPT asks.

Build a news tracker on this tab. Columns: Date, Headline, Source, Link, Summary, Key number, Score, Used.
Bold and freeze the header row. Wrap text in Summary. Make Used a checkbox column.
Don't add any data yet.

You should see a bold, frozen header row with 8 columns and a checkbox column at the end.

The add-on can search the web, so every row arrives with a link to check.

1. 1Paste the prompt below and change [YOUR BEAT] to your area, such as AI coding tools.
2. 2Approve the changes when ChatGPT asks.

Search the web for the 5 most important [YOUR BEAT] news stories from the last 24 hours. Prefer the original source, such as the company's own post or the paper.

Add one row per story under the last filled row: today's date, the headline, the source name, the link, a 40-word summary and one key number from the story. Leave Score and Used empty. Don't change any other rows.

You should see 5 new rows, each with a link, a short summary and a key number.

Type @ and a tab's name in your prompt to point ChatGPT at that tab only.

AI can mix up details, and a wrong number in your newsletter is still your mistake.

1. 1Open each link and find the headline and the key number on the page.
2. 2Check that the date on the page matches the Date column.
3. 3Fix any cell that doesn't match the source, or delete the row.

You should see every row backed by a page you opened yourself.

A score turns a long list into a ranked shortlist for your next post.

1. 1Paste the prompt below and change [YOUR AUDIENCE] to the people you write for.
2. 2Approve the changes, then scan the top 3 rows.

Fill the Score column for every row where Score is empty and Used is unchecked. Score from 1 to 10 for how useful the story is to [YOUR AUDIENCE], where 10 means they would act on it this week.
Then sort the table by Score, highest first, keeping each row together.

You should see a score in every new row, with the strongest stories at the top.

One prompt turns a week of rows into a draft for your newsletter or team update.

1. 1At the end of the week, paste the prompt below.
2. 2Copy the digest out of the sidebar into your newsletter or doc.
3. 3Tick Used on each story you publish, so it drops out of next week's scoring.

Read the rows from the last 7 days where Used is unchecked. Write a 150-word digest of the top 5 by Score, highest first. Give each story one sentence and its link.
Reply in the chat only. Don't edit the sheet.

You should see a 150-word digest in the sidebar, ready to copy.