How to create a Word/Excel/PowerPoint from data
Short answer: Give the AI your data in chat and tell it which format you want. It writes a real .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx file directly: no template needed, and no copy-pasting out of the chat window.
Steps
- Give the AI your data: paste it in, point it at a file already in the workspace (“using the numbers in Q2-sales.csv”), or just describe what you want (“a one-page project summary”, “a budget tracker with three categories”).
- Say which format you want if it isn’t obvious: Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint deck.
- The AI writes it directly: a Word doc from Markdown (headings, bold/italic, lists, tables, links, inline images), an Excel workbook from a Markdown table or CSV (bold header row, frozen panes, autofilter), or a PowerPoint deck from a slide outline (5–10 slides by default, more if you ask, with a theme: corporate, dark, minimal, vibrant, or mono).
- Approve the write when the banner appears (skip this if approve-all is on for the chat). The file saves to
BuildPerch/documents/by default, or wherever you named a folder. - Ask for changes in the same chat. Edits are surgical: the AI patches the existing document, sheet, or slide rather than rebuilding it, so themes, charts, and formatting survive.
Notes & gotchas
- Excel columns are auto-typed: numbers, currency, percentages, and dates get the matching Excel format automatically; values with leading zeros (ZIP codes, SKUs) stay text so the zero isn’t dropped.
- Live formulas are opt-in: the AI marks a cell as a real formula explicitly (so
=SUM(...)you didn’t ask for can’t sneak in as a formula); everything else is written as plain text or numbers. create_docdoesn’t support headers, footers, or a custom theme. For a branded look with those, use a template instead; see how to fill a PowerPoint template with AI (Word and Excel templates work the same way).- Ask for more than one sheet and the AI adds them to the same workbook automatically.