Google’s goal with G Suite is to leverage AI to boost user productivity, with Smart Compose in Gmail and Docs being prime examples. Google Sheets is gaining similar features this year with Smart Fill and Smart Cleanup.
Google wants to automate data entry in Sheets in the same way Smart Compose saves you from typing repetitive phrases and reduces mistakes in the process. Smart Fill “detects and learns patterns between columns to intelligently autocomplete data.”
Suggestions highlight the affected column with users able to hit the checkmark in the overlay or use a keyboard shortcut.
Say you have a column of full names, but you want to split it into two columns (first and last name, for example). As you start typing first names into a column, Sheets will automatically detect the pattern, generate the corresponding formula, and then autocomplete the rest of the column for you.
Meanwhile, Smart Cleanup in Sheets is designed to “make data cleanup faster and more accurate.” After importing, a “Data cleanup” side panel generates suggestions to remove duplicate rows and address other formatting issues.
Once “Done with cleanup,” you can “Review column data” to see visualizations and stats:
You’ll also see column stats that provide a quick snapshot of your data, such as the distribution of values or most frequent value in a column, helping you quickly catch potential outliers and confidently move on to analysis.
These two features will be available for G Suite customers later this year.
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