How can I use Claude to analyze data and work with spreadsheets?

Claude can absolutely help with data analysis. You can paste CSV data directly into the chat and ask Claude to summarize it, find patterns, calculate statistics, or identify outliers. For larger files, upload the CSV as an attachment. Claude can also write Python or R code using pandas, numpy, or similar libraries to analyze your data programmatically, which you can then run in your own environment.

For Excel specifically, Claude can read spreadsheet content if you paste the data or upload the file. It can write Excel formulas, explain what a complex formula does, help you build pivot table logic, or generate VBA macros for automation. If you use Google Sheets, Claude can also write Apps Script code for you. For very large datasets that need interactive charts and exploration, combining Claude with a Jupyter notebook is a powerful workflow.