Total and compare Excel spreadsheets with ChatGPT
Ask ChatGPT or Claude for totals, comparisons or a summary of the spreadsheets on your Mac, without opening Excel or uploading the files by hand. BCD reads the workbook where it is.
One computer free, with 20,000 tool calls a month. No card required. Your AI app’s subscription is separate.
Before you start
Keep your Mac on and online, install and approve BCD, then connect it in your AI app. Your AI account must support custom MCP connections; its plan and workspace rules still apply. Setup instructions are in the dashboard.
Finish your first task
Pick the workbook and tell the AI its folder and file name. Ask it to identify the sheets and the date, product and sales columns before calculating.
Specify the two months to compare and whether sales means gross, net or another column. Ask for totals by product, the difference and the percentage change.
Check the source sheets and ranges in the answer. Ask it to show missing values, returns and products with no sales in the earlier month separately.
Check the result
Compare the monthly totals with the source workbook. When the earlier month is zero, ask for “not applicable” instead of a percentage. Reading leaves the workbook unchanged; request a new file name if you want to save a report.
Watch the sales comparison (English) ›
This recording uses sample files on a real Mac.
How it works
Create a free account and install BCD on your Mac by pasting one command into Terminal.
Click Approve in your browser to connect that Mac to your account.
Add BCD to ChatGPT or Claude as a connector, then ask in plain words.
Try asking
Read sales_2026.xlsx in the Sales folder on my Desktop. Identify the sheets and columns, then compare September with August by product. Show both totals, the difference and percentage change. Include the source sheets and ranges. Do not edit the workbook.
Compare budget-2025.xlsx and budget-2026.xlsx in Documents and list the lines that changed by more than 10%.
Read the expense spreadsheets in ~/Documents/Expenses, total them by category and month, and write a one-page summary document.
The CSV in Downloads has duplicate rows and mixed date formats. Clean it and save a new copy next to it.
What BCD does on your Mac
Finds the files
Searches your folders by name, so “the budget file in Documents” is enough.
Reads the sheets
Reads the cells of Excel workbooks and CSV files on the Mac, sheet by sheet, and the AI does the math from those values.
Saves results as new files
Edits to a workbook go into a new file and the original is kept. It can also write a summary as a Word document or PDF.
Safe by default
New computers start read-only: the AI can look but can’t change anything. Writing files and running commands only work after you turn them on for that Mac in your dashboard. There are no open ports: the Mac connects out to BCD.
Reading and totaling works read-only. Saving a cleaned copy or a report needs write permission on that Mac.
Questions
Do I have to open Excel or upload my workbook to compare monthly sales?
BCD reads the workbook on your connected Mac and passes the requested cell data to the AI. You do not need to open Excel or attach the workbook by hand. Specify the sales column, months and treatment of returns, and check the resulting totals against the source.
Why can’t the AI see my Mac?
Check that the Mac is awake and online in the BCD dashboard, and that BCD is connected in the AI app you are using. Allow the folder you want to work with. Reading needs read permission; moving or saving files also needs write permission.
Does it change my original spreadsheet?
No. Reading doesn’t change the file, and when it edits a workbook it writes a new file next to it, keeping the original.
Do my files get uploaded?
BCD doesn’t copy your folders anywhere. When the AI reads a file, that content passes through BCD’s relay in memory to reach your AI app, and BCD doesn’t store it. Your AI app handles it under its own policy.
Do I need a paid BCD plan?
One computer is free on BCD, with 20,000 tool calls a month; paid plans have unlimited tool calls. New accounts can also try Personal, for up to 3 computers, free for a month, with no card needed. Your AI app has separate plan and custom-connector requirements.
One computer free, with 20,000 tool calls a month. No card required. Your AI app’s subscription is separate.
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