5 STEPS TO USING AI TO STANDARDIZE TEXT INPUTS ACROSS MULTIPLE EXCEL SHEETS

AI significantly simplifies the process of standardizing text inputs across multiple Excel sheets by automating the consolidation, cleaning, and application of correction rules, thereby minimizing human error and ensuring consistency. This is primarily achieved through Power Query (Get & Transform Data) and specialized AI add-ins.

5 Steps to Using AI to Standardize Text Inputs Across Multiple Excel Sheets

Here are The 5 Steps to Using AI to Standardize Text Inputs Across Multiple Excel Sheets:

• Consolidate Data from Multiple Sheets into Power Query

  Before standardizing, you must bring the data from all sheets into one central location.

  Action: Go to the Data tab Get Data then From File then From Workbook. Select your file and use the Navigator pane to select all the relevant sheets. Load them into Power Query using the Transform Data button. Power Query is Excel's powerful ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) engine.

  AI Tip: Power Query can use an AI-assisted Append Queries operation to stack all sheets into one master table, even if the source files are in different folders.

  
  

• Generate a Master Standardization Table

  Create a centralized lookup table that contains all the correct, standardized versions of your text data (e.g., mapping all variations of "Calif" to "California").

  Action: In a new sheet, manually create a simple two-column table: [Raw Input] and [Standardized Output]. For example, map "NY", "NewYork", and "NY." to "New York". This master table is what the AI will use to enforce consistency across all sheets.

• Apply Fuzzy Matching for Quick Corrections (AI Assist)

  Use AI-enhanced features to perform non-exact matches between the master table and your raw data, catching typos and slight variations.

  Action: In Power Query, select your main consolidated table. Go to Home then Merge Queries. Select the master standardization table. When merging on the text column (e.g., 'State'), check the box for "Use fuzzy matching to perform the merge." This AI feature uses algorithms to match "Calif." to "California" based on similarity, automating the correction of near-misses and typos.

  
  

• Use Natural Language for Text Cleaning

  Utilize AI tools to instantly generate and apply standard text cleaning transformations to the consolidated column.

  Action: Use an AI add-in or Copilot to prompt for specific cleaning steps: "Apply transformations to the 'Product Name' column: trim all whitespace, change all text to Proper Case, and remove the word 'Model'." The AI generates and applies the necessary M-code (Text.Trim, Text.Proper, Text.Replace) to clean the text uniformly across all combined data from the multiple sheets.

  
  

• Finalize and Load the Standardized Data (Load)

  Ensure the final, clean dataset is loaded back into Excel and is set up to automatically update.

  Action: Once all transformation steps are complete in Power Query, click Home then Close & Load To... to load the clean, standardized table into a final Excel sheet. The key benefit is that the query is now automated: every time you add new data to any of the original source sheets, refreshing the master query will re-run all the standardization steps, maintaining consistency effortlessly.

AI is fundamentally transforming Power Query by turning complex ETL into an automated, repeatable process. By enabling intelligent data extraction and pattern recognition, AI reduces manual data preparation time, minimizes human error, and ensures that the data loaded into Excel is clean, structured, and ready for analysis faster than ever before.