# Google Sheets' AI function: limits, and when a number works better

Google Sheets' `=AI("prompt", A2)` function writes Gemini's answer into a cell as text, after you click Generate. It needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan and generates at most 350 selected cells at a time. `=HUNCH`, `=HUNCHPICK` and `=HUNCHSCORE` return a probability, one of your labels or a score instead, and they work on any Google account.

Updated 28 September 2026. Source: https://hunchsheet.app/compare/google-sheets-ai-function-alternative

## What the AI function does

Google's syntax is `AI("prompt", [optional range])`. You type the formula, select the cells, and click Generate and insert. Gemini writes a text answer into each cell. To update the answers, you click Refresh and insert. The function only sees the range you pass it, and Google states that responses are limited to text.

### Limits Google lists

- It requires an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan, so some accounts do not have it.
- Only the first 350 selected cells with AI functions are generated at once.
- There are short-term and long-term generation limits. After the long-term one, Generate is unavailable for 24 hours.
- Responses are text. There is no number or yes/no output.
- Undo and redo do not apply to generated results. You regenerate instead.
- It cannot see other sheets or Drive files, and it does not work on files opened through third-party storage.

## When the AI function is the better choice

- Your plan already includes it, so each answer costs you nothing extra.
- You want text: a summary, a rewrite, a draft reply, a translation. Hunch does not write text.
- The list is short and you are happy to click Generate.

## When a number or a fixed label works better

Most spreadsheet work with a text column ends in sorting, filtering or counting. A text answer has to be cleaned up before COUNTIF or a pivot table can use it, and "Negative", "negative." and "Mostly negative" count as three different values. Hunch returns a judgment instead: a probability you can sort, or one label from the list you wrote.

```
=HUNCHPICK(A2:A8, "positive|negative|mixed|not a review")
```
In Excel: `=HUNCH.PICK(A2:A8, "positive|negative|mixed|not a review")`

```
=HUNCHPICK(A2:A8, "positive|negative|mixed|not a review", "", "confidence")
```
In Excel: `=HUNCH.PICK(A2:A8, "positive|negative|mixed|not a review", "", "confidence")`

| Review | Label | Confidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Arrived fast and fits perfectly. Buying a second one. | positive | 1.00 |
| Nice color but the zipper broke after a week. | mixed | 0.97 |
| Terrible. Returned it the same day. | negative | 1.00 |
| Does this come in size 44? | not a review | 1.00 |
| Good value for the price, nothing special. | mixed | 0.58 |
| Customer service replaced it without questions, love this shop. | positive | 1.00 |
| Took three weeks to arrive and the box was crushed, product ok. | mixed | 0.97 |

Six of the seven labels come back at 0.97 or higher. "Good value for the price, nothing special" gets `mixed` at 0.58 because it also reads as mildly positive, and the confidence column flags it for a look. The size question is labeled `not a review`, so it drops out of the counts.

- Formulas recalculate on their own, and repeated or unchanged texts come from a six-hour cache at no cost.
- One formula can point at up to 1,500 unique texts; the Hunch menu handles bigger columns.
- It runs in copies of the [template](https://hunchsheet.app/template) on any Google account, including free Gmail, and there is an [Excel add-in](https://hunchsheet.app/excel) with the same key.
- You pay per answered row: 100 rows free, then $29 for 5,000. There is no plan to upgrade.

## Side by side

|  | =AI() in Google Sheets | Hunch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What a cell holds | Text from Gemini | A probability, one of your labels, or a score |
| Who can use it | Eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plans | Any Google account with the template, and Excel |
| How it runs | Click Generate or Refresh | Recalculates like any formula, with a six-hour cache |
| Batch limit | First 350 selected cells | 1,500 unique texts per formula, more through the menu |
| Cost | Included in the plan | Per row: 100 free, $29 for 5,000 |
| Writes summaries and drafts | Yes | No |

## Sources

- [Google Docs Editors Help: AI function in Google Sheets](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/15877199), checked 28 September 2026
- [Google Workspace Updates: Generate data with Gemini in Google Sheets](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/06/generate-data-with-gemini-in-google-sheets.html), checked 28 September 2026

Hunch is our product and is not affiliated with Google. If a fact on this page has changed, tell us through the [contact form](https://hunchsheet.app/contact) and we will correct it.

## Questions

### Why don't I have the AI function in Google Sheets?

It needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan, and some accounts and editions do not include it. Hunch's formulas work in a copy of the template on any Google account.

### Is the AI function free?

It has no separate price. It comes with eligible plans, so it is free at the margin if you already pay for one.

### Can I use both?

Yes. A common split is =AI() for summaries and drafts, and Hunch for the columns you sort, filter and count.

### What does the 24-hour limit mean?

Google has short-term and long-term generation limits on the AI function. After the long-term limit, Generate is unavailable for 24 hours.