How to give ChatGPT or Claude access to your spreadsheets

Spreadsheets hold the numbers behind most decisions: a budget tracker, a CSV export from a payments tool, a supplier price list in Excel, a sign-up sheet in Google Sheets. Asking ChatGPT or Claude a question about them is useful, such as which month had the highest spend or which customers haven’t renewed. The slow part is usually finding the right version of the right file and getting it into the chat.

This page explains how people usually hand spreadsheets to an AI tool, then how to keep your spreadsheets in Fabric, connect Fabric to ChatGPT or Claude, and ask questions about your data without attaching files to every conversation.

How people usually get spreadsheets into ChatGPT or Claude

Uploading the file to a chat is the common method. ChatGPT and Claude can both work with an uploaded CSV or Excel file, and for a one-off analysis that’s often all you need. Each new conversation needs the file again, and an export from last month may already be out of date by the time you ask.

Copying a range of cells and pasting it in is the quick alternative. It suits a small table. With larger sheets, the pasted block loses formatting and context, such as which tab it came from or what a column header abbreviation means.

Some people keep a master spreadsheet in Google Sheets and connect Google Drive to their AI tool. That works for files in Drive. CSV exports from other software and Excel files emailed by suppliers tend to stay in downloads folders and inboxes, outside that connection.

Step 1: Put your spreadsheets in Fabric

Drag CSV and XLSX files into Fabric, paste them, or click Upload a file. Bulk uploads are handled, so a year of monthly exports can go in at once. Spreadsheets that arrive as email attachments can be forwarded to your Fabric email address, which only accepts mail from your verified account address.

With the Fabric desktop app, you can save exports straight into the Fabric drive from your browser or accounting software, instead of letting them collect in a downloads folder.

Google Sheets come in through connections. The Google Drive connection is a two-way sync, so a sheet you keep editing in Google Sheets stays current in Fabric. Connections need a paid plan.

Step 2: Name the set, and let search do the rest

Fabric writes a summary of each file and extracts what it’s about, so a CSV called export_2026_09.csv can be found by searching for “September card transactions.” Fabric search matches by meaning and by keyword, and words in quotes give an exact match for an invoice number or SKU.

A little structure pays off with spreadsheets, because the AI will often need a defined set. Keep related files in one folder, such as Finance 2026 or Supplier price lists, so you can point to it by name in a prompt. Tags work too, and smart collections can gather spreadsheets of one kind as they arrive.

Step 3: Connect Fabric to ChatGPT or Claude

Connect your AI tool to the Fabric MCP server at https://mcp.api.fabric.so/mcp. You sign in with OAuth, so there’s no API key to generate.

ChatGPT: open Settings and go to Connectors. Choose Add Connector, enter the URL and a name, and save. Then open a new conversation, click More, choose Add Connectors, select Fabric and sign in.

Claude: Fabric is in Claude’s official connector directory, so add it there. Or go to Settings and then Connectors in Claude Desktop, add a custom connector with a name and the URL, and follow the sign-in prompts.

If sign-in fails, remove the Fabric server from the AI tool and add it again.

Step 4: Ask questions about your data

Once Fabric is connected, ChatGPT or Claude can search your library, find the right spreadsheet, and read its contents. Point the AI at the file or folder: “Find the September card transactions CSV in Fabric and list the five largest expenses,” or “Read the supplier price lists in my Fabric folder Suppliers and tell me which supplier is cheapest for 10mm bolts.”

Spreadsheets often answer half a question, and the other half sits in a document. Because the AI tool can search the whole library, you can ask it to compare a budget spreadsheet against a project brief, or check figures in a CSV against the totals in an invoice PDF.

Wide tables and workbooks with several tabs are easier to ask about when you name what you need. Mention the column, the date range or the tab in your prompt, such as “use the Q3 tab and the Amount column,” so the model reads the part that answers the question.

Check figures that matter against the source file before acting on them. When you have an answer worth keeping, ask the AI tool to save it to Fabric as a note. It can create notes, folders and tasks there, and these count against your Fabric storage and AI usage. How to ask AI questions about your bills and documents has more examples of questions that work well.

Frequently asked questions

Can ChatGPT read Excel files stored in Fabric?

Yes. With the Fabric MCP server connected, ChatGPT can search your Fabric library and read file contents, including XLSX and CSV files.

Can Claude read my Google Sheets?

If Google Drive is connected to Fabric, Claude can read files from it through the Fabric MCP server. Connections need a paid plan.

Which spreadsheet formats does Fabric support?

CSV and XLSX files, plus Google Sheets through connections.

Can Fabric’s own AI read spreadsheets?

Yes. The AI assistant in Fabric can read CSV and XLSX files. Open a folder of spreadsheets and ask, and the answer cites the files it used.

How do I find a spreadsheet when I don’t know the filename?

Search Fabric with a description of what’s in it. Fabric summarizes each file and search matches by meaning, so the filename doesn’t need to match your words.

Do I need to upload a CSV again when it changes?

For files in a connected Google Drive, changes sync automatically. For uploaded CSVs, add the new export to Fabric, ideally into the same folder.

Can I use spreadsheets from Fabric in Cursor or VS Code?

Yes. In Cursor, add a new MCP server of type URL with the Fabric server URL. In VS Code with Copilot, add a server named fabric with type http to .vscode/mcp.json or user settings.

Can ChatGPT compare two spreadsheets?

You can ask it to read two files from Fabric in the same conversation and compare them, for example last year’s budget against this year’s. Check the figures it reports against the files before relying on them.

Is storing spreadsheets in Fabric free?

File uploads are on the free plan, which has storage and file size caps. Connections need a paid plan; see pricing.