An AI Assistant for Your Excel Files
Your company's Excel file keeps the numbers straight, but only the person who maintains it really understands it. This article explains how Fold reads that same Excel file, works out what each column means, answers your team with the exact row a figure comes from, and what it does when something is missing or unclear.
27 September 2026 · David Burnao
An Excel file that works, but that only one person really understands
Almost every business has an Excel file that works: the rates sheet, the stock sheet, the one the warehouse or the office runs on. The problem isn't the spreadsheet — it's that only the person who maintains it really understands it. When someone else needs a figure from it, they have to open it, find the right tab, work out what each column means, and hope they picked the right row. Fold does that part for you: it reads the same Excel file and answers with the exact row.
What it does with an Excel file, step by step
- You upload the file. The one you already use, exactly as it is — no cleanup needed first.
- Fold suggests what each column means. The first time it sees that spreadsheet, it proposes what it thinks each piece of data is, and you confirm it before it's used for anything.
- Your team asks, Fold answers with the exact row. «What's the price on this item?», «how much stock is left of this SKU?» — the answer arrives with the file and the row it came from, so it can be checked.
It learns your columns, not a fixed template
Fold doesn't expect a specific format, and it doesn't make you rename anything. Every business names things its own way, and that's exactly what Fold learns from your own spreadsheet: which column is the price, which is the date, which is the reference number. Once confirmed, it remembers that for the file, and only asks again if something changes in a way that no longer matches what you confirmed.
It reads, it never writes
Fold looks at a copy of your Excel file, never the original: it doesn't add rows, fix cells, or change a formula. If the spreadsheet gets updated, Fold reads it again; if something doesn't make sense, it says so, but it never touches anything on its own. The file stays with whoever manages it today, in the same program as always.
When data is missing, or two rows could be it
A real spreadsheet has gaps: an empty cell, a duplicate row, a column with no header. Fold doesn't fill those gaps with a guess: if the data isn't there, it answers «not found», and if more than one row could be the answer, it shows you all of them and lets you decide. That's slower than making up a figure, but it's the only way you can actually trust the answer without checking it yourself every time.
More than one spreadsheet, more than one tab
A business rarely has just one file: rates live in one spreadsheet, stock in another, and order history in a third, each with several tabs. Fold works with all the files you connect to it, and when a question needs to cross two of them («does this customer have any pending orders for this item?»), it searches both and tells you the source of each figure it uses. You don't have to tell it where to look: it works that out from what it already knows about each file.
Google Sheets, and what's coming next
Besides the Excel and CSV files you upload directly, once you sign up Fold connects to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox with read-only access: you choose which folders it can see, and you can revoke that access whenever you want. SharePoint and a connector for any other company program are being built and are coming soon.
A real case, with real data
This same mechanism — read, check, answer with the source — is already running behind a real logistics company: its clients check their stock and movements from their phone, read straight from the same spreadsheet its warehouse has always used. The full, anonymous case is on the case studies page.
Plans and pricing
You start on the free plan, no card required: 2 questions a day, up to 10 a week, enough to try it with your own spreadsheet. Paid plans run from €49.99 a month (500 questions) to €249.99 a month (10,000 questions), plus tax depending on your company's country. No lock-in.
How long it takes to be ready to use
There's no long setup phase before you can ask anything. You upload the spreadsheet, confirm what each column means — a one-minute check, not a technical configuration — and from that moment anyone on your team can start asking questions. If you later add a new column or rename a tab, Fold picks that up the next time it reads the file, and if something no longer matches what you confirmed, it asks again before treating an answer as settled.
What kind of questions you can ask it
There's no special language to learn: you ask in plain language, the same way you'd ask whoever manages the spreadsheet. "What's the price of this item for this customer?", "how many units are left of this SKU?", "which orders from this customer are still pending?", "how much did we sell on this rate last month?". Fold understands the question, searches the spreadsheet it applies to, and answers with the row (or rows, if it needs to add several up) the number comes from.
How to get started
Sign-up and payment inside the app are opening very soon. In the meantime, you can leave your email to be notified, and try it with your own spreadsheet from day one, on the free plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fold change or fix anything in my spreadsheet?
No. It reads a copy of your file with read-only access: it never writes, fixes or deletes anything in the original. You keep managing the spreadsheet yourself, in the same program as always.
Do I need to format my spreadsheet before uploading it?
No. You upload the file exactly as you use it today. Fold suggests what each column means and you confirm it before it's used; no template is required.
What if my spreadsheet has an empty cell or a strange row?
Fold doesn't fill it in with a guess: if a piece of data isn't there, it says so. And if several rows could be the answer, it shows you all of them.
Can I connect more than one spreadsheet at once?
Yes. Fold works with every file you connect, and if a question needs to cross two of them, it searches both and tells you which file each figure came from.
Keep reading
Want to see it with your own business?
Try Fold with your own spreadsheet: the free plan needs no card.
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