Clean Up Ugly Spreadsheets Fast with Zoho DataPrep + AI
If you’ve ever opened a spreadsheet and immediately wanted to throw your laptop out the window… you’re not alone.
Typos. Weird date formats. “N/A” spelled seven different ways. Two columns for the same thing. We’ve all been there. And if you’ve ever tried to manually fix a dataset like that—you know it can eat hours of your time and still leave errors behind.
That’s why I now run everything through Zoho DataPrep—and I’ve added a little AI magic on top.
Watch How I Use OpenAI with Zoho DataPrep
What Is Zoho DataPrep?
Zoho DataPrep is a powerful, no-code tool that helps clean and transform raw data before it gets used in reports, dashboards, or apps like Zoho CRM. Think of it as the pre-wash cycle for your business data.
It can:
- Spot inconsistencies and duplicates
- Suggest cleanups for common issues
- Standardize formats (dates, text, numbers)
- Merge and reshape columns
- Flag missing or outlier data
And now, with OpenAI integration, it can even write your transformation logic for you. Just tell it what you want in plain English, and it’ll generate the formula.
How AI Helps You Clean Data Faster
Here’s where things get nerdy (and awesome). Instead of hunting through help docs to write the right formula, you just type:
- “Combine first and last name into one column”
- “Capitalize all company names”
- “Remove rows with blank ZIP codes”
And OpenAI takes care of the logic.
You get clean, usable data—and a lot less stress.
Real-Life Example: Fixing a Messy Leads List
I had a spreadsheet of leads that was… let’s say “chaotic.”
- Phone numbers in six formats
- Empty ZIP codes
- Two “Company” columns
- A mix of caps, lowercase, and ‘N/A’ weirdness
In about 10 minutes, I used Zoho DataPrep + ChatGPT to:
- Merge the duplicate columns
- Standardize phone formats
- Remove empty rows
- Normalize text case
- Export the final version directly into Zoho CRM
No Excel gymnastics. No duplicate imports. Just done.
Where Can You Send the Cleaned Data?
Once your data is clean, you can send it directly to:
- Zoho CRM
- Zoho Analytics
- Zoho WorkDrive
- Google Sheets or Excel
- SQL/Database Connections
No more downloading, re-uploading, and wondering if you grabbed the right file.
Who Should Use Zoho DataPrep?
If you ever:
- Import contact lists into your CRM
- Work with CSVs or spreadsheets
- Prep data for analytics or reports
- Manage operations that rely on accurate info
…this tool will change your life (or at least save you a few hours every week).
Final Thoughts
Clean data means better decisions, smoother workflows, and way fewer “what went wrong?” moments. Zoho DataPrep gives you that—and when you add AI to the mix, it’s not just smart. It’s efficient.
Once you try it, spreadsheets will never be the same.
