Gemini is Google’s family of AI models. They work with text in dozens of languages and stand out for their large context window and fast lightweight models. With the !SEMTools add-in, Gemini connects right to Excel, and you can process whole columns of data with it instead of asking questions one by one in a chat.
Below: how to get an API key in Google AI Studio, save it in the add-in, choose a model and send prompts in bulk.
What Gemini can do in Excel
- writing and rewriting product descriptions, titles, meta tags;
- classification: review sentiment, product categories, search query topics;
- extracting data from text: brand, model, specs, contacts;
- translation into dozens of languages;
- short summaries of long texts.
The lightweight Flash and Flash-Lite models are especially handy for bulk processing: they’re fast and inexpensive, and handle simple tagging tasks no worse than the bigger ones.
Install !SEMTools to use Gemini in Excel
If your Excel doesn’t have the !SEMTools tab yet, first download and install the !SEMTools add-in. Follow the guide carefully and come back here. The Gemini menu is on the !SEMTools tab: Web (Scraping, SEO, PPC) → APIs → Google Gemini.
How to get a Gemini API key in Google AI Studio
The key is created in Google AI Studio: sign in with your Google account, open the API keys section and click Create API key. The Gemini API has a free tier with limits on requests per minute and per day; for larger volumes you enable billing. Check the current limits in AI Studio: Google changes them from time to time.
Save the Gemini API key and choose a model
In the Google Gemini menu, choose Input token. The form has a field for the key and a list of models:
- gemini-3.8-flash — the default model, fast and versatile;
- gemini-3.6-flash and gemini-3.5-flash-lite — even faster and cheaper, for simple bulk tagging;
- gemini-3.1-pro-preview — the senior model for complex tasks;
- gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-2.5-flash-lite and gemini-2.5-pro — the previous generation.
Paste the key, choose the model and click OK. Until a key is saved, processing stops with the message “Gemini API key is missing. Check settings.”
Just in case: the key is stored right in the add-in file. If you share your .xlam file with a colleague, they’ll be able to use your API access and your balance.
Process cells in bulk with Gemini
Select the cells with prompts and run Process every prompt in selected range (1-column). Each selected cell is a ready prompt. The add-in asks for a timeout between requests in seconds, sends the cells to Gemini one by one and writes the answers in their place.
If the cells hold only data (product names, reviews, URLs), turn them into prompts first: add text to all cells at the beginning, for example “Write a title under 60 characters for this product: ”. Select the column, click the button — voilà, every cell is a prompt.
On the free tier, set a timeout of a few seconds between requests: that way you won’t hit the requests-per-minute limit.
| Prompt in the cell | Gemini’s answer |
|---|---|
| Rate the review sentiment from 1 to 5, return only the number: The courier was two hours late, but the product is great | 3 |
| Translate into Spanish: 20% off all shoes until the end of the week | 20 % de descuento en todo el calzado hasta el final de la semana |
| Return only the brand: Dyson V15 Detect Absolute cordless vacuum | Dyson |
A nice detail: Gemini likes to format answers in bold with Markdown (**like this**). The add-in removes these asterisks automatically, so the cells get clean text.
Since the answers replace the prompts, copy the column first if you want to keep the original data next to the results.
Gemini models via OpenRouter in Excel
Gemini models are also in the OpenRouter catalog. If you already work with OpenRouter, you don’t need a separate Google key:
- in the OpenRouter.ai menu, choose Input and save token and paste your OpenRouter key;
- choose Select model and pick a Gemini model, its ID starts with google/;
- run Process selected cells (input prompt) and type one prompt for all cells.
Here you get a prompt prefix right in the menu, so the cells can hold just the data. The downside: you pay OpenRouter instead of using Google’s free tier.
Why Gemini isn’t responding in Excel: common errors
- “Gemini API key is missing. Check settings.” — the key isn’t saved. Open Input token, paste the key and click OK.
- “Error: 400” or “Error: 403” — the key is wrong, disabled, or the API isn’t available in your region.
- “Error: 429” — the request limit is exceeded, most often on the free tier. Increase the timeout or enable billing.
- “Error: 404” — the selected model is no longer available. Choose another model in the list.
Process columns of data with Gemini models right in Excel: answers in place, no copying and no manual input.
!SEMTools solves this and hundreds of other tasks in a couple of clicks!
Summary: when to choose Gemini in Excel
I hope you found what you were looking for on this page and were able to connect Gemini to Excel. A key from Google AI Studio, a Flash model and a column of prompts cover most tasks on cells, and the free tier is enough to try it on real data. For one prompt over a column of raw data, use Gemini models through OpenRouter. If you need longer, more careful texts, compare the result with Claude in Excel.
Other AI tools in Excel
!SEMTools works with more than one AI model. See also:
- ChatGPT in Excel: API key setup and bulk prompts
- Claude in Excel: Anthropic API and bulk cell processing
- Perplexity in Excel: AI with web search
- DeepSeek in Excel: API key and prompt processing
- OpenRouter in Excel: hundreds of models with one key
- Ollama in Excel: local AI models, no data leaves your PC
- AI in Excel: all scenarios and connected models