In the current era when the digital wave is sweeping across all industries, data visualization has long become a core element for accurately transmitting information and assisting scientific decision-making. Excel, as a highly favored spreadsheet tool, holds an important position in data processing and chart presentation. However, it cannot be denied that the traditional steps for creating Excel charts are cumbersome. From screening data, determining the type of chart, to meticulously refining the details of the chart, every step consumes a great deal of time and energy. The strong entry of AI technology has completely rewritten the rules of Excel chart creation, enabling the magnificent transformation from data to charts to be achieved in the blink of an eye.

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Generating charts in Excel traditional steps

• Prepare the data：Open Excel and enter or import the data to be visualized. Ensure that the data is clear and accurate and that each column has a clear title.
• Select the data range：Use the mouse to select the cell area containing the data, including the title row and data columns.
• Insert a chart：Click the “Insert” tab. In the “Chart” group, select the type of chart you need (such as bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, etc.). Select a specific chart style, such as “Clustered Bar Chart” or “Line Chart”.
• Adjusting the Chart Style: Click the generated chart and select the “Design” or ‘Format’ tab in the “Chart Tools”. In the Design tab, you can change the layout, style and color of the chart. In the “Format” tab, you can adjust the formatting of the chart such as borders, fills, etc.
• Add Chart Elements: Click on the chart and select the “Chart Elements” button (usually in the upper right corner of the chart). Select the elements you want to display, such as title, axis title, data labels, etc. You can use the “Chart Tools” to add elements to the chart. These elements can be further edited using the Design tab in the Chart Tools.
• Save and Share: After completing the chart design, save the Excel file. If necessary, you can copy the chart to another document or export it as an image.

AI reconstructs the Excel chart-making process

AI-driven Excel chart solutions can intelligently analyze the characteristics of the input data and automatically recommend the most suitable chart types. For instance, when dealing with time series data, AI will prioritize suggesting line charts; for presenting data proportion relationships, it will recommend pie charts or doughnut charts. This intelligent recommendation feature significantly reduces the risk of information distortion caused by improper chart type selection by users.

In the process of chart beautification and optimization, AI also demonstrates remarkable capabilities. Traditionally, users need to manually adjust color schemes, font styles, and element layouts, which not only takes time but also requires a certain level of aesthetic ability. However, AI tools can automatically generate aesthetically pleasing and professional chart styles based on the nature of the data and the usage scenario. For example, they can create simple and elegant charts for business reports and colorful, easy-to-understand charts for teaching materials. Some advanced AI plugins even support a "one-click skin change" function, allowing users to select a preset theme style, and the AI will quickly adjust the overall visual effect of the chart, making it look brand new in an instant.

Furthermore, AI possesses powerful data analysis and insight capabilities. It can conduct in-depth analysis of the data while generating charts, identifying trends, outliers, and potential relationships within the data, and presenting them visually. For instance, by adding trend lines and highlighting abnormal data points, it helps users quickly discover the stories behind the data and provides strong support for decision-making.

Recommended Practical AI Tools

AI Features Built into Excel

Excel has been integrating AI technology in recent years, and one of the highlights is the "Recommended Charts" feature. It can analyze the characteristics and relationships of the data selected by the user and pop up a preview of the recommended chart types on the right side of the interface. Users can quickly generate basic charts by simply clicking, and then further adjust and optimize them as needed. In addition, Excel's "Quick Analysis" feature also incorporates AI elements. After selecting the data, clicking the "Quick Analysis" button can generate various visual results such as charts, pivot tables, and summaries with just one click, greatly improving data processing efficiency.

PicDoc

PicDoc is a great tool for Excel charting. When you are done organizing data in Excel and want to present complex data in a more creative and attractive way, PicDoc can be a great help. You can organize the data points in Excel into text and input them into PicDoc, which can generate professional charts, structure charts and other diversified visual charts with one click. Different from Excel's own functions, PicDoc has more chart templates and style options, which is very attractive to users who need to create teaching courseware and self-media articles with graphics. Moreover, the operation of PicDoc is simple and easy to understand, without the need for complex learning process, even if no design experience can also be quickly started. It also supports exporting the generated charts in various formats, which makes it convenient for you to integrate the carefully crafted charts into Excel reports and presentations to further enhance the data presentation effect.

Suppose you have organized an annual project progress data in Excel, including the time nodes and completion status of each stage. Input the relevant textual descriptions into PicDoc, and it can quickly generate an intuitive and clear timeline chart, precisely showing the entire process of project advancement. It has more visual impact and information presentation efficiency than the chart templates that come with Excel.

The ease of operation is also a major feature of PicDoc. Its interface is simple and clear, and the operation process is easy to understand. There is no need for a complex learning process. Even beginners with no design experience can quickly get started. You just need to organize the key points of the data in Excel into text, copy and paste it into the PicDoc input box, and a chart prototype will be generated in a few seconds. Later, you can make fine adjustments according to your preferences. Compared with some complex professional design software, this greatly saves time and energy costs. Click to experience PicDoc for free.

Power BI Desktop

Although Power BI Desktop is a standalone business intelligence tool, it is tightly integrated with Excel. powerful AI algorithms are built into Power BI Desktop to support natural language queries. Users just need to enter a simple text description in the search box, such as “show sales comparison by region in 2024”, and Power BI can automatically extract data from the connected Excel data source to generate the corresponding charts. At the same time, it also provides a wealth of visualization templates and advanced analytics, such as predictive analytics, cluster analysis, etc., so that users can dig deeper into the value of the data to produce a very insightful visualization report.

ChartExpo

ChartExpo is an AI chart add-in designed for Excel, which provides a large number of unique and professional chart types, such as Sankey Chart, Waterfall Chart, Pareto Chart, etc. These charts are not easy to realize in Excel native functions. After installing the ChartExpo add-in, users just need to select data in Excel, click the add-in button, then they can select chart types through a simple interactive interface, and use the automatic optimization function of AI to quickly generate beautiful and in-depth charts. In addition, ChartExpo also supports the addition of annotations, legend descriptions, etc., to help users better convey the data information.

GraphMaker

As a chart generator relying on cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, truly realizes the breakthrough of data visualization from the traditional operation constraints. Its core advantage lies in the deep integration of natural language processing and chart generation, building a very smooth and efficient interaction mode. Users no longer need to spend a lot of time to study the complex logic of Excel operations, and do not have to worry about choosing what type of charts, adjusting which parameters, just a daily conversation, the needs of a clear expression, GraphMaker will be able to quickly respond to accurately generate charts in line with expectations. Compared to the traditional charting process in Excel, GraphMaker dramatically improves work efficiency. In Excel, users need to manually select the data area, click through the menu to choose the appropriate chart type, and repeatedly adjust chart colors, fonts, axes and other elements, which makes the whole process cumbersome and prone to errors. GraphMaker's AI-driven intelligent generation mechanism greatly saves time by compressing an operation that may have taken ten minutes or even half an hour into a few minutes or even dozens of seconds. In addition, GraphMaker supports multi-scenario applications, whether it is for scientific researchers to create charts for comparing experimental data, for marketers to generate market research and analysis charts, or for students to complete data visualization tasks in course assignments, all of which can be easily managed.

AI-driven Excel charting solutions have completely transformed the way we handle and present data. It makes the originally complex and time-consuming chart-making process fast, simple and professional. Whether they are professionals, data analysis enthusiasts, students or teachers, all can benefit from these AI tools. By making reasonable use of these techniques, we can not only save a great deal of time and energy, but also create more attractive and insightful charts, allowing the data to truly "speak". Try these AI tools right now and embark on your journey to create efficient Excel charts, experiencing the magical transformation from data to charts! Click to experience PicDoc for free.