Excel Study · Module 3: Decisions with IF
Class 28Does it contain? ISNUMBER + SEARCH
Intermediate1:39 videoFree
SEARCH finds a word inside a cell and gives its position, or an error when it isn't there. Wrap it in ISNUMBER and you get a clean TRUE or FALSE: does this note mention "late"?
Try this AI prompt
Works in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude.
In Excel, A2 has a short note. Write a formula for D2 that shows Late if the note contains the word late anywhere, in any capitals, otherwise shows nothing.
The answer that works
✓ checked in Excel=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("late",A2)),"Late","")AI can get Excel wrong. Paste its answer into Excel and test it before you trust it.