Excel Study · Module 5: Text functions
Class 46Numbers stored as text
Intermediate2:24 videoFree
A total that comes out too small often means some numbers are stored as text: copied from another system, or typed with an apostrophe first. Real numbers line up on the right; text sits on the left, and SUM skips it.
Try this AI prompt
Works in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude.
In Excel, the amounts in B2:B5 will not add up: some of them are stored as text, so SUM skips them. Write a formula for D2 that turns B2 into a real number, so I can fill it down to D5.
The answer that works
✓ checked in Excel=VALUE(B2)
AI can get Excel wrong. Paste its answer into Excel and test it before you trust it.