Most people don’t love staring at row after row of raw spreadsheet data. When you share a spreadsheet with your team, it can often feel confusing or overwhelming for anyone who didn’t build it.
Google Sheets just got given a version of Gemini’s Canvas feature, which lets you build interactive dashboards, gallery views, Kanban boards, and more. But now, it’s all built right inside an existing spreadsheet and, crucially, connected to the data inside it.
How to create a dashboard with Gemini Canvas
Open your spreadsheet (use one with existing data to try this)
Click the Gemini icon in the top-right corner to open the side panel
Click the Tools button in the chat box at the bottom and select Create canvas
Choose a suggested option (like Create a dashboard, Create a gallery view, or Create a kanban board) or type a custom prompt describing what you need
Wait a minute or two while Gemini generates your dashboard in a new tab
That’s it! Gemini will create a polished, interactive tab complete with visual charts, live search bars, and built-in forms that push any new updates straight back into your original spreadsheet rows.
When is this helpful?
Sharing data with non-spreadsheet lovers: Gives your team a clean, visual interface to view key metrics and directory listings.
Simplifying data entry: Anyone could add new entries through a simple popup form rather than navigating columns and cells.
Quick searching and filtering: Search records with instant filtering built directly into the view.
Quick note: Depending on how much data is in your spreadsheet, it can take a few minutes for Gemini to generate the canvas layout, but it’s well worth the wait!
Bonus: Watch me walk through this example on video
Now available for free to everyone, click here to watch this week’s video walkthrough!
Thanks for subscribing, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Dean
