Exa for Google Sheets

Use Exa inside Google Sheets to research the web, generate tables, and fill missing data.

Install the add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

This repo contains the Google Apps Script code for the Exa AI Google Sheets add-on.

What You Can Do

• Generate full research tables from one prompt
• Fill blank cells in an existing table
• Continue a table by adding new rows
• Use =EXA(...) formulas for quick one-cell answers
• Refresh many Exa formula cells at once
• Convert Exa formulas to normal values

Install

The easiest way is to install the public add-on:

1. Open the Exa AI add-on in the Google Workspace Marketplace.
2. Click Install.
3. Open a Google Sheet.
4. Go to Extensions -> Exa AI -> Open Sidebar.
5. Add your Exa API key from the Exa dashboard.

You are ready to use Exa in Google Sheets.

Exa Agent

Exa Agent is the easiest way to use Exa in Sheets.

Open the sidebar, then go to Exa Agent.

Generate Table

Use Generate table when you want Exa to create a new table.

Example prompt:

Find top 40 AI companies and return company name, website URL, CEO, founding date, headquarters, and a short description.

Exa researches the web and writes the table into your sheet.

By default, the table starts at your selected cell. You can choose another start cell in More options.

Fill Cells

Use Fill cells when you already have a table and want Exa to fill missing data.

1. Select blank cells in your sheet.
2. Open Exa Agent.
3. Choose Fill cells.
4. Click Fill selected cells.

Exa uses the table around your selection as context.

You can also select blank rows under a table. Exa will try to continue the table with new rows that match the same columns.

Formula

Use =EXA(...) when you want one answer in one cell.

=EXA("Return only the CEO name", A2)

The second value, like A2, is the context. You can drag the formula down a column to run it for many rows.

More examples:

=EXA("Return only the company website URL", A2)
=EXA("Return only the headquarters", A2)
=EXA("Return only the LinkedIn URL", A2)

Batch

Use Batch when you want to work with many Exa formula cells at once.

Batch can:

• refresh selected cells with Exa formulas
• convert selected Exa formulas into normal values

Convert formulas to values when you want to keep the current results and stop the formulas from running again.

Advanced Functions

The add-on also includes lower-level custom functions:

Function	What it does
EXA(prompt, context)	Simple one-cell enrichment
EXA_SEARCH(query, ...)	Search the web and return URLs
EXA_ANSWER(prompt, ...)	Ask Exa for an answer
EXA_CONTENTS(url)	Get page content from a URL
EXA_FINDSIMILAR(url, ...)	Find pages similar to a URL

Most users should start with Exa Agent or =EXA(...).

Local Development

This project uses Google Apps Script and clasp.

Requirements

• Node.js 14 or newer
• A Google account
• An Exa API key

Setup

Install dependencies:

npm ci

Log in to Google:

npm run login

Create a new Apps Script project:

npm run create

Push the local files to Apps Script:

npm run push

Run tests:

npm test

Manual Apps Script Setup

If you do not want to use clasp, you can copy the files manually.

1. Open a Google Sheet.
2. Go to Extensions -> Apps Script.
3. Copy Code.gs into the Apps Script Code.gs file.
4. Create an HTML file named Sidebar.html.
5. Copy Sidebar.html from this repo into that file.
6. Save the project.
7. Refresh the Google Sheet.
8. Go to Extensions -> Exa AI -> Open Sidebar.
9. Add your Exa API key.

For normal use, install the Marketplace add-on instead.

Project Files

• Code.gs - Apps Script backend, custom functions, Exa API calls, and sheet writes
• Sidebar.html - sidebar UI for Settings, Exa Agent, and Batch
• appsscript.json - Apps Script manifest and OAuth scopes
• __tests__/ - Jest tests
• scripts/bump-version.js - version bump helper

made with ❤️ by exa