ChatGPT Is the New Excel!?

For decades, Excel has been the silent workhorse behind project plans, forecasts, budgets, and data-driven decisions. Yet let’s be honest: most of us only scratched the surface.

Macros, pivot tables, Power Query, VBA… these were transformative features, but 90% of users stayed in the comfort zone of basic formulas and tables.

Now Generative AI is entering our workspaces in the very same way.

Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and other GenAI platforms are not just “nice-to-have assistants.” They’re at the same turning point where Excel once stood: becoming foundational for how we think, decide, and deliver.

From Optional to Indispensable

Think of what GenAI can already do for project managers and leaders:

• Draft and refine stakeholder messages with tone and clarity.

• Summarize documents that would otherwise take hours to digest.

• Brainstorm risk responses and challenge groupthink.

• Reframe lessons learned into actionable insights.

• Automate meeting notes and follow-up tasks.

• Support decision-making with instant, evidence-based options.

Here's the issue: most professionals use GenAI only for basic Q&A, much like limiting themselves to just SUM() and VLOOKUP() in Excel.

The Hidden Superpowers

Excel quietly transformed business decision-making once people learned to unlock its deeper features. GenAI is no different. The real value is not in asking for definitions, but in integrating AI into daily workflows: building AI-augmented PMOs, AI-driven risk registers, AI-supported strategy decks.

Avoiding GenAI is no longer an option.

Just as no project manager could stay competitive without Excel, the same is happening with GenAI - only the adoption curve is steeper, and the clock is ticking faster.

My Perspective

I’m not just observing this shift - I’m applying it.

In my own work across project and product management, I use GenAI to accelerate delivery, sharpen communication, and expand team capacity. More importantly, I help teams move beyond basic use cases into truly AI-augmented management.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: In five years, the question won’t be “Are you using AI?” It will be “How deeply is AI embedded into the way you lead projects and organizations?”

And that may be the dividing line between those who thrive - and those who get left behind.