Google introduces a new machine learning addon for Google Sheets

Google LLC today spear a new tool that will allow users to develop artificial intelligence models in Google Sheets.

The tool, called Simple ML, is available in beta version. It comes as a Google Sheets add-on that users can download for free. Simple ML was created by one of the Google teams responsible for developing TensorFlow, a popular open-source AI tool that the search giant launched in 2015.

Simple ML does not require machine learning knowledge to use, Google today detailed. The addon is accessible through a panel in the Google Sheets interface that users can configure without writing any code.

“Anyone, even people without programming or ML expertise, can experiment and apply some of the power of machine learning to their data in Google Sheets with just a few clicks,” the team’s engineers explained. Google who developed the tool in detail in a blog post today. “From small business owners, scientists, and students to business analysts at large corporations, anyone familiar with Google Sheets can make valuable predictions automatically.”

To train AI models with Simple ML, users must first create a Google Sheets spreadsheet with a collection of data points organized into rows and columns. Next, users must specify the task they want to perform with Simple ML. From there, the tool will automatically train one or more AI models capable of performing the specified task.

At launch, Simple ML supports two AI use cases. The first is to fill in empty spreadsheet fields, while the other identifies fields that may contain bad data.

A retailer can use Google Sheets to create a spreadsheet that lists the products currently available in their catalog and their respective prices. If some of the product prices are missing, Simple ML can automatically add them to the spreadsheet. It does this by generating an AI model that infers what information an empty spreadsheet field should contain by analyzing existing data points in the file.

The second use case supported by Simple ML is to identify abnormal data points. The addon can, for example, determine if a text snippet was accidentally added to a spreadsheet field that should contain a numeric value. Simple ML detects data anomalies by generating no less than 10 AI models that automatically assess the accuracy of information in a spreadsheet.

“After a few seconds, once the model has made a prediction, you can explore using the result to improve your business decisions, automate tasks, or do any of the seemingly endless applications that ML enables,” detailed the Google engineers.

Simple ML also includes a feature set for advanced users. According to Google, the tool provides technical data about the AI ​​models it generates and helps test their accuracy. Additionally, Simple ML allows users to send AI models to Colab, a cloud-based code editor developed by Google that lends itself to machine learning and data science projects.

Simple ML is available with Connected sheets, another advanced data processing tool offered by Google for Google Sheets. It offers the ability to analyze information stored in the search giant’s BigQuery cloud data warehouse through the Google Sheets interface. The tool allows users to process up to billions of spreadsheet rows without writing SQL queries.

Image: Google