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Every growing business eventually drowns in spreadsheets. Leads, campaigns, invoices, product usage—thousands of rows that look fine at a glance but hide what really matters: patterns.Google Sheets GROUP BY is the moment your data starts talking in sentences instead of syllables. Instead of scanning every row, you ask a simple question: “Group my leads by source and show total revenue.” With one QUERY, Sheets rolls up counts, sums, and averages into a compact, executive-ready view. GROUP BY turns chaos into cohorts.Now imagine never building those formulas yourself. An AI computer agent opens your Google Sheets, identifies the right ranges, writes `GROUP BY` queries, tests them, and pastes polished tables into your reporting tabs. You just say, “Summarize last month’s pipeline by owner and stage,” and the agent handles the clicks and syntax. Delegating GROUP BY to an agent frees your brain for decisions—pricing, positioning, outreach—instead of debugging commas in a QUERY string.
## 1. Manual ways to use Google Sheets GROUP BY### 1.1 QUERY + GROUP BY on a basic tableFor most business owners and marketers, the workhorse is the QUERY function. It lets you use SQL-like syntax on your sheet.**Example scenario:** You have a sheet `Leads` with columns:- A: Date- B: Source- C: Owner- D: Deal Value**Goal:** Total deal value by source.**Steps:**1. Select a blank cell in a summary tab (e.g., `Summary!A1`).2. Enter: `=QUERY(Leads!A1:D, "SELECT B, SUM(D) GROUP BY B LABEL SUM(D) 'Total Value'")`3. Press Enter. You’ll see each source with its summed deal value.This pattern works for counts, averages, and more. Official docs on QUERY: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093343?hl=en### 1.2 Count rows per group**Goal:** Count leads by owner.1. In a blank cell, enter: `=QUERY(Leads!A1:D, "SELECT C, COUNT(D) GROUP BY C LABEL COUNT(D) 'Lead Count'")`2. Adjust `C` to whatever column you want to group by.Use `COUNT(A)` or any non-empty column to count rows.### 1.3 Filtered GROUP BY with WHEREOften you only want active deals or recent dates.**Goal:** Show total value by stage for deals over $5k.1. Assume column E is Stage and D is Deal Value.2. Use: `=QUERY(Leads!A1:E, "SELECT E, SUM(D) WHERE D > 5000 GROUP BY E", 1)`3. The last `1` tells QUERY that the first row is headers.You can combine conditions with `AND`, `OR`, or use date filters as described in the official docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093343?hl=en#zippy=%2Cexamples### 1.4 Multiple aggregates per groupSometimes you want several metrics per segment.**Goal:** For each source, show count, total, and average deal value.1. Enter: `=QUERY(Leads!A1:D, "SELECT B, COUNT(D), SUM(D), AVG(D) GROUP BY B", 1)`2. Optionally relabel columns with `LABEL`: `... LABEL COUNT(D) 'Deals', SUM(D) 'Total', AVG(D) 'Avg Deal'`### 1.5 Grouping dates (by month, quarter, year)If you store dates in column A, you can group by month or year using scalar functions.**Goal:** MRR by month.1. Enter: `=QUERY(Subscriptions!A1:C, "SELECT TEXT(A, 'YYYY-MM'), SUM(C) GROUP BY TEXT(A, 'YYYY-MM')", 1)`2. This transforms each date to a `YYYY-MM` string and groups on that.Check the date and scalar function examples here: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093343?hl=en#zippy=%2Cdate-and-time-operators---## 2. No-code automation methods### 2.1 Built-in pivot tables as a visual GROUP BYIf QUERY feels too technical, pivot tables give you GROUP BY behavior via clicks.**Goal:** See deals by owner and stage.1. Select your data range (e.g., `Leads!A1:E`).2. Go to **Insert → Pivot table**.3. Choose **New sheet** and click **Create**.4. In the Pivot editor: - Add `Owner` to **Rows**. - Add `Stage` to **Columns**. - Add `Deal Value` to **Values** and set to **SUM**.Whenever raw data updates, the pivot refreshes with a click. Official pivot docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/1272900?hl=en### 2.2 Google Tables-style grouping for ops viewsGoogle’s Tables product (now part of Area 120) shows another style of grouping: visual headers for each value.In Tables you can:- Group by text, number, date, dropdown, person, and more.- Collapse/expand groups to focus on one segment.Docs on grouping in Tables: https://support.google.com/area120-tables/answer/9902873?hl=enIf you mirror your Sheets data into a table (via CSV or automation), you can use these visual groups to triage campaigns, tickets, or projects before pushing aggregated results back into Sheets.### 2.3 No-code integrators (Zapier/Make) creating grouped reportsNo-code tools like Zapier or Make can:- Pull rows from a Sheet.- Aggregate them in a scenario/flow.- Write grouped summaries back to a "Reports" tab.**Example:** Daily revenue by product.1. Trigger: Scheduled daily job.2. Step: Fetch rows from `Sales!A:D`.3. Step: Use built-in aggregators (Group by "Product", SUM "Revenue").4. Step: Clear a range in `Daily Report!A:D`.5. Step: Write the grouped summary rows.This keeps reports evergreen without opening the sheet.---## 3. At-scale, automated GROUP BY with AI agents### 3.1 Simular agent running QUERY workflows end-to-endInstead of you memorizing syntax, a Simular Pro agent behaves like a power user at the keyboard:**How it works:**- You describe the goal: "In Google Sheets, group last 90 days of leads by owner and show count + total value in a new tab." - The AI agent opens your Sheet, duplicates a template tab, writes the appropriate `QUERY` or pivot, formats headers, and checks for errors.**Pros:**- No formula knowledge required.- Works across multiple Sheets, CRMs, and dashboards in one flow.- Every action is logged and inspectable.**Cons:**- Initial onboarding: you must grant access and define guardrails.- Best for repeatable workflows, not one-off experiments.### 3.2 Multi-step reporting pipelinesFor agencies and sales teams, the real power is chaining GROUP BY steps across tools.**Example pipeline an AI agent can run nightly:**1. Export campaign data from ad platforms.2. Paste or import into a raw data tab in Google Sheets.3. Create or update `QUERY`-based GROUP BY reports by channel, creative, and account manager.4. Copy key tables into a client-facing dashboard Sheet.5. Email or Slack the fresh summary link.**Pros:**- Eliminates repetitive cross-tool clicking.- Scales from one client to hundreds with the same logic.**Cons:**- Requires initial design of the “canonical” report structure.### 3.3 Continuous refinement using transparent executionBecause Simular agents are transparent, you can open the workflow, see the exact formulas and clicks used, then tweak:- Change grouping columns.- Adjust thresholds in WHERE clauses.- Add new summary tabs.The agent then replays this improved workflow reliably, turning your best analyst’s logic into a repeatable, autonomous process.
