How to Master UNIQUE in Google Sheets and Excel Guide

If you run a business, agency, or sales team, you’ve probably lived this scene: another CSV export lands in your inbox, packed with duplicate emails, repeated company names, and half-cleaned data. You open Google Sheets or Excel, sigh, and start hacking at it. The UNIQUE function is your first real ally here – and when you pair it with an AI agent, it stops being a chore and becomes an invisible, always-on process.### 1. The Manual Way: UNIQUE in Google Sheets**Basic dedupe for a single column**1. Paste your raw data in column A, starting at A2.2. Click an empty cell where you want the cleaned list, for example C2.3. Type:   - `=UNIQUE(A2:A)`4. Press Enter. Sheets spills a list of unique values down from C2.**Pros**- Fast and simple once you know the formula.- Updates automatically as new rows are added.- Great for small to medium data sets.**Cons**- You still have to import data, place formulas, and check results.- Easy to point to the wrong range when you are tired or rushed.**Unique combinations, like email + campaign**1. Suppose columns A and B hold Email and Campaign.2. In D2, enter:   - `=UNIQUE(A2:B)`3. You now get each unique email–campaign pair, perfect for attribution reports.### 2. The Manual Way: UNIQUE in Excel**Basic dedupe in a column**1. Put your raw values in A2:A1000.2. Click an empty cell, say C2.3. Enter:   - `=UNIQUE(A2:A1000)`4. Press Enter. Excel spills the unique list down.**Exactly-once entries only (true uniques)**1. To show values that appear only once, use:   - `=UNIQUE(A2:A1000,,TRUE)`2. This is powerful for spotting one-off customers or odd records.**Pros**- Dynamic arrays keep results live as data changes.- Can combine with FILTER and SORT for advanced reports.**Cons**- Still a manual playbook: import, clean, copy results to other files.- Reproducibility is fragile; one mis-edited cell can break things.### 3. Turning UNIQUE Into a Repeatable Workflow With an AI AgentManual UNIQUE is great once. But most teams repeat the same steps daily: download report, open Excel or Sheets, run UNIQUE, copy results to a master sheet, then notify someone.A Simular AI computer agent can:- Open your browser or desktop Excel.- Download fresh CSVs from your CRM or ad platforms.- Paste or import them into the right Sheet or workbook.- Insert or update UNIQUE-based formulas for deduping.- Combine UNIQUE with SORT or FILTER for clean, ordered lists.- Save, export, or sync the final sheet into another tool.You describe the workflow once; the agent repeats it, click by click, with production-grade reliability.### 4. Hybrid Workflows: You Design, the Agent ExecutesFor many founders and marketers, the sweet spot is hybrid:- You design a clear worksheet template using UNIQUE.- You show the agent how to load new data into the template.- The agent repeats the steps every morning or on demand.**Example hybrid flow**- Sheet tab 1: Raw export.- Sheet tab 2: Cleaned data using UNIQUE.- Sheet tab 3: Pivot or dashboard that reads the cleaned range.The AI agent handles:- Importing the latest export into tab 1.- Verifying that UNIQUE still spills correctly.- Regenerating the dashboard and sharing a link or PDF.You stay in control of the logic while offloading the repetition.### 5. Pros and Cons of Automating UNIQUE With an AI Agent**Pros**- **Time savings:** No more morning dedupe rituals across multiple files.- **Consistency:** The agent follows the exact same process every time.- **Scalability:** Handles many Sheets and Excel workbooks across teams.- **Transparency:** With Simular-style agents, every step is visible and editable.**Cons**- Requires some upfront design of templates and instructions.- You still want to review early runs before fully trusting automation.When you combine the power of UNIQUE with an AI agent that literally uses your computer for you, deduping and cleaning data stops being a task and becomes infrastructure – quiet, reliable, and always on.