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If you run a sales team, agency, or online business, your Google Sheets are probably packed with messy text: lead sources, campaign names, tech stacks, job titles. The difference between a random list and a revenue engine is your ability to instantly see "who contains what"—who uses HubSpot, which rows mention "Demo requested", which contracts include a specific clause.Because Google Sheets has no native IF CONTAINS function, the real power comes from combining IF, REGEXMATCH, SEARCH, and COUNTIF to replicate SQL-style contains logic. You can tag rows, route leads, and trigger follow-ups with a single formula. But doing this across tens of tabs and constantly changing data quickly becomes a grind.This is where delegation to an AI computer agent changes the game. Instead of you hunting for text patterns every morning, the agent opens Sheets like a human, applies contains rules, updates tags, and even kicks off downstream workflows. You get clean, classified data and always-on monitoring without burning your team’s focus on low-leverage spreadsheet work.
## 1. Manual ways to use "contains" in Google SheetsBefore you scale, you need solid basics. Here are core manual techniques your team should know.### 1.1 IF + REGEXMATCH: the classic "IF CONTAINS"This combo recreates a SQL-style IF CONTAINS.**Use case:** Tag leads whose tech stack contains "G Suite".Formula:`=IF(REGEXMATCH(D2, "G Suite"), "Uses G Suite", "No")`**Steps:**1. In a new column (e.g., E2), paste the formula above.2. Replace `D2` with the cell that holds your text and `"G Suite"` with your keyword.3. Drag the fill handle down the column to apply it to all rows.4. Filter on the new column to see only rows that match.Docs:- IF: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093364- REGEXMATCH: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3098242### 1.2 REGEXMATCH alone for TRUE/FALSE flagsSometimes you just need a boolean you can combine with other logic.Formula:`=REGEXMATCH(B2, "HubSpot")`Returns TRUE if B2 contains "HubSpot", FALSE otherwise. Great for building layered conditions like:`=IF(AND(REGEXMATCH(B2, "HubSpot"), REGEXMATCH(C2, "G Suite")), "High-fit", "Other")`### 1.3 SEARCH + ISNUMBERAnother way, closer to Excel’s style, is `SEARCH` wrapped in `ISNUMBER`.Formula:`=ISNUMBER(SEARCH("Tolkien", A2))`**Steps:**1. `SEARCH("Tolkien", A2)` returns the character position of the match or an error.2. `ISNUMBER(...)` converts that into TRUE/FALSE.Docs:- SEARCH: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093378- ISNUMBER: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093321### 1.4 COUNTIF for "contains and count"When you want to know *how many* cells contain a phrase:Formula:`=COUNTIF(D:D, "*G Suite*")`The asterisks are wildcards, meaning "anything before or after".Docs:- COUNTIF: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093480### 1.5 Filter views with "Text contains"For quick visual analysis:1. Select your header row.2. Go to **Data → Create a filter**.3. Click the filter icon on a column.4. Choose **Filter by condition → Text contains** and type your keyword.This is ideal for fast, ad-hoc exploration by sales and marketing teams.---## 2. No‑code automation: make "contains" run itselfManual formulas are powerful, but they still rely on humans opening the sheet. Let’s move toward automation with low/no-code tools.### 2.1 On‑edit highlighting with conditional formattingYou can visually flag cells that contain certain text the moment someone types it.1. Select the range (e.g., `A2:A1000`).2. Go to **Format → Conditional formatting**.3. Under **Format cells if**, choose **Text contains**.4. Enter your keyword (e.g., "Hot lead").5. Pick a bold fill color and click **Done**.Now any time your team enters that phrase, the cell auto-highlights—no extra work.Docs:- Conditional formatting: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/78413### 2.2 Use IF + REGEXMATCH as a reusable "rule column"Turn contains logic into a standard rule column everyone relies on.1. Create a dedicated "Routing rule" or "Segment" column.2. Insert a formula like: `=IFS( REGEXMATCH(B2, "demo"), "Demo requested", REGEXMATCH(B2, "refund|cancel"), "Churn risk", TRUE, "Other" )`3. Drag down the column.4. Train your team to filter, pivot, and report from this rule column only.This keeps logic centralized and easy to adjust as messaging and campaigns evolve.Docs:- IFS: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/7014145### 2.3 Connect to workflow tools (Zapier/Make) without codeWhile not official Google tools, platforms like Zapier or Make let non-technical teams automate around Google Sheets.**Example: Alert sales when a row "contains" buying intent.**1. In Sheets, add a column with: `=REGEXMATCH(C2, "book a call|demo")`.2. In Zapier, set a trigger: "New or updated row in Google Sheets".3. Add a filter step: proceed only if the column is TRUE.4. Action: send a Slack message or email to the account owner with row details.Now every time a prospect types buying language, your team hears about it instantly—no one needs to patrol the sheet.Official Sheets API/automation overview:- https://developers.google.com/sheets/api---## 3. Scaling "contains" with AI computer agentsAt some point, even no-code automations hit limits. You end up with dozens of sheets, edge cases, and tools that don’t talk cleanly. This is where a Simular AI agent becomes your tireless operations assistant.Simular Pro (https://www.simular.ai/simular-pro) is a highly capable AI computer agent that can operate across your desktop, browser, and cloud apps just like a human—clicking, typing, filtering, copying, pasting—only 24/7 and without context fatigue.### 3.1 Agent-driven lead and account classification**Story:** Imagine your agency pulls company lists from tools like Koala, LinkedIn, and exports from CRMs. You want to know which rows in Google Sheets contain certain tech stack keywords ("HubSpot", "G Suite", "Shopify") and route them to specialists.**How Simular handles it:**1. The agent opens your lead sheet in Google Sheets.2. It inserts or updates formulas like `=IF(REGEXMATCH(D2, "G Suite"), "G Suite", "-")` across thousands of rows.3. It applies filters and sorts to group targets by stack.4. It copies high-fit accounts into a "Priority" sheet and logs summary stats in a recap tab.5. Via webhook integration, it can notify Slack or update your CRM.**Pros:**- Works across tools without brittle APIs.- Fully transparent: every step is visible and editable.- Handles huge, evolving sheets and complex rules.**Cons:**- Best for recurring, structured workflows (not one-off tiny tasks).- Requires a short upfront definition of the workflow.### 3.2 Continuous monitoring and reporting**Story:** A growth lead wants a daily rollup: "How many rows contain ‘trial’, ‘cancel’, or ‘upgrade’ across multiple feedback and support sheets?"**With Simular:**1. On a schedule, the agent opens each relevant Google Sheet.2. It uses a mix of COUNTIF and REGEXMATCH-based helper columns to compute daily counts.3. It updates a master dashboard sheet and optionally transforms results into a Google Doc or email brief.You’ve effectively turned vague text into quantified signals without a human ever touching the formulas.**Pros:**- Handles multi-sheet, multi-source logic.- Turns free-form text into consistent, daily metrics.**Cons:**- Overkill if you only maintain one small sheet.### 3.3 Complex cross-app workflowsBecause Simular can automate "nearly everything a human can do" on a computer, you can chain Google Sheets contains logic into full revenue workflows:- Scan a sheet for rows where notes contain "ready to buy".- Open your CRM in the browser.- Update opportunity stages and owners.- Draft personalized outreach based on context, ready for human review.With production-grade reliability and transparent execution, you’re not trusting a black box—you’re giving a very fast, very precise assistant the keyboard and mouse while you focus on strategy.