# Excel: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 15 judge labels across 7 categories by 6 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/excel

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Succession planning](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/performance/succession-planning/index.md) | 0% | 115 | 75% | 4 |
| [Org charts and org design](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/planning/org-charts-and-org-design/index.md) | 0% | 112 | 100% | 3 |
| [Workforce planning](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/planning/workforce-planning/index.md) | 0% | 109 | 33% | 3 |
| [Pay equity](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/rewards/pay-equity/index.md) | 0% | 91 | 100% | 2 |
| [Goals and OKRs](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/performance/goals-and-okrs/index.md) | 0% | 56 | 100% | 1 |
| [Leave and absence management](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/core/leave-and-absence-management/index.md) | 0% | 92 | 100% | 1 |
| [Payroll software](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/core/payroll-software/index.md) | 0% | 50 | 100% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "A well-structured Excel/Google Sheets Template combined with a recurring calendar reminder ... remains the most cost-effective solution, despite being manual." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, Succession planning)

## And against it

- "Manual Spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets) ... Why to avoid: Research and HR audits consistently show that manual leave tracking leads to calculation errors" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Leave)
- "Avoid tools that force you to manually maintain a static chart—especially spreadsheets, PowerPoint slides, and basic drawing tools without data integration." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, Org charts)
- "Avoid relying on static, manual Excel/Google Sheet templates or simple online "one-off" pay gap calculators as a permanent pay equity solution." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Pay equity)
- "Avoid relying on spreadsheets as your primary succession repository if you are managing complex or growing leadership tiers." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Succession planning)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Excel, from 35 of the 43 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- softwareadvice.com: 11
- g2.com: 9
- theorgchart.com: 9
- leadchangegroup.com: 8
- capterra.com: 7
- firsthr.app: 7
- reddit.com: 7
- disprz.ai: 6
- joinhomebase.com: 5
- peoplemanagingpeople.com: 5

### Pages cited

- https://leadchangegroup.com/org-chart-software: 4
- https://zapier.com/blog/best-org-chart-software: 4
- https://disprz.ai/blog/succession-planning-software: 3
- https://disprz.ai/blog/workforce-planning-software: 3
- https://g2.com/categories/workforce-planning: 3
- https://happeo.com/blog/workforce-planning-software: 3
- https://theorgchart.com/resources/workforce-planning-tool-challenges: 3
- https://theorgchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EBOOK_OrgChart_OrganizationalChartBuyersGuide.pdf: 3

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.