Supported AI Providers
Claude
Best for agentic tool-use and complex deck plans
OpenAI GPT-4o
Reliable function calling, wide availability
Google Gemini
Good for single-shot deck generation
Ollama (Offline)
Fully local, no data leaves your machine
💡 We recommend Claude for AI Deck Agent — it produces the most accurate SQL queries and slide plans.
Getting your API Key
Claude (Anthropic)
Create account
Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up.
Get API key
Go to API Keys → Create Key. Copy the key — it starts with sk-ant-.
Add billing
Go to Billing and add a payment method. Claude API is pay-per-use — a typical deck costs under $0.05.
OpenAI (GPT-4o)
Create account
Go to platform.openai.com and sign up.
Get API key
Go to API Keys → Create new secret key. Copy the key — it starts with sk-.
Google Gemini
Get API key
Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey → Create API key. Free tier available.
Ollama (Fully Offline)
Install Ollama
Download from ollama.com and install on your PC.
Download a model
Open Command Prompt and run:
phi3:mini is lightweight (~2GB) and works well for XL++ tasks.
No API key needed
Ollama runs locally. No internet, no API key, no cost. Select Ollama in AI Settings and leave the key field blank.
Configuring XL++ AI Settings
Open AI Settings
In Excel, click XL++ → AI Settings in the ribbon.
Select provider
Choose your AI provider from the dropdown: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini or Ollama.
Enter your API key
Paste your API key in the key field. For Ollama, leave this blank.
Save and test
Click Save. Your settings are stored securely on your machine — they are never sent anywhere except to your chosen AI provider.
Using the AI Deck Agent
Open AI Deck Agent
Click XL++ → AI Deck Agent. The form opens and automatically reads your workbook schema.
Select tables
A table picker appears — select which sheets the agent should analyse. Only selected tables are used.
Write your prompt
Describe the deck you want. Example: "Create a board deck analysing sales performance by category and salesperson."
Run and review
Click Run Agent. The agent runs SQL queries, finds insights, and proposes a slide plan. Review the plan, reorder slides if needed, pick a colour scheme, then click Generate Full Deck.
🔒 Your data is safe. The AI only receives your column schema and aggregated query results — never individual data rows.
Need help with setup?
Email us and we'll help you get configured: reachus@xlplusplus.com