Manually finding and replacing values in an Excel file is a pain. Excel's built-in "Find and Replace" tool works for simple cases, but what if you need to replace dozens or hundreds of terms? Doing it one by one is slow and frustrating.
With Datablist's AI Editing feature, you can automate bulk find and replace with a simple prompt. No formulas, no coding—just write what you need, and let AI do the work.
How to Find and Replace Multiple Values in an Excel file
Follow these steps to transform your data effortlessly.
Step 1: Upload Your Excel File
Datablist is a free online tool to open and edit CSV and Excel files. It comes with data cleaning and data enrichment tools.
Create a new collection and Upload your Excel file (supports .xlsx and .csv).
Your data will appear in a clean, editable table.
Step 2: Open AI Editing
AI Editing in Datablist is a powerful feature that generates scripts based on your instructions. Instead of manually creating complex Excel formulas or VBA macros, you describe what you need in a prompt, and Datablist does the rest.
For find and replace, you simply provide a list of terms to match and their replacements. AI Editing generates the script and runs it on your Excel file instantly. This feature also works with terms inside multi-value cells. It doesn’t have to match the full cell value, making it perfect for cleaning up complex data structures.
Step 3: Write Your Find and Replace Instructions
In the AI Editing prompt, write the find and replace instruction with the list of terms to replace.
Use {{XX}} to specify which column you want to edit.
An example of prompt is:
Replace matching values in the Countries column.
The text in the Countries column can contain multiple values.
KR => South Korea
SG => Singapore
AE => United Arab Emirates
CA => Canada
CN => China
ZA => South Africa
SE => Sweden
US => United States
FR => France
ES => Spain
NL => Netherlands
BR => Brazil
MX => Mexico
The AI generates a script based on your instructions.
Click "Generate" to have a preview of the results.
Click Run on items, and Datablist will run the script on all your items.
Step 4: Download Your Updated File
Once the replacements are made, export your file back to Excel.
Click on the "Export" button in the header.
And select the "Excel" export format.
Done! No manual search and replace needed.
Why Use Datablist for Bulk Find and Replace?
- Faster than Excel – No need to run find-and-replace one by one.
- No formulas or macros – Just describe what you need.
- Handles large datasets – Perfect for cleaning and standardizing big files.
- Works inside multi-value cells – No need to match the full cell value.
- Accurate and repeatable – AI follows your instructions precisely.
Conclusion
If you're spending hours manually updating spreadsheets, stop. With AI Editing in Datablist, bulk find and replace is as easy as writing a to-do list. Try it today and make your Excel workflow effortless!