Track RFI turnaround with an Excel log built by AI

Short answer

Use Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets: The AI builds the RFI log columns, working-days and overdue formulas, conditional formatting, and drafts an OAC blurb from open rows you paste. During construction, RFIs pile up across email and folders. Have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Sheets build a log with number, subject, date received, due date, consultant, date sent, date returned, status, priority, working days elapsed and an overdue flag with conditional formatting, then draft a short OAC blurb from open rows only. A person still checks: response content and contractual due dates; the sheet does not answer RFIs.

AI tie-in

Tool: Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets

The AI builds the RFI log columns, working-days and overdue formulas, conditional formatting, and drafts an OAC blurb from open rows you paste.

Prompt 1

Build an RFI turnaround log with columns: number, subject, date received, due date, consultant, date sent, date returned, status, priority, working days elapsed, and overdue (Yes if today is past due date and status is not Closed). Add conditional formatting for overdue and High priority. Leave data rows blank for me to fill.

Prompt 2

From these open RFI rows only, draft a short OAC meeting status blurb: count by status, list overdue items with days late, and name consultants with the most open RFIs. Do not invent responses or due dates: [paste open rows]

Human check: Response content and contractual due dates; the sheet does not answer RFIs.

The problem

Track RFI turnaround with an Excel log built by AI. This is a common, time-consuming task for a architect.

What this workflow does

During construction, RFIs pile up across email and folders. Have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Sheets build a log with number, subject, date received, due date, consultant, date sent, date returned, status, priority, working days elapsed and an overdue flag with conditional formatting, then draft a short OAC blurb from open rows only.

How it works: AI drafts or analyzes. A person operates the tools, checks the work, and takes action.

Your checkpoint: Response content and contractual due dates stay with the architect and consultants. The sheet does not answer RFIs or invent due dates.

Before you start

Access to the named tool; confirm license, version and cost with the vendor.
A small, non-confidential sample to try the workflow on first.
A qualified person to review the output before it is used.

Tools and access

Follow the steps

Decide the columns once: RFI number, subject, date received, contractual due date, responsible consultant, date sent to consultant, date returned, status, priority.
Ask Copilot or Gemini to build the table, a working-days-elapsed formula and an overdue flag (due date passed and status not closed).
Add conditional formatting so overdue and high-priority rows stand out in the weekly review.
Paste only open rows into a second prompt and ask for a short OAC meeting status blurb; do not paste answered content you have not reviewed.
Update the log when an RFI moves; the sheet tracks turnaround, it does not answer RFIs.
Keep confidential RFIs on tools your firm has approved.

Try a small example

Replace the bracketed fields with your own project details. No tested sample run is published for this workflow yet.

Sample input

Fill in the bracketed [fields] in the text below with your project data.

Starter prompt

Build an RFI turnaround log with columns: number, subject, date received, due date, consultant, date sent, date returned, status, priority, working days elapsed, and overdue (Yes if today is past due date and status is not Closed). Add conditional formatting for overdue and High priority. Leave data rows blank for me to fill.

Expected output

Not published yet. Treat any output as a draft and check it against the source documents.

Check the result

Every value, citation or quantity traces back to a source document.
Missing information is marked as missing, not filled in.

Limits and recovery

Response content and contractual due dates stay with the architect and consultants. The sheet does not answer RFIs or invent due dates.
Check your organization’s data policy before sharing project files with third-party tools.

Stop or switch when: The source cannot be verified, permissions are missing, or the result contains unsupported facts.

Frequently asked questions

How does AI help with this?

Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets: The AI builds the RFI log columns, working-days and overdue formulas, conditional formatting, and drafts an OAC blurb from open rows you paste. A person still checks: Response content and contractual due dates; the sheet does not answer RFIs.

How do I track RFI turnaround with an Excel log built by AI?

Decide the columns once: RFI number, subject, date received, contractual due date, responsible consultant, date sent to consultant, date returned, status, priority. Ask Copilot or Gemini to build the table, a working-days-elapsed formula and an overdue flag (due date passed and status not closed). Add conditional formatting so overdue and high-priority rows stand out in the weekly review. The full step list is above.

Does this use an AI agent or regular software?

It is labeled AI assists: AI drafts or analyzes. A person operates the tools, checks the work, and takes action.

What tools do I need?

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Copilot, Google Sheets. Confirm license, version and cost with the vendor, and try it on a small non-confidential sample first.

Has this workflow been tested?

Workflow guide · not independently tested. Written from vendor documentation and practitioner use. Labels apply to the steps described here, not every feature of a product. Links were checked when the page was written.

Evidence and maintenance

Written from vendor documentation and practitioner use. Labels apply to the steps described here, not every feature of a product. Links were checked when the page was written.