How to Use the Gemini Sidebar in Google Sheets (And When to Use =AI() Instead)

An accountant with a butler next to him, serving a cup of tea.

The Gemini sidebar and the AI function look related because they’re both powered by Gemini. But they work in fundamentally different ways, serve different use cases, and produce results you have to handle differently. Using the wrong one for a task is like using a calculator when you needed a notebook.