This guide walks you through what the agent can do and how to get the most out of it.
Meet Your AI-Powered Agent in the Drivepoint Add-In
The Drivepoint Add-In now includes an AI-powered agent that works directly inside your Excel SmartModel™. Instead of navigating menus or waiting on the team, you chat with the Drivepoint Add-In Agent in plain English and it takes action in your SmartModel™ in real time.
Quick Start: Your First 5 Minutes
Open your SmartModel in Excel and launch the Drivepoint Add-In. Click on "Chat" inside the Sidepanel menu. Try these three prompts in order:
Step 1 — Get oriented
Tell me about this model
The agent reads your SmartModel and gives you a summary: company name, model version, date range, active channels, and key metrics. This confirms the agent is connected and reading your data correctly.
Step 2 — Pull in fresh data
Import my latest Shopify sales
The agent fetches your most recent data from Drivepoint's data warehouse and writes it directly into your model. No exports, no copy-paste. You can also try:
Pull in my QuickBooks data
Import retention predictions
Step 3 — Ask a question
What was revenue last month?
The agent reads from your model and responds in plain English. You're up and running.
What You Can Do
Import Data on Demand
Tell the agent to pull in your latest data and it writes directly into your model from Drivepoint's data warehouse.
Try these:
Tip: You don't need to know which import to use. Just describe what you need — "I need my latest sales data" — and the agent will recommend the right import for your setup.
Roll Your Model Forward
One prompt and the agent moves your SmartModel to the next period, handling tab logic, references, and everything in between.
Try this:
Tip: After rolling forward, follow up with a data import to pull in the latest actuals for the new period. The agent handles both steps from the chat.
Ask Questions About Your Numbers
The agent reads your model and answers in plain English. Ask about any metric, time period, or line item.
Try these:
Tip: Be specific with time periods and line items. "What was COGS in February?" gives you a sharper answer than "Tell me about costs."
Variance & Budget vs. Actuals Analysis
Go deeper than a summary. The agent breaks down where you're ahead or behind plan, by line item or channel.
Try these:
Tip: Variance analysis is one of the agent's strongest capabilities. Try asking "what's driving it" as a follow-up — the agent will dig into the line items behind the top-level number.
EBITDA Bridge & Waterfall
Ask the agent to build an EBITDA bridge between any two periods — the exact breakdown you need for board prep or CFO reviews.
Try this:
Tip: You can specify any two periods. Try "EBITDA bridge from Q1 to Q2" or "EBITDA bridge from last month to this month" depending on what your stakeholders need to see.
Executive Prep & Highlights
Let the agent do the first pass on your monthly analysis. It reads your model and surfaces what changed, what to flag, and what matters for the conversation with your CFO or board.
Try these:
Tip: This works best after you've imported your latest data and rolled forward. The agent analyzes the most current numbers in your model.
Tips for Best Results
Be specific with time. "What was revenue in February?" works better than "What was revenue recently?"
Name the line item. "Show me COGS variance" is sharper than "Show me cost variance."
Ask follow-ups. The agent remembers context within a session. After getting a variance summary, try "What's driving the biggest one?" or "Break that down by channel."
Start with a summary, then drill down. Ask for highlights first, then zoom into the specific lines that matter.
Need Help?
Your Drivepoint rep can walk you through any of these workflows live. You also have a dedicated Slack channel for real-time feedback during the beta — drop questions, flag issues, or share what's working. We're building this with you.
