Real Agent Cases

Sort a Google Sheet in a custom priority order with Claude in Chrome

Posted
by @AaronBergman18
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

Evidence: Screenshots or logsThe source shows screenshots, a transcript or the agent's output.

FailureThe source says the agent did not get the job done.

What went wrong: Repeatedly sorted alphabetically instead of in the custom order.

Outcome

Asked to sort a Google Sheet in a custom order (critical, high, medium, low), Claude for Chrome kept trying to sort it alphabetically instead, per the poster's screenshot.

Agent

Claude in Chrome

Prompt Improved prompt

Strengthened by us to avoid the problem in the source. Not tested by the poster. It doesn't change what happened in the source.

Run this task now, exactly as written below. Everything you need is here, so start straight away and only stop if something required is missing.

Goal: Sort my sheet by priority in the order I choose, not A–Z.

Fill in before running: Which sheet and column, and what's the exact order?

What I'll give you:
- The sheet link and column ([COLUMN])
- The exact priority order, written out (e.g. critical → high → medium → low)

Rules:
- Don't use a plain A–Z sort. Add a helper column that gives each priority a number in my order (e.g. critical=1, high=2, medium=3, low=4) and sort by that.
- Don't change any other data. Hide or delete the helper column only if I agree.
- If a value doesn't match my priority levels, leave that row at the bottom and tell me.
- After sorting, check the first and last 5 rows, show them to me, and say if anything landed out of order.

Output: The sorted sheet and a quick before/after check.

You'll know it worked when: all critical rows come first and low rows last.

Try this in:

ChatGPT Gemini Grok

This prompt has blanks to fill in, like [COLUMN]. We'll copy it instead of filling it in, so you can edit it before you send.

The source used Claude in Chrome, which can take actions in a browser or app. These are general chat tools, so results may differ, and a normal chat may only give you a plan.

Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.

These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google or xAI, and your results may not match the source.

The prompt they actually used (our rebuild)

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Sort this sheet in a custom order: critical -> high -> medium -> low.
Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Run this task now, exactly as written below. Everything you need is here, so start straight away and only stop if something required is missing.

Goal: Sort my sheet by priority in my custom order, not alphabetically.

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Sheet link and column
- Exact order (e.g. Critical > High > Medium > Low)
- Header row number

Rules:
- Add a helper column that maps each priority to a number (Critical=1, High=2…), using a formula.
- Sort the whole data range by the helper column ascending, keeping rows together.
- Check for values not in the order list and list them.
- Ask before deleting the helper column; hiding it is fine.
- Copy the sheet first.
- Check rows still line up.
- Use a helper column with the priority rank, then sort by it; remove the helper column only if I agree.
- Keep any filters and formatting as they were.
- Report row counts before and after.

What went wrong before, and how to avoid it:
- Last time it kept sorting alphabetically: never sort by the text column itself; always sort by the numeric helper column.

Checkpoint: Make a copy of the tab before sorting.

If you get stuck: If the sort comes out A–Z again, stop and show me the helper values. If a login, CAPTCHA or two-step code appears, stop and ask me to handle it; never guess or store passwords.

Verify before you finish: Check the first and last 5 rows follow the custom order.

Output: Sorted sheet and a note on the helper column.

Done when: rows run in my custom order from top to bottom.

Source

https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1983740965660844115

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