Auto-Writing IF Statements and VLOOKUP

IF statements and VLOOKUP—just hearing the names gives you a headache, right? They're the most commonly used Excel functions, but also the most confusing.

IF statements are fine with one condition, but when you nest multiple conditions, you lose track of where parentheses close and errors occur frequently. VLOOKUP is confusing with argument order, and you never remember when to use FALSE and TRUE.

With AI, you can easily create even these complex functions. Just naturally describe the conditions you want, and AI creates a perfect IF statement. For VLOOKUP, just say "find this from here and get that" and you're done.

In this post, we'll learn how to auto-generate IF statements and VLOOKUP with AI. From simple conditional statements to complex nested IF statements and error handling, we'll cover it all.

1. Auto-Generating Simple IF Statements

Basic IF Statement

AI Prompt:

"If score is 60 or above, display 'Pass', otherwise 'Fail'."

AI Generated Formula:

=IF(B2>=60, "Pass", "Fail")

Multi-Condition IF Statement

AI Prompt:

"Grade by score:
- 90 or above: A
- 80 or above: B
- 70 or above: C
- 60 or above: D
- Others: F"

AI Generated Formula:

=IF(B2>=90, "A",
   IF(B2>=80, "B",
      IF(B2>=70, "C",
         IF(B2>=60, "D", "F"))))

// Or using IFS function (Excel 2016 or later)
=IFS(
   B2>=90, "A",
   B2>=80, "B",
   B2>=70, "C",
   B2>=60, "D",
   TRUE, "F"
)

2. Complex Conditional IF Statements

AND Conditions

AI Prompt:

"If attendance rate is 80% or above AND score is 70 or above, display 'Complete',
if either is below, display 'Incomplete'."

AI Generated Formula:

=IF(AND(B2>=80, C2>=70), "Complete", "Incomplete")

// Or
=IF((B2>=80)*(C2>=70), "Complete", "Incomplete")

OR Conditions

AI Prompt:

"If payment method is 'Credit Card' OR 'Debit Card', classify as 'Card Payment',
otherwise 'Cash Payment'."

AI Generated Formula:

=IF(OR(D2="Credit Card", D2="Debit Card"), "Card Payment", "Cash Payment")

// Or
=IF((D2="Credit Card")+(D2="Debit Card"), "Card Payment", "Cash Payment")

3. Basic VLOOKUP

Simple VLOOKUP

AI Prompt:

"Look up employee name from 'Employee Info' sheet using employee ID in Column A.
If not found, display 'Not Registered'."

AI Generated Formula:

=IFERROR(
   VLOOKUP(A2, EmployeeInfo!$A:$D, 2, FALSE),
   "Not Registered"
)

// Or using IFNA
=IFNA(
   VLOOKUP(A2, EmployeeInfo!$A:$D, 2, FALSE),
   "Not Registered"
)

Referencing Multiple Columns

AI Prompt:

"Retrieve product name (column 2), unit price (column 3), and stock (column 4) at once using product code."

AI Generated Formulas:

// Column B: Product name
=VLOOKUP($A2, ProductDB!$A:$E, 2, FALSE)

// Column C: Unit price
=VLOOKUP($A2, ProductDB!$A:$E, 3, FALSE)

// Column D: Stock
=VLOOKUP($A2, ProductDB!$A:$E, 4, FALSE)

// Or as one array formula (Ctrl+Shift+Enter)
=VLOOKUP($A2, ProductDB!$A:$E, {2,3,4}, FALSE)

4. Advanced VLOOKUP Usage

Approximate Match Lookup

AI Prompt:

"Find commission rate by sales amount:
- 0~10 million won: 5%
- 10~50 million won: 3%
- 50~100 million won: 2%
- 100 million won or more: 1%"

AI Generated Formula:

// Commission table sheet:
   A           B
0          5%
10000000   3%
50000000   2%
100000000  1%

// Formula (TRUE: approximate match)
=VLOOKUP(B2, CommissionTable!$A:$B, 2, TRUE)

// Or direct array
=VLOOKUP(B2, {0,0.05;10000000,0.03;50000000,0.02;100000000,0.01}, 2, TRUE)

Left Column Reference (INDEX-MATCH)

AI Prompt:

"VLOOKUP can't reference left columns, but
I want to find product code (Column A) using product name (Column C)."

AI Generated Formula:

// Use INDEX-MATCH combination
=INDEX(ProductDB!$A:$A, MATCH(C2, ProductDB!$C:$C, 0))

// Or XLOOKUP (Microsoft 365)
=XLOOKUP(C2, ProductDB!$C:$C, ProductDB!$A:$A, "None")

5. Auto-Generating Complex Conditional Statements with VBA

IF Statement Auto-Generator

AI Prompt:

"Create a tool that automatically generates IF statements
based on user-entered conditions."

AI Generated VBA:

Sub IFStatementGenerator()
    Dim conditionCount As Integer
    Dim i As Integer
    Dim formula As String
    Dim condition As String
    Dim result As String

    ' Input number of conditions
    conditionCount = InputBox("How many conditions?", "Condition Count", 3)

    formula = "=IF("

    For i = 1 To conditionCount
        condition = InputBox("Enter condition " & i & "." & vbCrLf & _
                           "Example: A1>=90", "Condition Input")
        result = InputBox("Enter result when condition " & i & " is true.", "Result Input")

        If i = 1 Then
            formula = formula & condition & ',"' & result & '",'
        Else
            formula = formula & "IF(" & condition & ',"' & result & '",'
        End If
    Next i

    ' Last false condition
    result = InputBox("Enter result when all conditions are false.", "Default Value Input")
    formula = formula & '"' & result & '"'

    ' Close parentheses
    For i = 1 To conditionCount - 1
        formula = formula & ")"
    Next i
    formula = formula & ")"

    ' Display result
    MsgBox "Generated formula:" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & formula, vbInformation

    ' Copy to clipboard
    Dim dataObj As Object
    Set dataObj = CreateObject("New:{1C3B4210-F441-11CE-B9EA-00AA006B1A69}")
    dataObj.SetText formula
    dataObj.PutInClipboard

    MsgBox "Formula copied to clipboard.", vbInformation
End Sub

Conclusion

Automating IF statements and VLOOKUP with AI:

• ✅ Generate complex conditional statements in natural language
• ✅ Error-free formulas with VLOOKUP builder
• ✅ Automate repetitive tasks with VBA
• ✅ Improve reusability with formula library

In the next post, we'll learn how to find meaningful patterns in large datasets.