From Spreadsheet Fatigue to AI-Powered Insights: A Telecom Audit Story

If you've ever scroll through a 15-tab Excel workbook looking for "the insight," you know the feeling: eyes glazed over, fingers hovering over CTRL+F, hoping some meaningful number will jump out and explain itself.

Welcome to spreadsheet fatigue, the silent killer of telecom audit productivity. Recently, I decided to fight back... not with more pivot tables, but with AI.

The Problem: Too Much Data, Not Enough Insight

As part of a monthly mobility audit, I analyze thousands of lines across carriers. I've built dashboards that break down cost per line, overage charges, data usage, cost per GB - you name it. But even the best dashboard leaves one key question unanswered:

"So What?"

Clients often want a simple summary:

• What changed this month?

• Are we spending more or less?

• Should we care?

And writing that out manually every month?

Time consuming. Repetitive. Boring.

The Lightbulb Moment: Let AI Do the Talking

So I gave my audit output to OpenAI.

Literally.

After generating the usual table with costs, usage, and trends, I used GPT-4 to summarize it like this:

"In the current month compared to the previous month, there has been an increase in most areas of telecom usage and cost. The data usage has slightly increased from 17,813 GB to 17,957 GB. Despite this, the utilization rate dropped from 1.85 to 1.59 due to a significant increase in data allowance. Overage costs and line charges both rose, resulting in a total cost increase from $108,463.92 to $128,048.65..."

That took about 4 seconds.

It was accurate. It was readable. It saved me 20 minutes.

And yes I got to actually enjoy my coffee.

Why This Matters

AI isn't here to replace us. But it is here to take the robotic work off our plates. Here's what I gained:

• Clarity: Stakeholders instantly understand what changed.

• Time: No more writing the same sentences in 20 variations.

• Consistency: Every summary is clean, professional, and backed by data.

If your job involves sifting through rows of numbers to tell a story, this is your sign to let AI help narrate.

Final Thought: Use AI Where It's Boring

AI Doesn't need to make million-dollar decisions. It just needs to free up your time so you can. Start with the parts that are repetitive, formulaic, and brain-draining. For me, that was audit summaries. For you, it might be something else. Either way, the age of AI-powered insights is here. And your dashboards? They'll thank you for it.