Sherlok vs. ChatGPT + spreadsheets
- Free forever plan
- No credit card needed
Exporting a CSV from Ads Manager and pasting it into ChatGPT works. For a one-off analysis. The problem is next Tuesday: export again, paste again, re-explain the context again. And no alert when ROAS drops on Saturday. Sherlok is that flow with a live connection to your accounts, context saved per client and alerts that arrive before the loss. If you repeat the same analysis every week and want to stop exporting CSVs, Sherlok is the choice. Start free today, no card.
Read-only connection
Sherlok reads metrics. It never creates, pauses or edits anything in your accounts.
Encryption in transit and at rest
Your data is encrypted on the way and in storage.
Revoke access whenever you want
In Connections or directly at Meta and Google. Reading stops immediately.
No card to start
Free plan forever, plus 14 days of Growth or Pro with no card.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Sherlok | ChatGPT + spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
| Connection to Meta/Google/GA4 | Live, via official OAuth, always fresh | Manual: export CSV or screenshot each time |
| Continuous monitoring | Yes, 24/7 | None |
| Proactive alerts | Yes, ROAS, CPA, spend | No |
| Your operation's context | Saved per workspace/client | Restarts every conversation |
| Multi-client (agency) | Separate workspaces | Tab and file chaos |
| Data history | Straight from sources, no upload limit | Limited to the file you paste |
| Understands ROAS/CPA/local seasonality | Native | Depends on the prompt each time |
| Cost | $0 to $49/month | ~$20/month + your export time every week |
ChatGPT + spreadsheets pricing and features according to their official public pages, consulted in August 2026. They may have changed since. Always check the source before deciding.
See the difference? Start now, for free.
- Free forever plan
- No credit card needed
Where the manual flow breaks and Sherlok takes over
- Recurring operation: the same questions every week, exporting nothing
- Vigilance: get warned when ROAS drops or spend accelerates, without asking
- Agency: each client with its own workspace, context and alerts
- Live joins: ads + GA4 + sales spreadsheet + database, in the same answer
What ChatGPT does well (and keep using it for)
- One-off exploratory analysis of a CSV you already have
- Brainstorming hypotheses and creative angles
- Ad copy, scripts, and copy variations
- Generic marketing questions that don't depend on your data
The sources Sherlok connects
See how each integration works in practice:
Frequently asked questions
What if I hook ChatGPT to my data via MCP (like Windsor)?
You can. It's the path for people who like configuring tools. You'll need two accounts (the pipe and the LLM), and the result stays pull-AI: on-demand analysis, no monitoring, no alerts, no embedded local context. For a technical analyst it's valid. For a manager who needs to operate, it's friction.
Does Sherlok use its own AI?
Sherlok orchestrates frontier AI models with a proprietary context layer: your connected accounts, your history, each workspace's goals and the local market calendar. That layer turns a generic answer into a specific decision.
Is the free plan enough to really test it?
It is: you connect two sources, Meta Ads, Google Ads, GA4 or your own database, ask up to 30 questions a month and get the answers, with no credit card and no expiry date. Alerts and insights arrive every week; daily cadence and extra workspaces come with the paid plans.
Less reporting. More deciding.
- Free forever plan
- No credit card needed