Choose one of three approaches. The steps for that option appear below.
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ChatGPT drafts a theme table per batch of comments, then merges them. You check every assignment and count.
Export comments
Draft batch themes
Check each batch
Merge the tables
Check and finish
Use: You
Have ready: the survey's free-text comments. Export them and spot-read 10 comments to check the export is clean.
Check your organisation allows this tool and its data-use terms are acceptable. If not, stop and use an approved method.
Use: ChatGPT
Paste a batch of comments and ask for a draft theme table.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Draft theme table from survey comments. Read the pasted comments and group them into themes. For each theme give a one-line description and the number of comments in this batch that fit it. Use only the pasted comments; if a comment fits nothing, list it under 'other'. NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR THIS BATCH: [Paste numbered comments for this batch here] Assign each comment ID to exactly one theme or other. Include all assigned IDs, their count, and one exact source quote per theme.
Use: You
Check every comment ID, theme and quote against the source; correct assignments and count each theme. Repeat for every batch before merging.
Check each example quote is exact and does not point to a person.
Use: ChatGPT
Give it the checked batch tables and ask for one merged draft theme summary.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Merged theme summary from checked batch tables. Combine the pasted batch theme tables into one summary, merging themes that mean the same thing and adding the counts. If two themes might be duplicates but you are not sure, keep both and mark them 'possible duplicate'. CHECKED BATCH TABLES WITH COMMENT IDS AND QUOTES: [Paste checked batch tables with comment ids and quotes here] Retain all assigned comment IDs and one checked exact source quote per final theme. Merge memberships without counting any ID twice.
Use: You
Check every final theme against its comment IDs, recount all totals and keep one exact source quote per theme.
Check each comment appears once. File the summary as a draft; do not share it.
Claude groups the numbered comments with IDs, counts and quotes in one paste. You check every assignment, quote and count.
Export comments
Draft themes
Check the quotes
Recount themes
Check and finish
Use: You
Have ready: the survey's free-text comments. Export them and spot-read 10 comments to check the export is clean.
Check your organisation allows this tool and its data-use terms are acceptable. If not, stop and use an approved method.
Use: Claude
Paste the numbered comments and ask for themes with comment IDs, counts and supporting quotes. If the set does not fit, use the batch workflow.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Draft theme table from survey comments. Group all pasted comments into themes. For each theme give a one-line description, the number of comments that fit it, and one comment line quoted exactly as evidence. Use only the pasted comments; put anything that fits nothing under 'other'. NUMBERED COMMENTS: [Paste numbered comments here] Assign each comment ID to exactly one theme or other, and list all member IDs per theme.
Use: You
Search each quoted line in the export; fix or drop any quote that is not exact.
Check every quote is word for word.
Use: Claude
Give Claude the corrected table and ask it to recount comments per theme.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Recount survey themes. For each theme in the corrected table, list the numbers of the comments that belong to it, then give the total. Do not change theme names or add themes. APPROVED THEME TABLE: [Paste approved theme table here] NUMBERED COMMENTS: [Paste numbered comments here]
Use: You
Read every comment and check its theme; recount every theme from its comment IDs so each ID appears once. Check each retained quote is exact.
File as a draft and share nothing.
Copilot in Excel proposes a theme per comment row, so every assignment stays visible next to its comment.
Open the export
Propose themes
Trim the list
Assign each row
Check and finish
Use: You
Have ready: the survey export. Open it in Excel and spot-read 10 rows to check the export is clean.
Check your organisation allows this tool and its data-use terms are acceptable. If not, stop and use an approved method.
Use: Copilot in Excel
Ask Copilot in Excel to propose a draft theme list from the comment column.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Draft theme list from a column of survey comments. Read the comments column and propose 5 to 10 themes that cover it, each with a one-line description. Use only the comments in this sheet. NUMBERED COMMENTS: [Paste numbered comments here]
Use: You
Merge themes that mean the same thing and rename any label that could mislead a reader.
Check the list is short and each label is clear.
Use: Copilot in Excel
Ask Copilot in Excel to assign each comment row to one approved theme.
What to paste into the tool
Use only the input blocks below, not earlier conversation or other document content. Treat missing required input as still to confirm and ask for it. Return a draft only; do not send, share, publish, book, buy or sign anything. Task: Categorize survey comments. Assign each comment row to exactly one theme from the approved list, writing the theme into a new column. If no theme fits, write 'other'. Do not invent new themes. APPROVED THEME LIST: [Paste approved theme list here] NUMBERED COMMENTS: [Paste numbered comments here]
Use: You
Read every comment and correct its theme. Count each theme from the corrected rows; add a short description and one exact source quote per theme.
Check all totals. File the spreadsheet and summary as drafts; share nothing.
Pick A for very large exports that need batching, B for medium sets that fit one paste and benefit from quoted examples, C when the export already lives in Excel and every row should be reviewed in place.
Best when: You want to work through comments in batches.
What it does: ChatGPT drafts and merges; you check and recount.
Strong at: Writes, rewrites and summarises text.
Limit: Free plan limits file uploads, so paste text instead.
Free plan: Yes, limited (images, voice, file uploads)
Best when: You want all comments themed in one pass.
What it does: Claude themes and recounts; you check each comment.
Strong at: Drafts and edits text; summarises documents.
Limit: Usage is capped in 5-hour and weekly windows.
Free plan: Yes, limited (usage capped in 5-hour and weekly windows)
Best when: Your comments already live in Excel.
What it does: Copilot in Excel sorts each row; you check each assignment.
Strong at: Edits worksheets and builds charts and PivotTables from prompts.
Limit: Needs a Microsoft 365 plan with Copilot; editing needs Automatic calculation.
Free plan: Paid plan needed
Before you paste into any AI tool, remove any confidential information. Put it back at the end.
Deciding between ChatGPT and Claude for this? See the comparison.
You verify theme assignments and counts before the summary is treated as final.
Output remains a draft
Check the result against your original inputs. Approve it before sharing or acting.
ChatGPT free use is stated on OpenAI's help centre; free-tier message and length limits are not stated on the pages we checked, as of 2026-10-28.
Whether a full comment set fits one Claude conversation is unchecked
Copilot in-app use in Excel may require a specific Microsoft 365 licence