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How to Make a Bubble Chart in Google Sheets with AI

Cody Schneider•

Trying to show how different marketing campaigns perform based on spend, click-through rate, and the revenue they generate all in one chart can feel impossible with a standard bar graph or scatter plot. When you need to visualize three or even four sets of data at once, a bubble chart is exactly what you need. This quick tutorial walks you through how to structure your data and build a bubble chart in Google Sheets, plus how an AI assistant can make the process even faster.

Why Bother with a Bubble Chart?

Think of a bubble chart as a scatter plot with an added superpower. While a scatter plot shows the relationship between two different variables (on an X and Y axis), a bubble chart introduces a third dimension through the size of the data points - the "bubbles." This allows you to communicate more complex stories in a single visualization.

Here's the breakdown of what each element represents:

  • The X-Axis (Horizontal Position): Represents your first numeric variable.

  • The Y-Axis (Vertical Position): Represents your second numeric variable.

  • Bubble Size: Represents your third numeric variable, showing its magnitude. Larger bubbles mean a larger value.

  • Bubble Color (Optional): Can be used to represent a fourth, categorical variable, like a region, campaign type, or product category.

This is incredibly useful for instantly spotting relationships that would otherwise be hidden in a spreadsheet. For example, you can quickly identify outliers, like a high-spending campaign with a small bubble (meaning low revenue) or a low-spending campaign with a surprisingly large bubble (a high-ROI winner!).

Practical Examples for Business

To make it more concrete, here's how different teams might use a bubble chart:

  • Marketing Teams: Visualize paid ad campaign performance.

    • X-Axis: Ad Spend

    • Y-Axis: Click-Through Rate (CTR)

    • Bubble Size: Total Conversions or Revenue

    • Color: Campaign Platform (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads)

  • Sales Managers: Analyze sales rep performance for the quarter.

    • X-Axis: Number of Deals Closed

    • Y-Axis: Average Deal Size

    • Bubble Size: Total Revenue by Rep

    • Color: Sales Region (e.g., North, South, East, West)

  • E-commerce Managers: Compare product performance on the website.

    • X-Axis: Number of Product Page Views

    • Y-Axis: Add-to-Cart Rate

    • Bubble Size: Total Units Sold

    • Color: Product Category (e.g., Apparel, Accessories, Footwear)

Setting Up Your Data in Google Sheets

Before you can make your chart, your data needs to be organized correctly. Bubble charts are powerful, but they are particular about their setup. You need to arrange your data in columns, with each row representing a single item (like a marketing campaign or sales rep).

Your sheet should have at least four columns in this specific order:

  1. Column A (ID or Label): This contains the names for your bubbles. This should be text, like "Campaign Alpha" or "John Smith."

  2. Column B (X-Axis): Your first set of numeric data. For our later marketing example, this will be Ad Spend.

  3. Column C (Y-Axis): Your second set of numeric data, like Click-Through Rate.

  4. Column D (Bubble Size): Your third set of numeric data. The numbers in this column will determine how large each bubble is. These values must be positive.

Here is an example dataset for a marketing campaign analysis. We will use this to build our chart.

How to Create a Bubble Chart in Google Sheets (The Manual Way)

Once your data is neatly arranged, creating the chart is just a few clicks away. Follow these steps carefully.

Step 1: Select Your Data

Click and drag your cursor to highlight all the cells containing your data, including the headers. In our example, you would select the range A1:D6.

Step 2: Insert Chart

With your data selected, navigate to the top menu and click on Insert > Chart. Google Sheets will automatically create a chart for you, but it probably won’t be a bubble chart right away. Don’t panic - this is normal.

Step 3: Choose "Bubble chart" from the Chart Editor

A Chart editor panel will appear on the right side of your screen. Under the "Setup" tab, find the "Chart type" dropdown menu. Scroll down until you find the "Scatter" section and select "Bubble chart."

Your chart will now transform into a bubble chart. Google Sheets is usually smart about assigning the columns to the right fields, but it’s always a good idea to double-check that everything is in its correct place.

  • ID: Should point to your labels column (A1:A6).

  • X-axis: Should point to your X-axis column (B1:B6).

  • Y-axis: Should be your Y-axis column (C1:C6).

  • Size: Should be your bubble size column (D1:D6).

Step 4: Customize Your Bubble Chart for Clarity

Your basic bubble chart is now ready, but a little customization will make it easier to read and more professional. Click on the "Customize" tab in the Chart editor to start polishing.

  • Chart & axis titles: The most important step! Give your chart a clear title, like "Marketing Campaign Performance." Then, label your horizontal and vertical axes (e.g., "Ad Spend ($)" and "Click-Through Rate (%)"). This gives viewers essential context.

  • Series: Here, you can change the color of your bubbles. If you had a fourth column for categories, this is where you could assign colors to each category automatically. You can also add data labels to show the specific value of each bubble.

  • Legend: Adjust the position of the legend or remove it if it's not needed. With a bubble chart, the "legend" often just shows what the bubble size represents.

  • Horizontal/Vertical axis: Tweak the minimum and maximum values for your axes to zoom in on the data. For instance, if all your CTR values are between 1% and 5%, you can set the Y-axis range accordingly to spread the bubbles out more.

  • Gridlines and Ticks: Add or remove gridlines to make the chart cleaner or easier to read.

After a few adjustments, you'll have a clear visual report that instantly tells the story of your campaign performance.

Speeding Things Up: Using AI as Your Data Sidekick

Manually creating a bubble chart in Google Sheets is straightforward once you know the steps, but sometimes the hardest part is getting started - especially if you're not a data expert. This is where AI assistants like ChatGPT can be incredibly helpful.

You can't ask Google Sheets to automatically "create a bubble chart" using AI just yet, but you can use an AI chat tool as your expert guide to do the prep work for you, saving you valuable time and head-scratching.

1. Get Help Structuring Your Data

If you're unsure how to arrange columns for a bubble chart, just ask! Describe the data you have, and the AI will tell you exactly how to set up your spreadsheet.

Example Prompt:"I have data on five sales reps: their total deals closed, their average sale amount, and their total revenue generated. I want to make a bubble chart in Google Sheets. How should I organize this data in my spreadsheet?"

2. Generate Quick 'Dummy' Data to Practice

Don't have a dataset ready but want to practice making a bubble chart? Tell the AI to create one for you. This is an excellent way to get a feel for the process without worrying about using your own business data at first.

Example Prompt:"Create a 5-row table of sample data for a marketing bubble chart. Please include columns for Campaign Name (ID), Monthly Ad Spend (X-axis), Conversion Rate (Y-axis), and Total Sales Driven (Bubble Size)."The AI will provide a perfectly structured table that you can copy and paste directly into Google Sheets to start building your chart.

3. Ask for Complex Formulas

What if your sheet has 'Impressions' and 'Clicks,' but you need 'Click-Through Rate' for your Y-axis? Instead of searching for the right formula, just ask your AI assistant.

Example Prompt:"I have clicks in column D and impressions in column E in my Google Sheet. What formula can I use in Column F to calculate the Click-Through Rate?"It'll give a direct formula, something like =D2/E2, which you can then format to a percentage. Using AI this way helps bridge the knowledge gap, empowering anyone on the team to work with data more effectively without needing to be an Excel wizard.

Final Thoughts

You've now seen how to plan, structure, and create a multi-dimensional bubble chart right inside Google Sheets. It's a fantastic method for finding relationships in your data that might otherwise go unnoticed. By also using AI as a guide to help structure tables, generate examples, or write formulas, the once-intimidating task of data visualization becomes far more accessible.

But let's be honest - finding the data, exporting it from various platforms, and wrangling it into the right format in a spreadsheet is still the most time-consuming part of the job. We built Graphed to let you skip that manual process entirely. By connecting your sources like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, Shopify, or HubSpot directly to our platform, you can simply describe the dashboard you need in plain English. There's no more need to set up charts manually - just ask something like, "Show me a comparison of Facebook ad spend vs. revenue by campaign for last month" and get a real-time, interactive dashboard in seconds.