How to Make a Double Bar Graph in Excel with AI

Creating a double bar graph in Excel is an excellent way to compare two different sets of data side-by-side. Whether you're tracking sales figures over two years or comparing performance metrics for different products, this type of chart makes visual comparisons instant and clear. This guide will walk you through creating one using Excel’s built-in tools and introduce a newer, faster AI-powered method.

What is a Double Bar Graph?

A double bar graph, often called a clustered bar chart or grouped bar chart, is a visualization that uses parallel bars to show a direct comparison between two or more categories across the same axis. Instead of having a single bar for each category, you get a small group of bars, with each bar in the group representing a different data series. This is incredibly useful when you want to answer questions like:

• How did our sales in Q1 of this year compare to Q1 of last year?

• Which marketing channel (e.g., Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads) brought in more leads each month?

• How did two different student groups score on the same series of tests?

The goal is to provide an immediate visual check on which series is performing better, worse, or staying the same across various categories. It’s a simple but powerful tool for telling a comparative story with your data.

Method 1: The Traditional Way in Excel

Building a double bar graph manually in Excel is a straightforward process once you know the steps. It comes down to organizing your data correctly and then letting Excel’s chart tools do the initial heavy lifting.

Step 1: Organize Your Data

Proper data setup is the most important part of this process. If your data isn't structured correctly, Excel will get confused and produce a chart you don't want. You need at least three columns:

• Column A: Your categories (the x-axis labels). This could be months, quarters, product names, or any other items you're comparing.

• Column B: The first data series you want to plot. For example, "2023 Revenue."

• Column C: The second data series you want to plot. For example, "2024 Revenue."

Your table should look something like this:

Step 2: Select Your Data Range

Click and drag your mouse to select the entire table, including the column headers (the labels in the first row) and the category labels in the first column. In our example, you’d select the range A1:C5. Including the headers is critical because Excel will use them to automatically create the chart legend and axis labels, saving you a bit of manual work later.

Step 3: Insert the Chart

With your data selected, follow these clicks:

1. Navigate to the Insert tab on the Excel ribbon.

2. In the Charts section, find and click the icon that looks like a bar chart (it’s labeled "Insert Column or Bar Chart").

3. A dropdown menu will appear. Under the "2-D Column" section, select the very first option: Clustered Column.

Excel will instantly drop a double bar graph (as a column chart) onto your worksheet.

Quick Tip: A "column chart" uses vertical bars, while a "bar chart" uses horizontal bars. The process is identical - just choose "Clustered Bar" instead of "Clustered Column" for horizontal bars.

Step 4: Customize Your Chart for Clarity

The chart Excel generates is a great start, but a few quick customizations will make it look professional and much easier to read. When your chart is selected, you'll see a green plus sign (+) icon appear on the top right. Click this icon to add or remove chart elements.

Add a descriptive chart title

The default title is usually something generic like "Chart Title." Click on it directly and type in a new name that clearly explains what the chart is showing, like "2023 vs. 2024 Sales Performance by Quarter."

Label your axes

While the quarter labels are clear, the vertical axis (the Y-axis) just shows numbers. Give it context. Click the green plus sign, check the box for Axis Titles, and then edit the newly appeared "Axis Title" boxes. The vertical axis could be "Sales in USD" and the horizontal axis "Fiscal Quarters." This removes any guesswork for your audience.

Adjust colors and styles

Excel’s default colors might not match your company branding or presentation theme. With the chart selected, a Chart Design tab appears on the ribbon. You can use the "Change Colors" option to try different color palettes or click on "Chart Styles" to quickly apply a predefined design that might include a different background or font treatment. For more specific color changes, you can right-click on any individual bar and choose "Fill" to select a new color for that entire data series.

Add data labels

Sometimes, it's easier to see the exact value of each bar without having to trace it back to the axis. Click the green plus sign again and check the box for Data Labels. Excel will place the precise numerical value right above each bar. Right-clicking the labels gives you options for formatting them further (like adding thousand separators or dollar signs).

The Challenges of the Manual Method

Following the steps above works perfectly well, but anyone who has built reports in Excel knows the reality. This manual process can feel repetitive and time-consuming, especially when you're under pressure. Making a single chart might take five minutes. But what happens when your boss asks for ten different comparison charts? Or wants to see the same data sliced in a new way? That five minutes multiplies quickly into an hour of clicking, formatting, and re-checking your data. The bigger issue is that this method tethers you to the manual labor of building the report instead of letting you focus on understanding the insights within it. Any changes or follow-up questions often mean starting the process all over again. This is where modern AI tools are starting to change the game entirely.

Method 2: The Fast Track with AI

Instead of clicking through menus and manually formatting charts, AI analytics tools allow you to generate them with simple, conversational language. Think of it as telling Excel what you want instead of showing it step-by-step.

Step 1: Connect Your Data Source

Modern AI reporting platforms connect directly to your data source, whether it's an Excel file on your computer, a Google Sheet in the cloud, or even your CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce. You connect the file or platform once, and the tool can access the data in real-time. This eliminates the need to constantly copy and paste or download CSVs before you can start analyzing.

Step 2: Ask for Your Chart in Plain English

This is where the real speed comes in. Once your data is connected, you can simply type a request - a prompt - describing the chart you want. You could ask for our double bar graph like this:

Create a double bar graph comparing 2023 sales and 2024 sales by quarter.

The AI interprets your request, identifies the corresponding data, and generates the clustered bar chart instantly. You skip all the manual selecting, inserting, and initial formatting.

Step 3: Refine and Explore with Follow-up Questions

The truly powerful part is what comes next. You can customize the chart and dig deeper by continuing the conversation. Instead of finding the right-click menu, you could just say:

• "Change the title to 'Quarterly Sales Growth Y/Y'."

• "Make the 2024 bars green."

• "Now show this as a line chart instead."

• "Which quarter had the highest percentage growth?"

This conversational approach transforms chart-building from a rigid, multi-step task into a flexible and interactive data exploration process. You move from output to insight almost instantly.

Why the AI Approach is a Better Way Forward

Using AI for a task like creating a double bar graph isn't just a novelty, it offers practical advantages that make reporting more efficient and data analysis more accessible.

• Unmatched Speed: Hours of manual report building can be compressed into a few minutes of conversation. You can generate variations and answer follow-up questions in seconds, not hours.

• Zero Learning Curve: You don't need to be an Excel power user or take an 8-hour course on a complex business intelligence tool. If you can ask a question, you can analyze your data. This gets your whole team, even non-technical members, involved with data.

• Reduced Human Error: Manual selection can lead to errors, like highlighting the wrong data range or forgetting to include headers. An AI approach minimizes these mistakes by directly interpreting your request.

• Focus on Insights: By automating the tedious visualization work, you get to spend your time exploring the "why" behind the numbers. The technology handles the "what," freeing you up for strategic thinking and better decision-making.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to make a double bar graph in Excel is a fundamental data visualization skill that's valuable for anyone in a data-driven role. The traditional step-by-step method is reliable and gets the job done. However, for those who need to build reports quickly and explore data without being slowed down by software menus, AI offers a profoundly more efficient alternative. At Graphed, we created a platform designed to make data analysis as simple as having a conversation. You can connect your spreadsheets or cloud applications and ask questions in plain English, and our tooling builds live, interactive dashboards for you in seconds. We automate the repetitive, manual reporting work so you can stop wrestling with charts and spend more time uncovering the insights that will actually drive your business forward.