Rows lets people use its AI spreadsheet before they sign up

Rows, which competes with free tools like Google Sheets, let people try its AI spreadsheet with no login, and on mobile it opens straight into a live sheet. A newsletter reports sign-up conversions rose 72% and activation was 30% higher. Mobile usage grew 35%, though mobile sign-up conversion was lower. Users of AI with the OpenAI integration upgraded at 10%, against about 0.3% for non-AI users.

By Race to Scale Desk, edited by Lila Odinaev. Published 24 Oct 2026. How we work

What they ran

Rows competes with free tools like Google Sheets, and it let people try its AI spreadsheet with no login. On a phone, opening Rows drops you straight into a live spreadsheet. The Rows homepage pitches by showing the product, such as asking AI to build models and calculators. The company's about page says the aim is solving business problems with spreadsheet skills alone.

What happened

A Growthmates newsletter breakdown reports sign-up conversions rose 72% after the wall came down. Activation was 30% higher through the loginless flow. Mobile usage grew 35%, and sessions without a login became a main route to activation. The tradeoff: mobile conversion to sign-up was lower, though product use was high. Users who saw the AI working were twice as likely to activate and convert. About 10% of users of AI with the OpenAI integration upgraded, against roughly 0.3% of non-AI users.

What the account does not show

The figures come from a third-party newsletter, not from data Rows published itself. The source gives no baselines, sample sizes or time windows. It does not say when the change shipped. The upgrade gap compares users who chose AI with those who did not, so it may reflect who opts in rather than the feature.

Questions

Did removing the sign-up wall increase sign-ups at Rows?

A newsletter reports sign-up conversions rose 72% after Rows removed the wall. On mobile, conversion to sign-up was lower even as product use was high.

How did Rows let people try the product without an account?

It launched a loginless experience for trying the AI spreadsheet instantly. On a phone, opening Rows lands users inside a live spreadsheet.

Did AI users upgrade more often at Rows?

Users of AI with the OpenAI integration had a 10% upgrade rate, against about 0.3% for non-AI users. Users who saw AI in action were twice as likely to activate and convert.