At its core, the COUNTIFS function is designed to count the number of cells that meet multiple conditions. Unlike its simpler counterpart, COUNTIF, which only evaluates a single criterion, COUNTIFS can handle multiple criteria simultaneously. This makes it an invaluable asset for complex data analysis tasks.

The AND function is a logical function in Excel that returns TRUE if all specified conditions are met; otherwise, it returns FALSE. This capability is especially useful when you want to assess multiple conditions simultaneously, enabling efficient data analysis.