> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chatsyncs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Google Sheet Fetch in ChatSyncs
> Google Sheet Fetch lets a WhatsApp bot look up a row in a connected sheet mid-conversation and reply using its values — for an employee directory, catalog, or order tracker.
**Google Sheet Fetch** lets a WhatsApp bot look something up in a Google Sheet *in the middle of
a conversation*, so it can reply with real information — instead of that information being
typed into the bot itself.
Think of it like this: Google Sheet Integration — see [How to Connect Google to
ChatSyncs](/learn/chatsyncs-integrations/connect-google-to-chatsyncs) — is the bot **writing** into your
sheet. Google Sheet Fetch is the opposite — the bot **reading** from your sheet.
**Example:** say you keep an employee list in a Google Sheet. Someone messages the bot with an
Employee ID, and the bot looks that row up and replies with the person's name, department, and
phone number — pulled straight from the sheet.
The best part: if you edit the sheet — add a new employee, fix a phone number — the bot's next
reply already uses the updated info. You don't have to touch the bot at all. This makes it
great for anything that changes often: an employee directory, a price list, order status,
appointment schedules, inventory, student records, an FAQ list, branch info, or membership
details.
## How it works
e.g. they message the bot with an ID or trigger keyword.
using whichever column you configured as the Search Column.
the one row whose Search Column value matches what the subscriber sent (or whatever value you configured as the Search Value).
from that row.
ready to use anywhere in a reply.
a personalized message built from live spreadsheet data.
```
Subscriber message
│
▼
ChatSyncs searches the Search Column
│
▼
Matching row found
│
▼
Column values → chatbot variables
│
▼
Personalized reply sent
```
## Prerequisite: create matching Custom Fields first
**This is the step that's easy to miss, and the most common reason Google Sheet Fetch shows an
error.** Every column you plan to map under **Assign** must already exist as a **Subscriber
Custom Field** — if the field doesn't exist yet, it won't be available to select as a Data
Field, and the mapping (or the bot reply using it) will fail.
Custom Fields are created under **Subscriber Manager**, not inside the Google Sheets integration
itself:
In **Subscriber Manager**, click **Manage**, then **Custom Fields** — this opens the
**Manage Custom Fields** panel.
Click **Create Custom Field**, give it a name, and pick a **Reply Type** matching what the
column holds.
For an employee-lookup bot, create one field for each column you plan to search by or return:
| Name | Reply Type |
| ----------- | ---------- |
| Phone | Phone |
| Email | Email |
| Designation | Text |
| Department | Text |
| Name | Text |
| employee id | Text |
## Set up the fetch campaign
### Find Google Sheet Fetch in Integrations
Open **Chatbot Manager → \[your bot] → Integrations**, then the **Google Sheets** sub-tab —
it sits alongside HTTP API, Autoresponder, Email, and SMS.
### Connect a Google account (if you haven't already)
Click **Connect Google Account** at the top of the page and sign in — this is the same Google
connection used by Google Sheet Integration — see [How to Connect Google to
ChatSyncs](/learn/chatsyncs-integrations/connect-google-to-chatsyncs) — for writing to
sheets, so if you've already connected one there, it's available here too.
### Create the campaign
In the **Connect Your Google Sheet** panel, give the connection an **API Name**, then pick the
sheet from **Google Sheet List** — it shows your connected Google account and every sheet
available to it:
For example, a sheet called **Customer Data** containing an employee directory:
| Employee ID | Name | Department | Designation | Email | Phone |
| ----------- | ------------ | ---------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| EMP001 | Rahul Reddy | IT | Software Engineer | [rahul@company.com](mailto:rahul@company.com) | 919959623255 |
| EMP002 | Priya Sharma | HR | HR Executive | [priya@company.com](mailto:priya@company.com) | 919123456789 |
| EMP003 | Arjun Kumar | Sales | Sales Manager | [arjun@company.com](mailto:arjun@company.com) | 919988776655 |
| EMP004 | Sneha Patel | Finance | Accountant | [sneha@company.com](mailto:sneha@company.com) | 919012345678 |
| EMP005 | Vikram Singh | Marketing | Marketing Lead | [vikram@company.com](mailto:vikram@company.com) | 919871234567 |
The sheet's first row must be column headers — every column below it becomes a field you can
search by or assign.
### Search Data and Assign
**Search Data** — pick which sheet column to search by (**File Header**), and what subscriber
value to compare it against (**Data Field**):
Here, **Phone** (the sheet column) is matched against **Subscriber ID / Phone Number** (the
subscriber's own WhatsApp number) — so the bot automatically looks up *the row for whoever is
messaging it*, with no manual ID entry needed.
**Assign** — map every other column you want back to the **Custom Field** you created for it.
Click **+ Map Data** to add another File Header/Data Field pair:
Click **Verify Connection** to confirm the sheet is reachable and every mapped field returns
real data.
If a **Data Field** you need isn't in the dropdown, stop and go create it as a **Subscriber
Custom Field** first (see the prerequisite above) — don't try to type a new name in on the fly.
## Use it inside a Keyword Replies flow
Once the campaign is configured, the actual lookup happens inside a **Keyword Replies** flow
(under **Chatbot Manager → \[your bot] → Automation → Keyword Replies**), as a
**Google Sheet Data Fetch** flow step:
Set a trigger, e.g. the keyword `data` with **Exact keyword match**.
Pick the fetch campaign you configured above (e.g. `Google Data`). Use **Test Google Sheet
New** to try it against a real subscriber while building the flow.
Add a **Text** step and reference each custom field wrapped in `#...#`:
```
Here are your details
Name: #Name#
Employee id: #employee id#
Department: #Department#
Designation: #Designation#,
Email: #Email#
Thank You!
```
Click **Save** (or **Save Changes**) on the flow, and **Save** in the top bar to publish it
to the connected WhatsApp number.
With the example data above, a subscriber whose WhatsApp number matches **EMP001**'s Phone gets:
```
Here are your details
Name: Rahul Reddy
Employee id: EMP001
Department: IT
Designation: Software Engineer,
Email: rahul@company.com
Thank You!
```
## More examples
Google Sheet Fetch works the same way for any lookup — only the Search Column and the mapped
fields change:
| Business scenario | Search Column | Returns |
| -------------------- | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Employee lookup | Employee ID | Name, Department, Phone |
| Product lookup | Product ID | Product Name, Price, Stock |
| Hospital | Doctor ID | Doctor Name, Department, Consultation Fee, Available Time |
| Customer information | Customer ID | Customer Name, Membership Status, Contact Details |
| Order tracking | Order ID | Order Status, Courier Name, Tracking Number |
**Product lookup example** — sheet:
| Product ID | Product | Price | Stock |
| ---------- | -------------- | ----- | ----- |
| P001 | Wireless Mouse | 799 | 45 |
Mapped to `product_name`, `product_price`, `product_stock`, the reply becomes:
```
Product: Wireless Mouse
Price: ₹799
Available Stock: 45
```
## Benefits
* No coding required.
* Always uses live data — update the sheet, not the bot flow.
* One search can return several fields at once.
* Works for practically any lookup-style business process.
* Cuts down on manually rebuilding flows when information changes.
## Best practices
* **Create every Subscriber Custom Field before mapping it** — this is the #1 cause of a broken
or erroring fetch.
* **Always click Verify Connection** after mapping fields — a typo in a **File Header** (it must
match the sheet's actual column header exactly) makes the fetch silently return no data
instead of erroring.
* **Keep sheet column headers unique and consistent** — don't rename a column without updating
the mapping.
* **Avoid duplicate values in the Search Column** — if two rows share the same ID or phone
number, the fetch can return the wrong row.
* **Test the full bot flow** (not just Verify Connection) before publishing, using **Test Google
Sheet New** inside the flow builder.
## Frequently asked
Create a **Google Sheet Fetch** campaign, map the sheet's phone-number column to the
subscriber's phone number under **Search Data**, then map the columns you want back (e.g.
Customer Name, Order ID) under **Assign** to matching Subscriber Custom Fields. Add a
**Google Sheet Data Fetch** step in a Keyword Replies flow and reference the fields in your reply.
The most common cause: one of the fields you mapped under **Assign** doesn't exist yet as a
**Subscriber Custom Field**. Go to **Subscriber Manager → Manage → Custom Fields**,
create it there first, then come back and map it.
**Search Data** tells ChatSyncs which sheet column to match against (how to find the right
row — usually the subscriber's phone number). **Assign** tells it which columns to pull back,
and which Custom Field to store each one in.
Yes — [How to Connect Google to ChatSyncs](/learn/chatsyncs-integrations/connect-google-to-chatsyncs) must be
connected first so ChatSyncs has access to the account that owns the sheet.
Add a **Google Sheet Data Fetch** step to a Keyword Replies flow, then in the following **Text**
step, reference each field as `#FieldName#` — matching the Custom Field's name exactly.