> ## 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 > Google Sheet Fetch lets a WhatsApp bot look up a row in a connected Google Sheet during a live conversation and reply using its values — an employee directory, a product catalog, an order tracker. Use this when a customer wants their bot to answer from data that lives in a spreadsheet instead of being hardcoded, and covers the easy-to-miss prerequisite: matching Subscriber Custom Fields must exist before you can map sheet columns to them. Google Sheet Data Fetch Campaigns screen with API Name and Google Sheet List fields, and a Verify Connection button **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](/learn/control-panel-google-sheet-integration) 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 **WhatsApp → Subscriber Manager**, not inside Settings & Integration: In **Subscriber Manager**, click **Manage**, then **Manage Custom Fields**. WhatsApp Subscriber Manager page with the Manage dropdown open, showing Manage Labels and Manage Custom Fields Click **Create** on the **WhatsApp Subscriber Custom Fields** page. WhatsApp Subscriber Custom Fields list with a Create button and a Data has been saved successfully toast Give it a **Custom Field Name** and a **Reply Type** (e.g. `Text`, `Phone`, `Email`) matching what the column holds. Create Custom Field modal with Custom Field Name set to phone and Reply Type set to Phone A real example set of custom fields, created ahead of time for an employee-lookup bot: WhatsApp Subscriber Custom Fields list showing six fields: Phone (Phone), Email (Email), Designation (Text), Department (Text), Name (Text), and employee id (Text) | Name | Reply Type | | ----------- | ---------- | | Phone | Phone | | Email | Email | | Designation | Text | | Department | Text | | Name | Text | | employee id | Text | ## Set up the fetch campaign ### Connect a Google account and sheet (if you haven't already) Connected Google Accounts and a Google Sheets section with Create New Sheet and Add Existing Sheet buttons, and a list of two sheets Google Sheet Fetch reads from a sheet that's already connected under [Google Sheet Integration](/learn/control-panel-google-sheet-integration) — **Create New Sheet** or **Add Existing Sheet** there first if you haven't. ### Find Google Sheet Fetch in Settings & Integration Settings & Integration sidebar with Security, E-commerce, Google Sheet, Google Sheet Data Fetch (highlighted), HTTP API, and AI Training Campaign entries It sits alongside the other integrations, under **Control Panel → Settings & Integration**. ### Create the campaign Google Sheet Data Fetch Campaigns list with five existing campaigns, and a Connect Your Google Sheet form below with API Name and Google Sheet List fields Give the connection an **API Name**, and pick the sheet from **Google Sheet List** — for example, a sheet called **Customer Data** containing an employee directory: Google Sheet named Customer Data with columns Employee ID, Name, Department, Designation, Email, Phone and five rows of employee records | 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 mapping Phone to Subscriber ID / Phone Number, and Assign mapping Employee ID, Name, Email, Department, and Designation to their matching custom fields * **Search Data** — which sheet column to search by, and what to compare it against. 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: `Employee ID` → `employee id`, `Name` → `Name`, `Email` → `Email`, `Department` → `Department`, `Designation` → `Designation`. Click **+ Map Data** to add more pairs. 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, as a **Google Sheet Data Fetch** flow step: Chatbot Manager Keyword Replies Settings list showing several flows including one named google sheet test Bot flow with a Start Bot Flow node triggered by the keyword data, connected to a Google Sheet Data Fetch node named Google Data, connected to a Text reply node, with a Configure Text Message panel showing the reply using hash-wrapped field variables 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 → 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 — [Google Sheet Integration](/learn/control-panel-google-sheet-integration) 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.