Google Sheet Fetch in ChatSyncs

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 — 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#

1. 1

   A subscriber sends a message

   e.g. they message the bot with an ID or trigger keyword.

2. 2

   ChatSyncs searches the sheet

   using whichever column you configured as the Search Column.

3. 3

   The matching row is found

   the one row whose Search Column value matches what the subscriber sent (or whatever value you configured as the Search Value).

4. 4

   The needed column values are read

   from that row.

5. 5

   Those values are stored as chatbot variables

   ready to use anywhere in a reply.

6. 6

   The bot replies using those variables

   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#

Custom Fields are created under Subscriber Manager, not inside the Google Sheets integration itself:

1. 1

   Open Manage Custom Fields

   In Subscriber Manager, click Manage, then Custom Fields — this opens the Manage Custom Fields panel.

   

2. 2

   Create a field for every column you'll assign

   Click Create Custom Field, give it a name, and pick a Reply Type matching what the column holds.

   

   

3. 3

   Repeat for every field your reply will use

   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 — 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:

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.

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:

1. 1

   Start Bot Flow

   Set a trigger, e.g. the keyword data with Exact keyword match.

2. 2

   Add a Google Sheet Data Fetch step

   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.

3. 3

   Reply using the fetched fields

   Add a Text step and reference each custom field wrapped in #...#:

   CodeCopy

   Here are your details
   Name: #Name#
   Employee id: #employee id#
   Department: #Department#
   Designation: #Designation#,
   Email: #Email#
   
   Thank You!

4. 4

   Save

   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:

Product lookup example — sheet:

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#

Frequently asked#