Spreadsheet Import

Spreadsheet Import allows you to upload products using a CSV or Excel file. This is ideal when you have existing product data or need to process products from image URLs.

Import Types

Image URL Import

Upload a spreadsheet with image URLs:

• merchi.ai downloads images from URLs
• Processes them to generate content
• Creates products with your provided data

Scrape Import

Upload a spreadsheet with product page URLs:

• merchi.ai visits each page
• Extracts images and existing content
• Generates enhanced descriptions

Preparing Your Spreadsheet

File Formats

Supported formats:

• CSV (.csv)
• Excel (.xls, .xlsx)

Required Columns

For Image URL Import, each row must have a product_id and at least one of:

Column	Description
product_id	Unique product identifier
image_url	URL to a product image (JPEG, PNG, WebP, etc.)
file_url	URL to a product image or PDF document — type is auto-detected from the file extension

image_url and file_url can both be present on the same row.

For Scrape Import:

Column	Description
product_id	Unique product identifier
url	Product page URL to scrape

Optional Columns

You can include any additional columns that would help generate better content. Here are some examples:

Column	Description
category	Product category/taxonomy
brand	Brand name
title	Existing title (can be enhanced)
description	Existing description
price	Product price
sku	Alternative product identifier

Feel free to add any other columns with information that would be useful for content generation—the more context you provide, the better the output will be.

Import Process

Step 1: Select Import Type

1. Go to Add Products
2. Choose Product Spreadsheet or Scrape Spreadsheet

Step 2: Upload File

1. Click to browse or drag and drop
2. Select your CSV or Excel file
3. Wait for file to be parsed

Step 3: Map Columns

The importer will show detected columns:

1. Verify column mappings
2. Map required fields (product_id and image_url, file_url, or url)
3. Map any additional fields you want to use

Step 4: Select Model

Choose the AI model for processing:

• Select from available models
• Different models may produce different results

Step 5: Start Import

1. Review your settings
2. Click Start Import
3. Wait for processing to complete

File URL Requirements

For Image URL Import, URLs in image_url or file_url must be:

• Publicly accessible (no authentication required)
• Direct links to the file (not a webpage)

Supported image formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, BMP, SVG

Supported document formats: PDF

Example URLs:

https://example.com/images/product-001.jpg
https://cdn.mystore.com/products/SKU123/main.png
https://example.com/datasheets/SKU123-spec.pdf

Using PDFs

If file_url points to a PDF, merchi.ai will:

• Send the full PDF content to the AI for generating titles, descriptions, and attributes
• Create a thumbnail from the first page of the PDF
• Store the PDF in the product’s document library

You can include both an image and a PDF on the same row:

product_id,image_url,file_url,category
SKU-001,https://example.com/img/sku001.jpg,https://example.com/docs/sku001.pdf,Plumbing
SKU-002,,https://example.com/docs/sku002.pdf,Electrical

Column Mapping

Automatic Detection

The importer attempts to detect columns:

• Recognizes common column names
• Suggests appropriate mappings
• Shows preview of data

Manual Mapping

For unrecognized columns:

1. Select the target field from dropdown
2. Verify sample data looks correct
3. Skip columns you don’t need

Multiple Images

To import multiple images per product:

• Use separate rows for each image
• Keep the same product_id
• Different image_url for each row

Example:

product_id,image_url
SKU-001,https://example.com/sku001-front.jpg
SKU-001,https://example.com/sku001-back.jpg
SKU-001,https://example.com/sku001-detail.jpg
SKU-002,https://example.com/sku002-main.jpg

Best Practices

Data Quality

• Ensure URLs are valid and accessible
• Use consistent product IDs
• Clean up data before import
• Remove duplicates

Image Quality

• Use high-resolution image URLs
• Verify images are publicly accessible
• Test a few URLs before bulk import

Start Small

• Test with 5-10 products first
• Verify results meet expectations
• Then import larger batches

Troubleshooting

Images or PDFs Not Downloading

• Verify URLs are publicly accessible (try opening in an incognito browser)
• Check for authentication requirements
• Ensure URLs aren’t behind a login or firewall
• Confirm the URL is a direct file link, not a webpage

Mapping Issues

• Check column headers for typos
• Verify data format in cells
• Try renaming columns to match expected names

Import Failures

• Check spreadsheet for errors
• Verify all required columns present
• Look for special characters in data

Out of Credits

• Credits are checked before processing begins
• If you see a “credits exhausted” message, upgrade your plan or wait for your credits to refresh
• Each product row consumes 1 credit during processing
• Check your remaining credits in the sidebar

After Import

Once import completes:

1. Go to All Products View
2. Filter to see new products
3. Review generated content
4. Approve or edit as needed