# How to configure a Google Sheet Integration

The **Google Sheet catalog integration** lets you manage your product data in a collaborative spreadsheet that syncs with your Reco & Merch environment.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Merchandising is not supported with the Google Sheet catalog integration
{% endhint %}

## Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

* An **active AB Tasty Recommendations & Merchandising** account
* Access to a **Google account** with Drive permissions
* A properly formatted Google Sheet with one product per row and attributes in columns (see below)

{% hint style="info" %}
Each product should be appears as a row, and each attribute (price, stock, brand, etc.) as a column.
{% endhint %}

## Google sheet integration

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Connect your Google Sheet

1. Go to **Settings → Integrations** in your AB Tasty dashboard.
2. Select **Google Sheet Catalog** from the list of integrations.
3. Paste the **Google Sheet link (shareable URL)** and grant “Viewer” or “Editor” access.
4. Validate the column mapping - AB Tasty will match your fields to its standard attributes (product id, name, price, etc.).
5. Click **Connect** to initialize the catalog import.

{% hint style="info" %}
Make sure the Sheet remains shared and accessible — private or deleted files will break the sync.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Expected data structure

| **Column name**                | **Description (Reco, Merch & Search context)**                           | **Required** |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------ |
| `product_id`                   | Unique product identifier (SKU). Key used by all algorithms and rules.   | ✅            |
| `name`                         | Product name displayed in recommendations and search results.            | ✅            |
| `url`                          | Product page URL for click tracking and redirection.                     | ✅            |
| `image_url`                    | Image displayed in recommendation widgets and search cards.              | ✅            |
| `price`                        | Product price used for display, sorting and boosting rules.              | ✅            |
| `currency`                     | ISO code (EUR, USD, etc.) used to display the correct price.             | ✅            |
| `category`, `brand`, `variant` | Metadata used for grouping, filtering and similarity rules.              | Optional     |
| `stock`                        | Availability or stock quantity.                                          | Optional     |
| `active`                       | Boolean defining if the product is active in recommendations and search. | Optional     |
| {% endstep %}                  |                                                                          |              |

{% step %}

### Manage updates

* Updates are made **manually** in the Google Sheet — any edit in the file will be reflected at the next sync.
* You can re-sync manually from the integration tab or wait for the next automatic import.
* Avoid changing column headers or deleting mandatory fields, as this may **break your existing strategies**.

{% hint style="info" %}
 The integration is ideal for testing, small catalogs, or simple setups — not for production environments with frequent updates.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Best practices

* Keep your Google Sheet clean and consistent (no merged cells or extra rows).
* Use **UTF-8 encoding** if exporting/importing the file.
* Lock column names once validated.
* Duplicate your Sheet before structural edits.
* When scaling, consider migrating to a **CSV or API catalog integration**.


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