Contacts

Import Contacts

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If you already have a customer database in a spreadsheet or exported from another system, you do not need to manually enter every contact into Chatmo. The import feature lets you bring in hundreds or thousands of contacts at once from CSV or Excel files.

Before You Start: Preparing Your Import File

A clean import file makes the difference between a smooth upload and a frustrating error-correction session. Take a few minutes to prepare your data before you begin.

Supported File Formats

Format	Extension	Notes
CSV (Comma-Separated Values)	.csv	Most universally compatible; use UTF-8 encoding for special characters
Microsoft Excel	.xlsx	Supports multiple sheets, but only the first sheet will be imported

Available Columns

Chatmo recognizes the following columns during the mapping process:

Column	Field Name	Can Be Skipped?	Description
First Name	first_name	No (locked)	The contact's first name
Last Name	last_name	Yes	The contact's last name
Email	email	No (locked)	Email address — can also be used as a duplicate matching field
Phone	phone	No (locked)	Phone number — can also be used as a duplicate matching field
Tags	tags	Yes	Comma-separated list of tags

Fields marked "locked" cannot be skipped during column mapping — columns from your file must be mapped to these fields.

Format Requirements

Keep these formatting rules in mind as you prepare your file:

• Headers must be in the first row. Chatmo reads the first row as column names for field mapping.
• One contact per row. Each row in your file becomes one contact record.
• Keep it clean. Remove any summary rows, totals, or blank rows at the end of the file.
• UTF-8 encoding is recommended if your data contains non-Latin characters.

3-Step Import Process

The contact import process in Chatmo consists of 3 sequential steps: Upload, Match, and Import. Here is what each step involves.

Step 1: Upload

1. Navigate to the Contacts page from the sidebar.
2. Click the Import button at the top of the page.
3. The import modal opens on the Upload step.
4. Select and upload a CSV or Excel file from your computer.
5. If you do not have a file ready, use the template download buttons to get a CSV or Excel file with the correct column structure.

Step 2: Match

After the file uploads successfully, you move to the column mapping step. Here you match columns from your file to fields in Chatmo.

Each mapping row displays three elements:

Element	Description
File Column	The column name from your uploaded file
Chatmo Column	The target field in Chatmo (select from the dropdown: first_name, last_name, email, phone, or tags)
Action	How to handle the data — choose one of the three options below

Available Action options:

Action	Description
Overwrite	Replaces the existing value in Chatmo with the imported data
Update blank only	Only fills the field if it is currently empty — existing data will not be overwritten
Content mapping	Matches contacts by this field to detect duplicates. Only available for the email and phone fields

Step 3: Import

After column mapping is complete, you move to the final step to review and execute the import.

1. Review the mapping summary you have configured.
2. Click the button to start the import process.
3. Wait for the import to complete.

Handling Duplicates

Duplicate handling in Chatmo is controlled through the Action column during the Match step. Here is how it works:

• Use the Content mapping action on the email or phone field to specify which field is used for duplicate matching. If an email or phone number from the import file matches an existing contact, that record is treated as the same contact.
• For other fields, choose Overwrite if you want to replace existing data, or Update blank only if you only want to fill in fields that are currently empty.

This approach gives you per-field control over how imported data interacts with existing contact records in your database.

Validation and Error Handling

Chatmo validates your data during the import process. Common validation errors include:

• Invalid phone number format — The number is too short, too long, or contains non-numeric characters
• Missing required field — A row is missing data for a locked field
• Data type mismatch — A value that does not match the expected format for the target field

What's Next?

• Contact Segments — Organize your imported contacts into targeted groups.
• Contact Management — Learn about editing, searching, and managing your full contact database.