Client briefs that write themselves
An agency or studio asks about scope, budget and deadline, then creates a brief named after the client. The link goes to the team by email and to the CRM in a HubSpot step.
Google Docs chatbot integration
The Google Docs step turns a conversation into a document. It can create a new doc from the visitor's answers, read the text of an existing doc into a variable, or append a new entry to the end of a doc your team already keeps.
Build on the Free plan. The Google Docs step runs on Pro ($39/month) and above.
- Builder step
- Google Docs: Create doc, Read doc, Append text
- How you connect
- Sign in with Google (OAuth, Docs access)
- Saved result
- Document link, or the document's text for Read doc
- Plan
- Pro and above (native integrations)
- Google accounts
- 3 on Pro, 10 on Business
What it does
What the Google Docs step can do
A lot of intake still ends with somebody copying chat answers into a document by hand: a client brief, a case summary, a project request. The Google Docs step does that copy for you. The bot asks its questions, then writes the answers into a new Google Doc laid out the way you want, and the link is ready for your team before the visitor has closed the tab.
It also works the other way round. Read doc pulls the plain text of a document into a variable, so a flow can show a policy, a menu or a set of instructions that your team edits in Google Docs without touching the bot. Append text adds a new entry to the end of a document, which suits running logs such as call notes or a feedback journal.
Create a document from answers
Give the document a title and content, both of which can include variables such as ${name} and ${company}. The step creates the doc in the connected account's Drive and inserts the content at the top.
Read a document's text
Read doc fetches a document and extracts its plain text, including the text inside tables and the table of contents. The text is saved to your result variable for use in later messages or steps.
Append to the end
Append text adds content after everything already in the document. Each run adds a new entry, so the doc becomes a log your team can scroll.
Pick a doc or paste its link
Choose a document from the dropdown, or paste its ID or the full docs.google.com link. The step reads the ID out of the link for you.
Use variables anywhere
Titles, content and the document ID all accept variables, so one step can write to a different document per visitor, for example a doc ID saved earlier in the flow.
Reference
Settings in the Google Docs step
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Google account | The connected account that owns or can edit the documents. |
| Operation | Create doc, Read doc or Append text. |
| Document title | For Create doc. Variables are allowed, such as Brief - ${company}. Without one the doc is called Untitled Document. |
| Content | For Create doc: the text placed at the top of the new document. |
| Document | For Read doc and Append text: picked from the list, or an ID or docs.google.com link. |
| Content to append | For Append text: the text added after the document's last line. |
| Save result | Create doc saves the document link. Read doc saves the document's text. Append text saves the document ID. |
Setup
How to connect Google Docs to your chatbot
About five minutes. You need a Pro or higher workspace and a Google account that can edit the documents involved.
- 1
Collect what goes into the document
Ask your intake questions first and save each answer to a variable. An agency intake template is a quick starting point.
- 2
Add the Google Docs step
Drag the step into the flow after the questions and choose an operation.
- 3
Connect your Google account
Choose Connect Google and approve Docs access in Google's window. You can add more than one account and pick the right one per step.
- 4
Write the title and content
For Create doc, write the title and lay out the content with the variables, for example
Client: ${name}on one line andGoal: ${goal}on the next. - 5
Or choose the document to read or extend
For Read doc or Append text, pick the document from the list or paste its link. The ID is the part between /d/ and /edit in the address.
- 6
Save and use the result
Name the result variable, for example
docs_result. After Create doc it holds the document link, which you can send to your team in a Gmail step. - 7
Test in preview
Run the flow in preview and open the document in Google Docs to check the layout and the values.
Recipes
Flows people build with Google Docs
Legal and professional intake
Collect the facts of a matter in a structured conversation and write them into a case summary document for review. Keep sensitive matters on an account your firm controls.
Answers your team edits in Docs
Keep opening hours, a returns policy or this week's menu in a Google Doc. Read doc pulls the current text into the conversation, so a change in the doc shows up in the bot without editing the flow.
A running feedback log
Append each visitor's feedback, with the date and page, to one document. Product and support can read the log together, and a Google Sheets step can hold the same answers as rows if you also want to count them.
Access
Permissions and access
What Google is asked for
The Docs step asks Google for access to Google Docs so it can create documents, read them and add text. Your email address and basic profile label the account in the dashboard.
Where new documents go
New documents are created in the connected account's Google Drive. Share a folder or the documents with your team in Google Drive as you would any other file.
Disconnecting
Remove the account on the Integrations page, or revoke Conferbot in your Google Account under third-party connections. Steps that used it stop working until you reconnect.
Good to know
Limits and behaviour to plan around
Plain text, not formatting
Create doc and Append text insert plain text with line breaks. Headings, bold text and images are not added by the step. If you need a fixed layout, keep a formatted template document and append the answers to a copy of it.
Read doc returns text only
Read doc extracts the text of paragraphs, tables and the table of contents. Images, drawings and comments are not included. Long documents produce long variables, so read short documents or sections.
A failed call does not stop the chat
If Google rejects a call, for example because the document was deleted, the conversation continues and the result variable stays empty. Check for an empty value if a later step depends on it.
Google's own limits apply
The Docs API has per-minute request quotas. Normal chat volumes are far below them, but a broadcast that writes to one document thousands of times a minute would not be.
Troubleshooting
Fixing common Google Docs problems
| What you see | Why, and the fix |
|---|---|
| The document list is empty | The account has no documents it can see, or the connection expired. Paste the document ID or link instead, or reconnect and refresh the list. |
| "Missing required input: documentId" | Read doc and Append text need a document. Pick one, or check that the variable holding the ID has a value at that point in the flow. |
| Variables appear as ${name} in the document | The question that sets the variable comes after the Docs step, or the variable name differs. Move the step later or fix the name. |
| The new doc is empty | The Content field was empty, or inserting the content failed after the doc was created. Add content and test again; the document link is still saved. |
| Permission error on an existing doc | The connected account can view but not edit the document. Share it with that account as an editor. |
FAQ
Google Docs integration: common questions
Can a chatbot create a Google Doc from a conversation?
Yes. The Create doc operation makes a new document with the title and content you set, filled in with the visitor's answers through variables, and saves the document link.
Can the chatbot read a Google Doc?
Yes. Read doc extracts the document's plain text, including text in tables, and saves it to a variable that later messages or steps can use.
Can it add to an existing document?
Yes. Append text adds content to the end of the document each time the step runs, which suits logs and journals.
How do I find a document's ID?
Open the document. The ID is the long string between /d/ and /edit in the address. You can also paste the whole link; the step reads the ID from it.
Does it keep my formatting?
The step writes plain text with line breaks. It does not add headings, bold text or images to the document.
Where are new documents saved?
In the Google Drive of the connected account. Share them or move them to a shared folder in Drive as usual.
Which plan includes Google Docs?
Google Docs is a native integration, included on Pro and above. You can build and preview the flow on any plan.
What happens if Google is down?
The step returns no result and the conversation carries on. Each Google call times out after 20 seconds and is retried at most twice when Google answers 429 or 503, and a write that may have gone through is never sent twice.
Can I write to a different document for each visitor?
Yes. The document field accepts a variable, so you can create a doc earlier in the flow, save its ID and append to it later.
Turn chat answers into a document your team can use
Start free with Conferbot - the free plan includes 600 conversations a month and needs no credit card, so you can build the intake flow today. The Google Docs step switches on with Pro.
Checked against Conferbot's product and Google Docs's documentation on November 3, 2026: Google Docs API: batchUpdate, Google Docs API: usage limits.
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