Add a Google Sheets step to any Conferbot flow and every answer a visitor gives lands in your spreadsheet as it happens. Append a new row, update the row that matches an email or order number, or read values back into the conversation.
Build on the Free plan. The Google Sheets step runs on Pro ($39/month) and above.
A spreadsheet is still where most small teams keep their leads, bookings and orders. The Google Sheets step puts your chatbot on the same sheet: when a visitor finishes the questions in a flow, the step writes their answers into the columns you choose, using the visitor's own words for each cell.
It works on the sheet you already have. Conferbot reads the headers in row 1, shows each one as a field, and you fill each field with a chatbot variable such as ${email} or ${order_number}. Nothing is copied to a separate database first, and there is no export to run later.
Each time the step runs it adds one row at the bottom of the sheet you picked, with a value in every column you mapped. Columns you leave empty are skipped, so formulas or notes in other columns stay untouched.
Choose a column to find the row by, such as Email, and the value to match, such as ${email}. The first row whose value matches is updated with the new values, so a returning visitor updates their own row instead of adding a duplicate.
Read data loads rows from a sheet (1 to 10,000) and saves each column you choose from the first row into a variable. Use it to keep prices, opening hours or a weekly promo code in a sheet your team edits, and let the bot quote whatever the sheet says today.
Rows are written the way Sheets treats typed input, so the step protects what visitors enter: phone numbers keep their leading +, codes like 02134 keep their leading zero, long numbers are not rounded, and text that starts with = is stored as text rather than run as a formula.
You connect with Google's own sign-in. Conferbot only asks for the Sheets permission when you add a Sheets step, and the step lists the spreadsheets and tabs that account can open, so you pick from a menu instead of pasting IDs.
Give the step a variable under Save result and it holds what was written (or read). If the call fails, the conversation carries on and that variable stays empty, so you can check it and show a fallback message.
Everything you configure lives in the step's side panel in the flow builder.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Google account | The connected Google account the step writes as. Pick one, or connect a new one from the same menu. |
| Spreadsheet and Sheet | The file and the tab. Both are picked from lists of what the account can open. |
| Operation | Write data or Read data. |
| Write mode | Append row adds a row. Update row changes the first row that matches. |
| Find the row where | Update mode only: the column to search and the value to match, usually a variable like ${email}. |
| Column values | One field per header in row 1. Type $ to insert a variable. If the sheet has no headers, map by column letter instead. |
| Maximum rows | Read mode only: how many rows to load, from 1 to 10,000. |
| Save result | Optional variable that stores the outcome for later steps. |
Plan on about five minutes. You need a Conferbot workspace on Pro or above and a Google account that can edit the spreadsheet.
Put one header per column in row 1: Name, Email, Phone, Message, Source, and so on. Clear headers are what turn into fields in the builder, and they make the sheet readable for the rest of your team.
Ask each question with a question step and save the answer to a variable, for example name, email and phone. Starting from a lead generation template gives you these steps already built.
Drag a Google Sheets step to the point in the flow where the answers are complete, usually just before the thank-you message. Choose Write data.
Choose Connect in the account menu and approve access in Google's window. The account is saved to your workspace, so other bots can reuse it without signing in again. Accounts can also be managed from the Integrations page in the dashboard.
Select the file and the tab, then choose Append row for a new lead each time, or Update row and set the column to find the row by.
Each header appears as a field. Type $ and pick the variable that belongs in that column. Add fixed text where useful, such as Website chat in a Source column.
Run the bot in preview, answer the questions, and watch the row appear. Then publish. Every new conversation that reaches the step writes its own row.
A few patterns that cover most uses. Each one is a normal flow with a Sheets step at the end.
Ask for name, email, company and what they need, then append a row with a Source column and the date. Sales works the sheet or imports it into a CRM later. When you outgrow the sheet, add a HubSpot or Salesforce step next to it rather than instead of it.
Run an NPS or feedback flow and append one row per response with the score, the reason and the visitor's segment. A chart on another tab updates as rows arrive.
Use Update row with Find the row where Email equals ${email}. A returning visitor who changes their phone number or plan updates the same row instead of creating a second one.
Keep a one-row settings tab with today's opening hours, a current offer and a support phone number. A Read data step saves those cells into variables at the start of the flow, so your team edits the sheet and the bot's answers change with it.
Collect the date, service and contact details for a request and append them to a shared sheet the team checks each morning. For real-time availability, pair it with the Google Calendar step.
Connecting asks Google for your email address and basic profile, so the account can be labelled in the dashboard, plus the Google Sheets permission the step needs to list, read and write spreadsheets. Other Google permissions are only requested when you add a step that needs them, such as Gmail or Calendar.
Rows are written as the Google account you connected, so the sheet's version history shows that account. Connect a shared team account if you prefer edits not to appear under a person's name.
Remove the account from the Integrations page in the dashboard, or revoke Conferbot in your Google Account under third-party connections. Steps that used it stop writing until you reconnect.
The builder reads the headers in row 1. If you rename or move a header, refresh the columns in the step and check the mapping. If a sheet has no headers at all, the step lets you map by column letter.
In Update row mode the step updates the first row whose value matches. Keep the column you search by unique, such as email or order number, so the right row changes.
The builder's Read data saves values from the first row returned. It is built for a settings row or a single current value, not for searching a large table by a visitor's input.
The Sheets API limits how many requests a project and each user can make per minute, and a spreadsheet can hold up to 10 million cells. When Google asks Conferbot to slow down, the step waits briefly and retries, at most twice, and a write that may already have landed is never sent twice. See Google's Sheets API usage limits.
If Google is unreachable or the account lost access, the visitor still finishes the conversation. The step's result variable stays empty, which you can check to show a fallback or alert your team.
| What you see | Why, and the fix |
|---|---|
| "The saved account is no longer connected" | The Google sign-in was revoked or expired. Choose Reconnect in the account menu, or reconnect it from the Integrations page, and the step keeps its settings. |
| No columns appear in the step | Row 1 of the tab is empty. Add headers to row 1 and choose Refresh columns, or map by column letter. |
| The spreadsheet is not in the list | The connected account cannot open it. Share the sheet with that Google account (with edit access for writing), then refresh the spreadsheet list. |
| Rows appear with blank cells | The variable in that column had no answer when the step ran. Move the Sheets step after the question that fills it, or check the variable name matches. |
| Update row adds nothing | No row matched the Find value. Check the search column holds exactly the value you pass (matching ignores case), and that the visitor's answer was saved to the variable you used. |
No. You connect with Google's normal sign-in window (OAuth) from inside the Google Sheets step or the Integrations page. Conferbot stores the connection for your workspace, so there is no API key or service account to manage.
Native integrations, including Google Sheets, are included on Pro and above. You can build and test your flow on the Free plan and upgrade when you are ready to switch the Sheets step on.
Yes. Choose Update row, pick the column to find the row by (for example Email) and the value to match (for example the visitor's email variable). The first matching row is updated with the values you map.
Yes. The Read data operation loads rows from a tab and saves the values of the columns you choose from the first row into variables, which you can then use in messages. It suits a settings row your team edits, such as prices or opening hours.
No. The step keeps visitor text as typed: a leading + on a phone number, leading zeros on codes, and long numbers are preserved, and text that starts with = is stored as text instead of being run as a formula.
The conversation continues normally. Conferbot retries briefly when Google asks it to slow down, but it does not hold the chat, and if the write fails the step's result variable is empty so you can show a fallback message.
Pro workspaces can connect up to 3 accounts per provider and Business workspaces up to 10. The same Google connection also covers Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Docs and Meet steps.
Yes. Point the step at the existing file and tab. It writes only to the columns you map and adds rows at the bottom, so other columns, formulas and tabs are left alone.
Yes. Add a Google Sheets step and a HubSpot or Salesforce step one after the other in the same flow. Each step uses the same variables, so one conversation updates both.
Start free with Conferbot - the free plan includes 600 conversations a month and needs no credit card, so you can build and test the flow today. The Google Sheets step switches on with Pro.
Checked against Conferbot's product and Google Sheets's documentation on November 3, 2026: Google Sheets API usage limits, Google Drive file size limits.
Explore features, connect third-party tools, and browse ready-made templates.
Deep-dive pillar guides, real use cases, and the chatbot & AI glossary.
Guides on the flows that usually end in a Google Sheets step.
