Integration · Spreadsheets
Google Sheets and WhatsApp: save chatbot leads and read data in workflows
How the native Google Sheets app works in Broadchat workflows and chatbots: Google sign-in, adding and updating rows, row lookups, field mapping and its limits.
By Broadchat teamPublished 6 min read
You will need
- A Google account with edit access to the spreadsheet you want to use.
- The Automations module on your plan, and paid tasks available: each Google Sheets step uses one paid task.
- Google sign-in enabled on your platform. If the connection form says sign-in is not configured, ask your provider to add the Google OAuth app.
- A sheet with a header row (Name, Phone, City…) so you can map values by column name.
What the Google Sheets app does
The Google Sheets WhatsApp integration in Broadchat is a native app in the workflow builder and in chatbots. It reads and writes rows in your spreadsheets using your Google account, so a WhatsApp conversation can add a lead to a sheet, look up a value your team keeps in a sheet, or update a row when something changes. It is useful for small teams that already run sales or operations from Google Sheets and do not want to move to a CRM yet.
It is not a sync. Nothing happens unless a chatbot or workflow reaches a Google Sheets step, and changes in the sheet do not flow back on their own.
Example: a real estate lead bot that fills a sheet
Meera runs a property consultancy in Pune. Her Click-to-WhatsApp ad opens a chatbot that asks three questions and then writes a row:
| Column (row 1 header) | Value mapped in Add New Row (V2) |
|---|---|
| Date | The current date from a Date Formatter step |
| Name | The contact's name |
| Phone | The contact's WhatsApp number |
| Budget | The answer to "What is your budget?" |
| Location | The answer to "Which area are you looking in?" |
| Source | The fixed text CTWA ad |
Her two agents work from the sheet every morning and mark the Status column. To avoid duplicate rows when a lead writes again weeks later, run Lookup Spreadsheet Rows on the Phone column first and only add a row when nothing is found; a workflow filter on the lookup's found value does this.
Reading from a sheet inside a chat
For a pincode check, keep a sheet named Pincodes with columns Pincode, Serviceable and Delivery days. In the chatbot, after Ask Question collects the pincode, add the Google Sheet Lookup Spreadsheet Rows step with Lookup Column Pincode, Lookup Value set to the answer, Match Exact and Max Rows 1. Then reply with the Serviceable and Delivery days values from the step's result. If you need different paths for found and not found, run the lookup in a workflow instead, where each connection can carry a filter on the step's found value. Your operations team updates the sheet; nobody has to edit the bot.
Troubleshooting
- "Sign-in for this app is not configured on this platform yet": Google sign-in has not been set up by your provider. Ask them to enable it.
- Requested entity was not found: the Spreadsheet ID is wrong, or the connected Google account cannot open the file. Share the sheet with that account.
- Values land in the wrong columns: header names must match row 1 exactly, including spaces. Or use column letters.
- Insufficient task to perform the action: your plan's paid tasks are used up for the period. Ask your provider for an add-on or reduce how often the step runs.
- Lookup finds nothing: check for extra spaces or a leading +91 in the sheet; Exact match is case-insensitive but must otherwise match fully.
Pair the sheet with a WhatsApp follow-up from the lead follow-up templates. For systems without a native app, use webhooks. The chatbot builder page covers the bot side.
Set it up
Connect your Google account
Open Automations → App Authentications and click Add Connection. Under Select App, search for Google and choose Google (Sheets, Drive, Meet). Enter a Connection Name such as "Sales sheets" and click Connect with Google, then approve access in the Google window.
Prepare the sheet
Create a sheet with a header row in row 1, for example Date, Name, Phone, Requirement, Source. Copy the Spreadsheet ID from the URL: it is the long part between /d/ and /edit.
Add the step to a chatbot or workflow
In a chatbot, add an Add Automation App step and search for Google Sheet. In a workflow (Automations → Workflow), add the Google Sheet app after your trigger. Choose your Google Connection, paste the Spreadsheet ID and type the Sheet Name, for example Leads.
Map the columns
For Add New Row (V2), fill Columns as pairs of header name and value: Name → the contact's name, Phone → the WhatsApp number, Requirement → the answer saved from an Ask Question step. You can also use column letters (A, B, C) instead of header names.
Test with a real conversation
Chat with your bot from a test phone or send a test request to the workflow, then check that the new row appears. In workflows, open the run history to see the values each step received.
What you can do
Save every WhatsApp lead to a sheet
A chatbot can add a row with the answers it collected (name, city, budget, requirement) the moment a conversation completes, so sales teams that live in spreadsheets see leads without opening the panel.
Look up data during a chat
Lookup Spreadsheet Rows searches a column for a value (exact or contains) and returns matching rows, so a bot can answer "what is the status of order 48213?" or "is this pincode serviceable?" from a sheet your team maintains.
Update rows and cells
Update Row, Update Cell, Clear Row and Delete Row keep a sheet in step with the conversation, for example marking a lead as Contacted or a booking as Confirmed.
Read ranges and build sheets
Get Rows Data reads a whole sheet or an A1 range for reports or loops; Create Spreadsheet and Add Sheet create new files and tabs from a workflow.
Limitations to know
- There is no Google Sheets trigger: a new or edited row does not start a workflow by itself. To act on sheet changes, call a workflow's Custom Webhook from Google Apps Script or from the tool that writes the row.
- Each Google Sheets step uses one paid task from your plan, so a chatbot that writes a row for every conversation consumes tasks at that rate.
- Sheets are read and written with the permissions of the Google account you connected. If that person loses access to the file or leaves the company, the steps fail; use a shared team account.
- Google sign-in must be enabled by your platform provider; it is not something you can configure inside your own account.
- Google Sheets is a convenient log, not a database: very large sheets slow down lookups and can hit Google's API quotas.
Sources
- Google Sheets API overview — Google for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
- Usage limits, Google Sheets API — Google for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a WhatsApp chatbot save answers to Google Sheets?
Yes. Add an Add Automation App step in the chatbot, choose Google Sheet and Add New Row (V2), and map each column to a saved answer or contact field. The row is added when the conversation reaches that step.
Can a new row in Google Sheets send a WhatsApp message?
Not directly, because there is no Google Sheets trigger. Use Google Apps Script or the tool that adds the row to call a Broadchat workflow's Custom Webhook URL, and send the template from that workflow.
Does the Google Sheets step cost anything extra?
Each Google Sheets step uses one paid task from your Broadchat plan. Google itself does not charge for normal Sheets API use, within its usage limits.
Which Google permissions does Broadchat ask for?
The Google connection asks for access to Sheets, Drive and Calendar events, because the same connection is used by the Google Sheets, Google Drive and Google Meet apps.