Plus
For reps who use the assistant every day.
5x the Free usage
$23/ month
Try Plus14-day free trial, then billed monthly
- 5x the Free usage
- All supported CRM actions
- Approval controls
- Includes the MCP connector
Import contacts into Zoho CRM without overwriting data
The Zoho CRM AI Assistant maps your CSV or XLSX of contacts, matches existing contacts by email, and shows a plan with counts. Once you approve, it creates the new contacts and fills only the empty fields on existing ones.
Zoho CRM AI Assistant is a Chrome extension that opens beside Zoho CRM. Tell it what you want to do in plain language, and it works with your CRM for you. Try Plus free for 14 days, then stay on Free forever.
the problem
The import would overwrite the phone numbers you fixed
You have a list from an event or a partner. Some people are new, some are already in Contacts with better data than the spreadsheet has. Import them as new and you get duplicates; import as updates and the old, wrong values in the file replace the good ones.
the solution
Map, match, then fill only the gaps
Attach the file and say how to treat existing contacts. For example:
Import the attached contacts. Match existing contacts by email. Create the new ones, and for existing ones fill only fields that are empty in the CRM.
It reads the file and maps each column to a Contacts field, showing you the mapping so you can correct it. Then it searches Contacts for each row’s email and sorts the rows into a plan:
- Create: no contact has this email.
- Fill in: a contact exists; only fields empty in the CRM get the file’s value.
- Check: no email, an email that matches several contacts, or a value it cannot map. These rows are not written.
You approve the plan with its counts. It then creates up to 100 contacts and updates up to 200 per request; updating more than 20 contacts at once asks for a final confirmation. It does not overwrite a value already in the CRM unless you say so, for a field you name.
- Reads the attached file and existing contacts.
- Creates and updates contacts only after you approve the plan.
- Workflow rules on Contacts run for every record created or updated.
Loading demo…
pricing
Start with 14 days of Plus. Stay on Free after that.
Start free without a card. Choose a paid plan to continue to checkout, with the same CRM actions and safety controls.
Pro
For heavy daily CRM work.
25x the Free usage
$94/ month
Get ProBilled at signup, then monthly
- 25x the Free usage
- 5x the usage of Plus
- All supported CRM actions
- Approval controls
- Includes the MCP connector
Max
For the heaviest CRM workloads.
125x the Free usage
$500/ month
Get MaxBilled at signup, then monthly
- 125x the Free usage
- 5x the usage of Pro
- All supported CRM actions
- Approval controls
- Includes the MCP connector
Free
Limited weekly usage, with the same supported CRM actions and approval controls. It is where your account settles after the 14-day Plus trial.
No card, and permanent
By hand
Without the assistantNot ready to install? Here is how to do the same thing in Zoho CRM yourself, step by step.
Need more than Max? Contact sales
use cases
Explore use cases
- Current use case
Import contacts into Zoho CRM without overwriting data
“Import the attached contacts. Match existing contacts by email. Create the new ones, and for existing ones fill only fields that are empty in the CRM. Show me the plan first.”
Import deals from a spreadsheet into Zoho CRM
“Import the attached deals. Find each account by name and each contact by email. Use the stage names from our pipeline. Flag rows you cannot match, and show me the plan first.”
without the assistant
How to do it by hand in Zoho CRM
You can do this in Zoho CRM yourself. Here are the steps.
- Clean the spreadsheet so the column names match your Contacts fields.
- Run Zoho CRM’s import for Contacts and map the columns.
- Choose how to handle existing records, matching on Email.
- Check the imported records afterwards for overwritten values and duplicates.
It gets slow when you want new rows created but only empty fields filled on existing contacts, because the file has to be split and cleaned by hand first.
faq
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it overwrite my existing contacts?
No, not by default. For a contact that already exists it writes only to fields that are empty in the CRM. If you want the file to win for a field, say which field, and the plan shows those changes.
How does it match a row to an existing contact?
By email, or by another field you name. A row whose email matches more than one contact is not written; it is listed for you.
What does it read?
The file you attach, your Contacts fields, and the existing contacts whose email appears in the file.
Can it be wrong?
It can map a column to the wrong field if the header is unclear, which is why it shows the mapping first. Its check for existing contacts looks at what exists when you ask; it is not a lock, so a contact added by someone else at the same moment can still be duplicated.
What if my file has more than 100 new contacts?
It imports the first part and you run the request again for the rest, with a new plan each time. Up to 100 records are created and 200 updated per request.
Will it work on my Zoho CRM edition?
It needs a Zoho CRM edition and user profile with API access, and it can only do what your profile is allowed to do. This use case has not been checked edition by edition yet, so write to us if you want to check yours first.
Want to ask something?
Write to the team at hello@zsetup.com.