Structured Data

Connect product catalogs, price lists, and service menus from Google Sheets so your agent gives precise answers

Structured Data#

Structured Data lets you provide organized business information -- such as product catalogs, service menus, and price lists -- so your agent can give precise, accurate answers about specific items, prices, and availability.

What Is Structured Data?#

Unlike regular documents or text sources, Structured Data is organized information in a table format. Each row represents a specific item (a product, service, menu item, etc.) with defined attributes like name, price, description, and availability.

This means your agent does not guess about prices or product details -- it looks up the exact information from your data.

Common examples:

  • Product catalogs with names, descriptions, and prices
  • Service offerings with pricing tiers
  • Restaurant or cafe menus
  • Team member directories
  • Location or branch information

How It Works#

  1. Connect: Link a Google Sheet or enter data manually
  2. Map: Define what each column represents
  3. Index: Each row is indexed so your agent can look up specific items
  4. Answer: When a customer asks about a specific product or service, the agent finds the exact match and responds with accurate data

Adding Structured Data#

From Google Sheets#

  1. Go to your agent's dashboard
  2. Click Sources in the sidebar, then open Structured Data
  3. Click Add Data Source
  4. Select Google Sheets
  5. Connect your Google account (if not already connected)
  6. Select the spreadsheet you want to use
  7. Choose which sheet to import
  8. Map each column to a data field (name, price, description, category, etc.)
  9. Save and train your agent

Manual Entry#

  1. Select Manual Entry when adding a data source
  2. Define your columns (Name, Price, Description, etc.)
  3. Enter your data row by row
  4. Save when done

Data Types and Use Cases#

Data TypeExampleUse Case
Products"iPhone 15 Pro -- $999"Answering product questions, comparing options
Services"Haircut -- $30, Coloring -- $80"Quoting prices for services
Pricing Tiers"Basic Plan -- $29/mo, Pro Plan -- $99/mo"Explaining plan differences and pricing
Menu Items"Margherita Pizza -- $12, Caesar Salad -- $9"Restaurant or cafe ordering information
Custom DataBusiness locations, team members, branch hoursAny structured information your agent needs

Google Sheets Best Practices#

Spreadsheet Format#

Good spreadsheet structure:

Code
| Name            | Price  | Description              | Category    | Available |
|-----------------|--------|--------------------------|-------------|-----------|
| Basic Plan      | $29/mo | 1,000 messages, 1 agent  | Plans       | Yes       |
| Pro Plan        | $99/mo | 10,000 messages, 5 agents| Plans       | Yes       |
| Haircut         | $30    | Standard haircut         | Services    | Yes       |
| Coloring        | $80    | Full hair coloring       | Services    | Yes       |

Tips for good data:

  • Use clear, descriptive column headers in the first row
  • Keep one type of data per sheet
  • Use consistent formatting (e.g., always "$30" not sometimes "30 dollars")
  • Include all relevant details your customers might ask about
  • Mark items as available or unavailable

What to Avoid#

  • Merged cells (they break column mapping)
  • Multiple unrelated tables on one sheet
  • Empty rows in the middle of your data
  • Abbreviations without explanation
  • Leaving important fields blank

Syncing Data#

Structured Data can be synced automatically to stay up-to-date:

  1. Click Configure Sync on your data source
  2. Set a sync frequency: hourly, daily, or weekly
  3. AlonChat pulls the latest data from your Google Sheet on schedule

When you update prices or add new products in your spreadsheet, your agent picks up the changes at the next sync.

Example Conversations#

Product Lookup#

Customer: "What's the price of the Blue Widget?" Agent: Looks up the exact price from your product catalog and responds with accurate information.

Service Inquiry#

Customer: "How much does a consultation cost?" Agent: Retrieves the exact pricing from your service list.

Menu Question#

Customer: "What pizzas do you have and how much are they?" Agent: Lists available pizzas with current prices from your menu data.

Comparison#

Customer: "What's the difference between the Basic and Pro plans?" Agent: Compares features and prices using your structured pricing data.

Best Practices#

Do:

  • Use clear column headers that describe the data
  • Keep data up-to-date (especially prices and availability)
  • Include all relevant details customers might ask about
  • Use consistent formatting across all rows
  • Set up automatic syncing for frequently changing data

Don't:

  • Leave important fields empty
  • Duplicate entries across multiple sheets
  • Use abbreviations your customers would not understand
  • Forget to sync after updating your spreadsheet

Troubleshooting#

"Agent giving wrong prices"#

  • Check that your Google Sheet has the latest prices
  • Verify the sync ran recently (check last sync time)
  • Trigger a manual sync and retrain

"Agent can't find a product"#

  • Verify the product exists in your spreadsheet
  • Check that the column mapping is correct
  • Make sure the row is not hidden or filtered out in the sheet

"Sync failed"#

  • Re-authorize your Google account connection
  • Check that the spreadsheet has not been deleted or moved
  • Verify sharing permissions on the spreadsheet

Next Steps#