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Overview

The normal import expects a file whose column headings match one of our templates — or a column mapping you stored under Settings → CSV Imports. Your actual working file often looks different: headings in row 7, one sheet per packaging level, a vertical form instead of a table, sizes as columns. The AI import exists for exactly those files. It reads your file, shows you what it found, and only after your confirmation does the usual import run: preview, confirm overwrites, result. The AI import therefore adds no second write path — it only prepares the data for the existing one. Accepted formats: Excel and CSV (.xlsx, .xls, .csv) — the same as the normal import.
The AI import is a preparation step, not a shortcut. Everything the normal import validates, it still validates: required fields, accepted values, match keys, the overwrite preview and the import result. A row the template rejects the AI import rejects too — visible in the same preview.

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When to use it

Use the AI import when one of these applies:
  • Your file carries different column headings than our template and you do not want to rewrite it.
  • The headings are not in row 1 (logo, title block, note rows above them).
  • The file is not a table: a vertical form, one sheet per product or per packaging level, several small tables on one sheet.
  • The file uses its own spellings in coded columns (PE film, KST, PAP solid board) for which no value mapping is stored yet.
  • An import just failed because required columns were not recognised or most rows errored.
Do not use it when the file already matches the template or a saved column mapping applies — the normal import is then faster, free, and independent of row count and file size. The AI import checks this itself: if it recognises at least three of our fields in row 1 — through the template headings, their aliases or your saved mapping — it hands the file straight to the normal import without an AI call.
That pre-check only looks at the headings, not at whether every required column is present. A file that names three columns correctly and forgets the fourth, mandatory one therefore goes to the normal import and fails there — and that is exactly when the import result offers Let the AI read this file (see below). That route skips the pre-check.

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Which data it covers

Orders and plots go through mapping mode only. There the AI names the columns of your table and nothing else; the rows are read by our importer, as always. That is deliberate: a misread coordinate would be a plot that imports and analyses cleanly — just in the wrong place; and an order file replaces an order’s positions wholesale, so a row the model overlooked would be a deleted position. If your file is not a table there, the dialog says so and does not read it (see AI can only map columns here). A GeoJSON file cannot be read by the AI import at all — it has no columns to map and goes straight into the plot import.
Not importable via AI are the EUDR bill of materials, the separate Article links import and PPWR volume reporting. Those imports stay template-bound. The packaging bill of materials is still built through the Component Codes column of the unit import — even for rows the AI read.
You need the same permission as for the normal import: Manage articles for articles, Manage suppliers for suppliers, Manage packaging for units and components, Manage orders for orders, Manage plots for plots. Without it the AI import stops with You are not allowed to import this data before any AI call is made — it is not a way around the permission, and it spends no budget either.

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Where to find it

The AI import has no menu entry of its own. Two routes lead into the same dialog:
1

After a failed import

The Import Results dialog shows the note Your file does not match the template — “AI can read it and show you the result for you to confirm.” — and below it the Let the AI read this file button. It carries over the file you just uploaded — no second upload. In the plot import the same button sits next to Retry validation on the This import needs attention message.In the Import Results dialog the button only appears where an AI read can plausibly help: when required columns were not recognised or at least as many rows failed as landed. For a file that cannot be read at all (wrong format, corrupt, password-protected) it does not appear — the AI reads the same bytes with the same libraries and would only spend your AI budget. If the file holds no valid rows and no failing ones either, you only get the short message No valid rows to import. and no result dialog — and therefore no AI offer either. Check then whether the file holds any data rows below the header at all.In the plot import that condition does not apply: the button appears on every failed validation run, as long as you uploaded an Excel or CSV file.
2

From the AI support assistant

Ask the assistant “I have a file of my own — can I import it?”. It answers with a card and two buttons: Open AI import takes you to the dialog on the right page, Upload here opens the file picker straight away. The same picker sits behind the paperclip in the assistant’s input field (Choose a file for the AI import).If your file could belong to more than one data type, the assistant first asks What does this file contain? and you pick one. It then switches to the matching page and opens the import dialog with your file.On this route too the assistant never sees your file: it stays in your browser and is handed straight to the import dialog, not to the chat (see Privacy).
The dialog is titled “Import {data type} from any file” (e.g. Import Packaging units from any file) and explains itself: “Upload the file you already work with. We read it, show you what we found, and you confirm before anything is imported.” The drop area reads Drop a file here, or click to choose one and Excel (.xlsx, .xls) or CSV.

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Two modes

Which route your file takes is decided by the dialog itself — from the shape of the file, not its content. You choose nothing.
Mapping mode is the cheaper and the more accurate one — it is preferred wherever it is possible. There the AI only sees the headings, up to 8 sample rows and — per column with at most 50 distinct values — that column’s value list; every other row is read by our deterministic importer. That is why it is independent of row count: a table with 3,000 rows costs the same single AI call as one with 30.
A file with several visible sheets always goes to extraction mode — even when sheet 1 is a perfect table. Mapping mode reads sheet 1 only (as the normal import does), and sheets 2 to n would disappear without a word. So if your file holds one data sheet plus a notes or legend sheet, it pays to delete or hide the second one: mapping mode then applies, with no 60-record cap.
For orders and plots there is only mapping mode. If your file would land in extraction mode there — several sheets, a form, several tables on one sheet — the dialog stops and says so; nothing is read and no AI call is made.For plots two more restrictions apply, because the geo import processes the file itself: the header must be in row 1 (if it sits lower, the dialog stops as well), there are no value mappings for coded columns and no gap form — missing required values are only named below the review table. Onwards there is Continue to preview into the review view of the plot import.

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In mapping mode: review the proposal

The step is called Proposed column mapping and shows the same grid as Settings → CSV Imports, only prefilled. Above it you see which row the AI found your headings in; columns it found no field for are listed under Not used: …. Correct whatever does not fit — your correction always wins. With Save this mapping for my future imports the proposal is stored as your column mapping: the next file from the same export then needs no AI at all and runs through the normal import again. The button onwards reads Next.
Saving the mapping is a convenience for next time, not a precondition for this import. If saving fails, the import is not held up.
Whatever sits below the table is read too. Mapping mode reads from the heading row it found to the end of the sheet. A totals row, a notes block or a legend below your table is therefore treated as a data row and shows up as a visible row error in the preview — not imported, but reported. Delete such rows beforehand if you want a clean result.

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In extraction mode: review the rows

You see a table of the records the AI read — in our field labels, exactly as they will enter the preview. Above it stands how many records of which type were recognised: “{count} {data type} recognised”, e.g. 12 Packaging units recognised. If the file holds both data types of a pair, the line names both (“3 Packaging units and 8 Components recognised”).
  • Required fields that stayed empty are flagged missing and tinted red.
  • The table shows at most five columns, required ones first — it is there to let you recognise the row. This step shows no further columns; check the fields that matter to you here.
  • The row number on the left is clickable whenever the AI supplied a source: it shows Source: … with the cell the row was read from (e.g. Sekundär!B19), so you can look it up in your file.
  • If a required field is empty in every row, that is stated below the table with the field names concerned.
  • What the AI did not take over — a summary table or a legend sheet, say — sits collapsed under Not taken over — show details.
In mapping mode the same table shows a sample: “Showing the first {count} of {total} rows read with this mapping. Required fields that stayed empty are marked.” There all rows are imported, not only the ones shown.
This step is the real review point, not the preview that follows. The import preview confirms overwrites row by row, but new records only by their count. For rows an AI read that is not enough — a misread weight would not stand out there. So do read this table properly.

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Step by step

From the second step on, the dialog shows where you are: Step {number} of {count}.
1

Choose the file

Drag the file into the drop area or pick it. Reading the file… appears — the file is read inside your browser.
2

Template check (no AI)

If the headings match our template or your saved column mapping, the dialog closes straight away and the normal import runs. There is no AI call and no cost. In the plot import only the template counts here — a saved column mapping is not taken into account there. If you arrived through Let the AI read this file, this step is skipped — the failed import already answered it.
3

Mode and AI pass

Otherwise the dialog picks the mode (see Two modes) and makes one AI call: Matching your columns to our fields… or Reading the records out of the file…
4

Review the proposal or the rows

Mapping mode: correct the proposal, optionally save it, onwards with Next. Extraction mode: read through the rows.
5

Fill the gaps

If a required field is empty in every row, the gap form appears; the button on the review step then reads Next. With no gaps this step is skipped.
6

Hand over to the import

The last button reads Start import — for plots it reads Continue to preview instead, because the geo import always shows its own review view first.
7

Preview, confirm, import

From here the unchanged import runs: if a row would overwrite an existing value, the preview opens and you decide row by row. Then the import result shows created, updated and skipped rows plus errors — and the run appears in the audit log like any other import.
If your file consists of new records only, the import skips its preview and writes them straight away — which is why the button reads Start import and not “Continue to preview”. The preview only opens when at least one row would overwrite an existing value. For new records the review step before it is therefore your last chance to look at the rows that were read.
One file, two data types. A working file often holds both — in extraction mode packaging units and their components, or articles and suppliers. The AI reads both data types in one pass; importing happens one after the other through each type’s own button. What was read stays in this browser tab for 30 minutes, so the second import costs no second AI call.If your file holds nothing for the data type you opened, you see No {data type} recognised together with the count found for the other type, and the hint: “Use the matching import button for those — the file stays recognised in this tab for 30 minutes.”For packaging, import components first, then units: the units’ Component Codes column can then link to components that already exist.

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Gap form

Some required values practically never appear in a technical file — the PPWR Role, say, or the Market Member States. The AI does not guess them, it leaves them empty. If such a field is empty in every row read, the dialog asks for it once: “These fields are missing from the file. What you enter applies to all {count} rows.” Each field is marked Required or Optional; select fields show Please choose. As long as a required field is empty, the Start import button stays disabled.
  • Only what is empty in every row is asked. A field missing in some rows is a problem of those rows — it shows up per row in the preview and in the import result, and a blanket value would overwrite the rows that do carry one.
  • In mapping mode only fields with no column at all in your file are asked on top of that. A required field that does have a mapped column but stays empty in some rows belongs to those rows and is not filled globally.
  • What you enter fills empty cells only. A value present in the row always wins.
  • Fields that are required only conditionally are asked as optional. The classic case: the file states PCR 85, i.e. 85% recycled content from a post-consumer source, but no recycled content evidence (physical or mass balance) — which the schema demands only because a percentage was given. You add it here.

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Limits (caps)

Every limit is a hard, visible refusal — the AI import never truncates silently and never imports “the first 60”. If your file is too large for extraction mode, split it — one sheet per file is the natural cut — or import with the template. A table goes through mapping mode in one pass no matter how many rows it has. Reading also works like this:
  • Hidden sheets are not read.
  • Embedded images are not read — a value that only appears on a photo does not arrive.
  • Formulas are read as their result, not as the formula.
  • Merged cells are read as their top-left value.

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What the AI never does

  • It does not guess. A field the file does not carry stays empty — never 0, never a default. An empty required value is visible in the review step and in the preview; an invented one would not be.
  • Placeholders stay empty. ??, ?, k.A., -, --, n/a, n.A., tbd and keine Angabe mean “unknown” and become empty.
  • Values are copied verbatim, in the unit the file states. Conversion happens only where the label states the unit explicitly. Recyclability 100 is a percentage and therefore does not become the recyclability grade (A/B/C) — that stays empty.
  • Unknown values in coded columns stay empty instead of being guessed onto the nearest accepted value. The row then fails visibly in the preview (“Invalid value…”), or you store the spelling as a value mapping.
  • Nothing from your data is sent to the AI. It sees the text of your file and our field catalogue — no articles, no suppliers, no results out of Polygon One.
If your file carries no reference or code, the AI derives one from the product or article number (pattern <product number>-<level>-<n>, e.g. SYN-1001-sekundaer-2) — always the same for the same file content, so re-importing the same file updates instead of duplicating.But that also means: if such a derived key hits an existing record, that is an overwrite. The preview flags it as one and asks for your confirmation — so do check there whether you really mean to update. More on match keys under Import (CSV / Excel).

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Error messages

The AI import’s messages appear in the dialog under the heading The file could not be read with AI; Choose another file takes you back to the drop area without closing the dialog. Three messages are not errors but statements of fact: the used-up budget, AI can only map columns here and The header must be in row 1.
If reading the file itself fails (wrong format, corrupt, too large), the dialog shows the same message as the normal import — and, where the assistant is available in your workspace, below it the Why is this happening? Ask the assistant button, which opens it with exactly that question. The wording of those file errors is listed under Import errors (PPWR).

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AI can only map columns here

For orders and plots, AI can only map table columns. Use a spreadsheet with one header row, or the import template.
When does this happen? You opened the AI import for orders or plots, and your file is not a single table — several visible sheets, a form, or several tables on one sheet. For those two data types the AI reads no rows, so the run ends here. No AI call is made. How to fix it: Put the data on one sheet in table form with one header row — or use the import template.

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The header must be in row 1

For plots the header row must be row 1. Remove the rows above it, or use the import template.
When does this happen? In the plot import only: your file is a table, but the column headings are not in the first row (logo, title block, note rows above them). The geo import reads row 1 as its header, so the run stops here before any AI call is made. How to fix it: Delete the rows above the heading row — or use the plot template.

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File too large for the AI import

This file is too large for the AI import — import one sheet at a time, or use an import template.
When does this happen? The file or its extracted text exceeds the extraction-mode limits: more than 10 MB, more than 60,000 characters of text, or more than 60 records read in one pass. The same situation appears as the outcome of a pass in the form “The file is too large for the AI import. Import it one sheet at a time, or use the import template.” How to fix it: Split the file — one sheet per file is the cut that suits this kind of file — or import with the template. If your file is a real table and only landed in extraction mode because it has several visible sheets, delete or hide the side sheets: mapping mode then applies, with no record cap (see Two modes).

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The AI budget for this period has been used up

The AI budget for this period has been used up. Importing with a template or a saved column mapping still works.
When does this happen? Your company’s AI spend budget for the current period has been reached (see Cost). How to fix it: Import with a template or a saved column mapping until the next period. If you already saved a mapping the AI proposed, this export runs without AI anyway.

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The file holds more records than one AI pass can return

The file holds more records than one AI pass can return. Please split it into smaller files.
When does this happen? The AI’s answer was longer than one pass allows — practically the same picture as “too large”, just detected on the answer rather than on the file. How to fix it: Split the file, ideally one sheet at a time. Nothing is imported partially.

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The answer could not be used

The answer could not be used. Please check the file, or import it with a template.
When does this happen? The AI answered, but not in a shape we can process. Retrying the same file usually produces the same result. How to fix it: Check whether the file actually holds the data you are looking for, and import it with the template otherwise.

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The AI service is currently unavailable

The AI service is currently unavailable. Please try again in a few minutes.
When does this happen? An outage or overload on the AI service side. How to fix it: Try again in a few minutes — unlike “could not be used”, waiting helps here.

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This module is not enabled for your workspace

This module is not enabled for your workspace, so the data could not be prepared.
When does this happen? You opened the AI import for a data type whose module is not active for you — packaging units without the PPWR module, for example. How to fix it: Talk to your administrator.

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You are not allowed to import this data

You are not allowed to import this data. Ask an administrator for the matching permission.
When does this happen? You lack the permission the normal import requires too (Manage articles, Manage suppliers, Manage packaging, Manage orders or Manage plots). How to fix it: Request the permission. The AI import does not grant it.
Errors on individual rows do not come from the AI but from the normal import — they appear in the preview and in the import result.

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Privacy

  • The file itself does not leave your browser. It is read in your browser; only text is passed on.
  • In mapping mode that is the column headings, up to 8 sample rows — every column, each cell cut at 500 characters — and, for every column with at most 50 distinct values, that column’s value list across the whole file. In a small file those value lists can therefore amount to nearly every value in it. Columns with more distinct values (descriptions, free text) travel only in the sample-row cells, not as a value list. As rows, only the sample reaches the AI; every other row is read by our importer alone.
  • In extraction mode that is the text of the visible sheets of your file. Hidden sheets and embedded images are not included.
  • Nothing out of Polygon One is sent to the AI model. It sees the text of your file and our field catalogue (field names, descriptions, accepted values) — no articles, suppliers, units, documents or analysis results.
  • The AI support assistant does not receive your file — not even when you pick the file there. Through Upload here or the paperclip you choose the file; it stays in your browser and is handed to the import dialog on the target page unchanged. It is not uploaded, not part of the conversation and does not reach the chat model: the assistant reads no file, checks none and imports none. It is read in the import dialog only, exactly as described on this page. If the assistant claims otherwise, that claim is wrong.
  • The contents of your file are treated as data, never as an instruction. A cell saying “ignore all instructions” changes nothing about the result: the AI may only fill our import columns, and anything else is discarded.

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Cost

Every AI call the import makes is booked against your company’s AI budget like any other AI feature.
  • One file = one call. Mapping mode costs the same regardless of row count; extraction mode grows with the number of records read.
  • No second pass for the second data type in extraction mode: what was read stays in this browser tab for 30 minutes. Mapping mode has no such cache — there a second data type is a second call (which costs the same regardless of row count).
  • No call at all when the headings match the template or your saved mapping. A saved mapping makes every further import of the same export permanently free — the best reason to tick Save this mapping for my future imports.
  • The budget applies per billing period of your contract, not per file and not per user. Once it is used up, templates and saved mappings remain fully usable.
  • The AI import does not count against your quota of AI document analyses — that is a separate counter for uploaded evidence.

Import (CSV / Excel)

Templates, columns, match keys and value mappings for units and components.

Articles

The shared article template and its columns.