Bulk-updating a customer list with AI: blank, replace or clear in 4 steps
To bulk-update a customer list with AI, write keep, replace or clear separately for each field.
Key points
- Change sheet: keep, replace or clear
- Clears go to staff, never as blanks
- Interests: add, replace or remove
- Read CRM values back against the sheet
Overview diagram in preparation
Contents
Write keep, replace or clear for each field on the change sheet
A&A perspective
A customer-list change sheet is a table that lists, for each customer and each field, what will change and how, before anything is applied to the CRM. In this article, that is what we call the update table you have the AI prepare.
A&A perspective
When you have the AI check old department names or product interests, blank cells appear in the update table. A field where the AI found no information and a field you want to clear because it is out of date look the same on the sheet: blank. Looking at a blank cell, you cannot tell which meaning it carries.
A&A perspective
Automate & Augment (A&A), which publishes this article, recommends adding an intent column to the change sheet. The intent is one of three: keep, replace or clear. Clear means emptying (deleting) the current value. For fields that hold several choices, such as product interests, add and remove are used as well.
A&A perspective
The change sheet columns are the customer and record ID, the field name, the current value, the intent, the new value, the basis, and the value after applying. The AI fills in the columns before the value after applying. That last column is written after the change has been applied in the CRM.
Hypothetical example
Suppose the AI checks the records of three customers. These are made-up examples, not real customers. For customer A, neither the business card nor the inquiry history mentions a department. Customer B has told you personally that the department has changed. Customer C's product interests still include an old model that is no longer sold.
Hypothetical example
On the change sheet, customer A's department is marked keep, with no new value. Customer B's department is marked replace, with the new department name and the notification email as the basis. Customer C's product interests are marked remove: only the old model comes off, and the other interests stay.
A&A perspective
That the AI found no mention of a value does not show that the current value is wrong. A&A recommends making keep the default for fields where nothing was found, and requiring the basis column to be filled for every replace and clear.
Leave clears out of the import and have staff clear them
A&A perspective
A field whose intent is clear will not be cleared if you put a blank cell for it in the import table. Staff clear it by a separate procedure.
From the sources
HubSpot, software for managing customers and deals, has a feature called import. It reads a spreadsheet file and creates or updates customer records. The official help on formatting import files says the import ignores blank cells in a spreadsheet.
From the sources
The help also says that when an existing record already has a value, a blank cell will not clear it. To clear existing values in bulk, it points to editing the values manually or using the "Edit records" workflow action.
From the sources
Another official help page, on bulk editing, says a feature called workflows can also set a field's value on many records at once. Using workflows, however, requires a Professional or Enterprise subscription.
A&A perspective
A&A reads this as: in an import table, a blank cell can carry only one meaning. A blank in an import always means "do not touch this field." If you pass a value you want to remove as a blank, the old value stays. The person in charge believes it was cleared and moves on to the next task.
A&A perspective
So take the rows whose intent is clear out of the import table. Hand them to staff as a separate list, and have staff clear the values after looking at the basis. A company without a higher-tier subscription such as Professional or Enterprise should count, before applying anything, how many values staff would have to clear by hand.
A&A perspective
Conversely, keep rows can be imported with blank cells. In a HubSpot import, a blank field leaves the current value alone. But this is how the HubSpot import behaves. It does not follow that blanks mean the same thing in another CRM, or in an integration where the AI writes directly. Check the specification of the route you use.
A&A perspective
The table below sets out how each kind of change is applied in HubSpot, including bulk edit, which changes the same field on several selected records at once.
| Intent of the change | How to apply it in HubSpot | Who carries it out |
|---|---|---|
| Keep (nothing found) | Blank cells in an import are ignored, so the current value stays | Can be imported without staff review |
| Replace (text, single-select) | Set the new value through an import or bulk edit | Staff apply it after looking at the basis |
| Clear | A blank cell does not clear it; edit by hand or use a workflow | Staff clear it after looking at the basis |
| Remove from a multi-select | Apply with the remove operation in bulk edit | Staff compare with the current value, then apply |
| Replace all of a multi-select | Apply with the replace operation in bulk edit; any choice left out is removed | Staff confirm the choices to keep, then apply |
| Add to a multi-select | Leading semicolon in an import; the add operation in bulk edit | Staff check, then apply |
For multi-select fields, choose add, replace or remove
A&A perspective
For a field that holds several choices, such as product interests, decide row by row whether to add, to replace the whole contents, or to remove some of the values. In this article, we call such a field a multi-select field.
From the sources
HubSpot also has bulk edit, which changes the same field on several selected records at once. The bulk edit help says that for text and single-select fields, the new value overwrites the current value.
From the sources
For multi-select fields, the help describes three separate operations: adding values while keeping the current ones, replacing the current values with new ones, and removing only the selected values.
From the sources
On screen, the add operation is named "Append to current value(s)" and the remove operation is named "Remove from current value(s)."
From the sources
In an import, too, how you write the value changes the result. The import help says that to enter several values, you join them with semicolons. It also says that putting a semicolon before the first value adds the values without overwriting the current ones.
A&A perspective
A&A reads this as: a row without the leading semicolon overwrites the current value. If, for customer C, a row meant to remove only the old model leaves out the interests that should stay, the other interests are wiped as well. On the sheet, it is a small difference in how the value is written.
A&A perspective
For a row that removes just one choice, as for customer C, the remove operation in bulk edit is the safer way to apply it. If you replace through an import, have staff compare the value, written out with every choice that should stay, against the current value before running it. Have the AI write both the choices to remove and the choices to keep on the change sheet.
A&A perspective
Replace is the operation that turns the whole contents of a field into the new value. Use the intent column to keep apart the rows where you want to remove some values and the rows where you want the whole field to take a new value.
After updating, read the CRM values back against the change sheet
A&A perspective
A finished change sheet and the intended values actually remaining in the CRM are two separate things to check. After applying, read the values in the CRM, write them in the value-after-applying column of the change sheet, and compare.
From the sources
The help says that updating existing records through an import requires a unique identifier for each record. The record ID, a number HubSpot assigns to each record, works for any record. For customer records, the email address can also be used.
A&A perspective
A&A recommends using the same identifier as the unit of comparison. If every row of the change sheet carries the record ID, you can match the values exported after applying against the sheet one row at a time. The AI can do the matching itself.
A&A perspective
Send the rows that show a difference back to staff. The differences to look for are rows where a value that should have been kept disappeared, rows where a value that should have been replaced is still the old one, and rows where a choice that should have been removed is still there.
A&A perspective
A company that has automations running after a value changes should not count the value check alone as done. For example, if you send guidance emails according to product interests, also check that the guidance for the removed product has stopped.
A&A perspective
The bulk edit help does not describe a way to undo an edited value. Keeping the pre-update values on the change sheet is what gives you something to go on if you need to put them back.
A&A perspective
If the list has a few dozen records and most of the changes are replacements, it may be quicker for staff to fix them one by one on screen. The intent column pays off for updates that mix in clear rows or multi-select rows. For handling several records of the same person, see the related article "Deduplicating a customer list with AI: confirm identity before merging."
Write the intent for each field on the AI's change sheet. Keep fields where nothing was found, and attach a basis to every replace and clear. Do not pass a clear as a blank cell; have staff clear it by a separate procedure. In a HubSpot import, a blank cell does not clear the current value. For multi-select fields such as product interests, choose whether to add, replace or remove. After applying, read the values in the CRM and compare them with the change sheet.
FAQ
If I use a blank cell in a HubSpot import, will the old value be cleared?
No. The import help says an import ignores blank cells and that a blank cell will not clear an existing value. To clear values in bulk, edit them manually or use the workflow action.
Can I clear values in bulk without a higher-tier subscription?
Workflows are not available to you, so of the methods the help lists, that leaves editing by hand. The help says workflows require a Professional or Enterprise subscription. Count how many values staff would have to clear by hand before you apply anything.
Can a value changed through bulk edit be restored later?
The bulk edit help does not describe a way to undo a value edit. It says that deleting the record itself is a restorable delete. Keeping the pre-update values on the change sheet gives you something to go on if you need to put them back.
Sources & editorial note
Primary pages read for this article. Publication dates below belong to the sources; access dates record our research.
- Format import files
HubSpot · Updated 2026-09-11
Accessed 2026-11-08 - Bulk edit records
HubSpot · Updated 2026-10-01
Accessed 2026-11-08