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Classify / Categorize

Classify your catalog items, press articles, customer reviews, social media comments, or any other text directly in Google Sheets. The Classify / Categorize bulk tool classifies the content of each cell into one of the categories you provide if a match is found. For example, you can improve your lifecycle inventory management by classifying apparel products according to the activity they are used for.

Run the bulk tool​

Prerequisites

  1. Select Extensions > GPT for Sheets and Docs > Open.

    Open GPT for Sheets

  2. In the sidebar, select Bulk tools, and click Classify / Categorize.

    Select Classify
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    If you open the Bulk tools for the first time, you are prompted to grant additional permissions. These permissions are required for GPT for Sheets to write in your spreadsheets.

    1. Click Sign-in with Google. A Sign in with Google window opens.
    2. Select the Google account with which you have installed GPT for Sheets.
    3. Click Allow to grant GPT for Sheets the required permissions.

  3. Set up your bulk tool run.

    Setup Classify
    FieldDescriptionExample
    1Column name row
    (optional)    		If your column names aren't in the first row, select the number of the row that contains the column names. The bulk tool will run on the rows below this one.2
    2Classify each cell in columnSelect the column that contains the text you want to classify.B: Product Name
    3Into one of these categoriesEnter the categories to classify the text into. If the categories are listed in the current document, you can import them by clicking Import from sheet.
    Running
    Workout
    Casual
    Yoga
    Golf
    Tennis
    4Put results in columnSelect the column to put the results in. Cells in this column won't be overwritten with the results if they contain text.C: Activity
    5Classify instructions
    (optional)    		Enter specific instructions for the classification. Learn more.
    Polos fall into the Golf category.
    Do not classify items with technical properties as Casual.
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    The setup for the bulk tool run is stored in the History and can be reused for other runs.

    Bulk tool History

  4. Run the Classify / Categorize bulk tool starting from the first empty cell in the results column:

    1. Select a specific number of rows to run or select All rows.
    2. Click Run rows.

    Run Classify / Categorize tool

  5. Check the result for each cell:

    • The category name if a match is found.
    • #N/A if no match is found.

You have set up and run the Classify / Categorize bulk tool on a column. If needed, try improving the results.

Result Classify Tool

Improve results​

Try different models​

Find out which models work best for different use cases in our AI models overview. You can try different models by selecting them in the model switcher.

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The model selection is a spreadsheet setting. It applies to all bulk tool runs and all GPT function executions in the current spreadsheet.

Set Creativity to 0​

Ensure Creativity is set to 0. This setting helps the AI follow instructions more closely.

Creativity level
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Creativity is a spreadsheet setting. It applies to all bulk tool runs and all GPT function executions in the current document.

Provide classification instructions​

You can provide instructions to guide the classification process. This provides the AI with more context and improves the accuracy of the results.

You can define the following types of instructions for the AI:

  • Classification instructions are defined for the current bulk tool run.
  • Global instructions can also be defined in the spreadsheet settings and apply to all bulk tools and GPT functions in the current spreadsheet.
If both classification and global instructions are defined, the AI uses both as a combined set of instructions. For consistent classification results, make sure both sets of instructions are aligned and do not contradict each other.
For example, omit the global instructions and only define classification instructions:
Set instructions

Use full path for categories​

If your categories form a hierarchy, use their full path instead of their name. This helps avoid ambiguity and ensures that the classification is as precise as possible.

Using only the category names can lead to ambiguity. For instance, T-shirts and Tops could be considered as very largely overlapping categories. By specifying Casual/T-shirts and Workout/Tops, you provide a clear context, ensuring that the AI classifies the items accurately according to the intended category.

For example, instruct the AI to classify items according to these category paths:

Casual/T-shirts
Casual/Jeans
Workout/Tops
Workout/Bottoms/Shorts
Workout/Bottoms/Pants
Category tree

What's next​

Try another bulk tool.

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