CSV File Format for Importing Objects

This article will help you format your CSV file correctly before importing it into Adaptive AI. By following this guide, you’ll avoid common import errors, save time, and ensure your data flows seamlessly into your CRM.

Key Benefits of Preparing Your CSV File

Taking the time to format your CSV file correctly before importing ensures your contact data is clean, complete, and mapped accurately.

• Reduces the chance of import errors or upload failures
• Helps Adaptive AI automatically map fields during import
• Enables contact deduplication and accurate updates
• Supports custom fields and advanced segmentation
• Saves time by avoiding post-import cleanup
• Increases success with bulk contact/opportunity uploads

What is a CSV File Format?

CSV stands for 'Comma-Separated Values'. It's a simple file format used to store tabular data like spreadsheets or databases. Each line in a CSV file represents a single record, and fields within the record are separated by commas. It’s one of the most widely used formats for importing and exporting data between different systems.

• CSV files typically have a.csv extension.
• You can create or edit them in tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or Notepad.
• Ensure only one sheet is present in the file to prevent import issues.

Example:

First Name | Last Name | Email | Phone

Jane | Doe | jane@example.com | +11234567890

John | Smith | john@example.com | +10987654321

Structuring Your File

To ensure accurate data mapping, structure your CSV file with column headers corresponding to standard or custom fields in Adaptive AI.

1. 1Sample CSV Format First Name | Last Name | Email | Phone | Company | Tags | Status | Created Date | Additional Phone

John | Doe | john@example.com | +11234567890 | ABC Corp | VIP, Lead | New | 01/01/2024 | +17877123462

Jane | Smith | jane@example.com | +15556667777 | XYZ Ltd | Customer | Active | 02/02/2024 | +17877123464

• Each row represents a single contact or opportunity.
• Each column represents a distinct property.
• The header row is required to map fields correctly.

1. 1Mandatory Fields At least one of the following is required to create or update a contact:

• First Name
• Email Address
• Phone Number

1. 1Field Formatting Follow these specific formatting rules to avoid import failures:

Field Type | Accepted Formats / Notes

Date Picker (Date Fields) | MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY/MM/DD, MM-DD-YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD

Multi-Select / Checkbox | Commas: VIP, Lead, Semicolons: Gold; Silver, Periods: Yes. No Slashes = Invalid

Single Option (Dropdown) | One value only. Example: Blue

Contact Owner | FirstName LastName — e.g., Logan Paul

Tags | Commas, semicolons, or periods. e.g., Blue, Yellow, Blue; Yellow

Phone Number | E.164: +11234567890 (recommended); also 123-456-7890, (123) 456-7890 (US only)

Invalid Phone Formats | 1234567, abc1234567

Numerical Fields | 1.23, 1234,.123

Monetary Fields | 1234, 1,234,234.33

Contact Followers | FirstName LastName, FirstName2 LastName2 — e.g., Adam Smith, David Lee

Additional Emails | abc@email.com, abc1@email.com

Additional Phone Numbers | +1 7877123460, +1 7877123461

1. 1Supported File Type and File Size Your file must meet certain basic requirements for a successful upload.

Requirement | Details

File Format |.csv only

Sheets Allowed | One sheet per file

Max File Size | 30 MB

1. 1Required and Optional Fields for Import Including the right fields helps Adaptive AI identify and process your records accurately.

Import Action | Required/Optional Fields | Notes

New Contact | Name or Email, or Phone | At least one is required

Update Existing Contact | Contact ID or Name/Email/Phone | Depends on duplicate settings

Header Row | Required | Headers must match existing or custom fields in Adaptive AI

1. 1Formatting Guidelines by Field Type To prevent import errors, follow these formatting rules for each data type in your CSV.

Field Type | Format | Example | Notes

Phone Number | E.164 or standard US formats | +1 1234567890123-456-7890 | Clean and consistent formatting

Email Address | Standard format | name@example.com | Must include @ and domain

Date | Multiple accepted formats | 04/16/2025, 2025-04-16 | Choose one format and stick to it

Multi-Select Fields | Separate with,,;, or. | Blue, Yellow, Green | Must match field options in CRM

Additional Emails | Comma-separated | email1@example.com, email2@example.com | Add in a separate column

Additional Phones | Comma-separated | 1234567890, 9876543210 | Add in a separate column

Supported Countries List in CSV Imports

This section contains a table of country names accepted during CSV imports into Adaptive AI. These are the official country values that should be used in your CSV file when mapping a country field, whether standard or custom. Use the exact country names or short codes listed below in your CSV file.

• Purpose: Adaptive AI validates country names during import. If your CSV includes a Country field, each row must match one of the exact names in this list.
• Format: Must match exactly—case-sensitive and spelling-sensitive. For example, United States is accepted, but USA or U.S. will cause an error.
• Custom Field Use: If you're using a custom country field, you can still benefit from sticking to this list to maintain compatibility.

Country Name (Code) | Country Name (Code) | Country Name (Code)

Afghanistan (AF) | Albania (AL) | Algeria (DZ)

Andorra (AD) | Angola (AO) | Antigua and Barbuda (AG)

Argentina (AR) | Armenia (AM) | Australia (AU)

Austria (AT) | Azerbaijan (AZ) | Bahamas (BS)

Bahrain (BH) | Bangladesh (BD) | Barbados (BB)

Belarus (BY) | Belgium (BE) | Belize (BZ)

Benin (BJ) | Bhutan (BT) | Bolivia (BO)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) | Botswana (BW) | Brazil (BR)

Brunei (BN) | Bulgaria (BG) | Burkina Faso (BF)

Burundi (BI) | Cabo Verde (CV) | Cambodia (KH)

Cameroon (CM) | Canada (CA) | Central African Republic (CF)

Chad (TD) | Chile (CL) | China (CN)

Colombia (CO) | Comoros (KM) | Congo (CG)

Congo (Kinshasa) (CD) | Costa Rica (CR) | Croatia (HR)

Cuba (CU) | Cyprus (CY) | Czech Republic (CZ)

Denmark (DK) | Djibouti (DJ) | Dominica (DM)

Dominican Republic (DO) | East Timor (TL) | Ecuador (EC)

Egypt (EG) | El Salvador (SV) | Equatorial Guinea (GQ)

Eritrea (ER) | Estonia (EE) | Eswatini (SZ)

Ethiopia (ET) | Fiji (FJ) | Finland (FI)

France (FR) | Gabon (GA) | Gambia (GM)

Georgia (GE) | Germany (DE) | Ghana (GH)

Greece (GR) | Grenada (GD) | Guatemala (GT)

Guinea (GN) | Guinea-Bissau (GW) | Guyana (GY)

Haiti (HT) | Honduras (HN) | Hungary (HU)

Iceland (IS) | India (IN) | Indonesia (ID)

Iran (IR) | Iraq (IQ) | Ireland (IE)

Israel (IL) | Italy (IT) | Jamaica (JM)

Japan (JP) | Jordan (JO) | Kazakhstan (KZ)

Kenya (KE) | Kiribati (KI) | Korea, North (KP)

Korea, South (KR) | Kosovo (XK) | Kuwait (KW)

Kyrgyzstan (KG) | Laos (LA) | Latvia (LV)

Lebanon (LB) | Lesotho (LS) | Liberia (LR)

Libya (LY) | Liechtenstein (LI) | Lithuania (LT)

Luxembourg (LU) | Madagascar (MG) | Malawi (MW)

Malaysia (MY) | Maldives (MV) | Mali (ML)

Malta (MT) | Marshall Islands (MH) | Mauritania (MR)

Mauritius (MU) | Mexico (MX) | Micronesia (FM)

Moldova (MD) | Monaco (MC) | Mongolia (MN)

Montenegro (ME) | Morocco (MA) | Mozambique (MZ)

Myanmar (MM) | Namibia (NA) | Nauru (NR)

Nepal (NP) | Netherlands (NL) | New Zealand (NZ)

Nicaragua (NI) | Niger (NE) | Nigeria (NG)

North Macedonia (MK) | Norway (NO) | Oman (OM)

Pakistan (PK) | Palau (PW) | Panama (PA)

Papua New Guinea (PG) | Paraguay (PY) | Peru (PE)

Philippines (PH) | Poland (PL) | Portugal (PT)

Qatar (QA) | Romania (RO) | Russia (RU)

Rwanda (RW) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN) | Saint Lucia (Adaptive AI)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VC) | Samoa (WS) | San Marino (SM)

Sao Tome and Principe (ST) | Saudi Arabia (SA) | Senegal (SN)

Serbia (RS) | Seychelles (SC) | Sierra Leone (SL)

Singapore (SG) | Slovakia (SK) | Slovenia (SI)

Solomon Islands (SB) | Somalia (SO) | South Africa (ZA)

South Sudan (SS) | Spain (ES) | Sri Lanka (LK)

Sudan (SD) | Suriname (SR) | Sweden (SE)

Switzerland (CH) | Syria (SY) | Taiwan (TW)

Tajikistan (TJ) | Tanzania (TZ) | Thailand (TH)

Togo (TG) | Tonga (TO) | Trinidad and Tobago (TT)

Tunisia (TN) | Turkey (TR) | Turkmenistan (TM)

Tuvalu (TV) | Uganda (UG) | Ukraine (UA)

United Arab Emirates (AE) | United Kingdom (GB) | United States (US)

Uruguay (UY) | Uzbekistan (UZ) | Vanuatu (VU)

Vatican City (VA) | Venezuela (VE) | Vietnam (VN)

Yemen (YE) | Zambia (ZM) | Zimbabwe (ZW)

Supported Timezones

Use one of the following timezone formats in your CSV. These are case-sensitive and must match exactly.

Timezone | Timezone | Timezone

Etc/GMT+12 | Pacific/Midway | Pacific/Honolulu

America/Juneau | US/Alaska | America/Dawson

America/Los_Angeles | America/Phoenix | America/Tijuana

US/Arizona | America/Belize | America/Boise

America/Chihuahua | America/Denver | America/Edmonton

America/Guatemala | America/Managua | America/Regina

Canada/Saskatchewan | US/Mountain | America/Bahia_Banderas

America/Bogota | America/Cancun | America/Chicago

America/Mexico City | US/Central | America/Caracas

America/Detroit | America/Indiana/Indianapolis | America/Louisville

America/Manaus | America/New_York | America/Santiago

America/Santo_Domingo | America/Toronto | US/East-Indiana

US/Eastern | America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires | America/Glace_Bay

America/Montevideo | America/Sao_Paulo | Canada/Atlantic

America/St_Johns | Canada/Newfoundland | America/Godthab

America/Noronha | Etc/GMT+2 | Atlantic/Cape_Verde

Atlantic/Azores | UTC | Africa/Algiers

Africa/Casablanca | Africa/Lagos | Atlantic/Canary

Europe/London | Africa/Cairo | Africa/Harare

Europe/Amsterdam | Europe/Belgrade | Europe/Brussels

Europe/Madrid | Europe/Oslo | Europe/Sarajevo

Africa/Nairobi | Asia/Amman | Asia/Baghdad

Asia/Jerusalem | Asia/Kuwait | Asia/Qatar

Europe/Athens | Europe/Bucharest | Europe/Helsinki

Europe/Moscow | Asia/Baku | Asia/Dubai

Asia/Kabul | Asia/Tehran | Asia/Karachi

Asia/Yekaterinburg | Asia/Colombo | Asia/Kolkata

Asia/Calcutta | Asia/Kathmandu | Asia/Almaty

Asia/Dhaka | Asia/Rangoon | Asia/Bangkok

Asia/Krasnoyarsk | Asia/Irkutsk | Asia/Kuala_Lumpur

Asia/Shanghai | Asia/Taipei | Australia/Perth

Asia/Seoul | Asia/Tokyo | Asia/Yakutsk

Australia/Adelaide | Australia/Darwin | Asia/Vladivostok

Australia/Brisbane | Australia/Canberra | Australia/Hobart

Australia/Sydney | Pacific/Guam | Asia/Magadan

Pacific/Auckland | Pacific/Fiji | Pacific/Tongatapu

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I import contacts with more than one phone number or email? Yes! Use separate columns like Additional phone numbers and Additional email addresses, and separate entries with commas.

Q: What happens if I include a field in the CSV that doesn’t exist in Adaptive AI? That field will be ignored unless you map it to an existing standard or custom field during the import process.

Q: Will Adaptive AI detect duplicates automatically? Yes, based on your Duplicate Detection Settings, it can match by Contact ID, phone, or email and either merge or skip duplicates.

Q: Can I update contacts with a CSV import? Absolutely. Just make sure you're including a field used in your duplicate matching (like Contact ID, email, or phone).

Q: Do I need to clean blank rows and columns? Yes. It’s best to remove all unnecessary data to avoid unexpected import behavior.

Related Articles

• Troubleshooting Bulk Imports via CSV