{"site":{"name":"Koji","description":"AI-native customer research platform that helps teams conduct, analyze, and synthesize customer interviews at scale.","url":"https://www.koji.so","contentTypes":["blog","documentation"],"lastUpdated":"2026-11-14T17:55:46.717Z"},"content":[{"type":"documentation","id":"afb58fbb-21d1-4266-b7dc-3a0efb632493","slug":"importing-participants-csv","title":"Importing Participants via CSV","url":"https://www.koji.so/docs/importing-participants-csv","summary":"Use Import CSV on the Participants table of a study's Self-recruit tab to import up to 500 people per upload (comma, semicolon or tab separated, or a plain list of emails). Each person gets a private invite link that skips the lead form and ties the interview to them. Track people who have not started, copy or remove invites, and download everyone's links with Invite links. Available on Interviews and Enterprise plans.","content":"When you already have a list of people you want to interview, importing them from a CSV file is the fastest way to get started. Upload the file with **Import CSV** on the Participants table of your study's **Self-recruit** tab, and every person in it gets their own private invite link. You can see who has started, who has finished and who still needs a nudge. CSV import is available on the **Interviews** and **Enterprise** plans.\n\n## When to Use CSV Import\n\nCSV import is ideal when you:\n\n- Have an existing list of customers, users, or prospects in a spreadsheet or CRM export\n- Want to know exactly which people responded and which did not\n- Want to skip the lead form for people you already know, so they go straight to the interview\n- Are running a targeted study where you know exactly who should participate\n\nCSV import is one of two ways to reach your own people. The other is the generic study link: one URL for everyone, and with the lead form left off, responses stay anonymous. Choose per study. Import a list, from a CSV here or over the [AI-assistant (MCP) connection](/docs/mcp-overview), when you want to see who responded and keep the columns you import (company, role, segment) next to every response, so the Export can be sliced by segment in a spreadsheet. Share the generic link when candor matters more than tracking: an exit interview, an engagement pulse, a sensitive topic. Both land in the same study, next to anyone you reach by embed or phone and anyone Koji recruits for you through [Panel recruit](/docs/panel-recruitment).\n\n## How It Works\n\n1. **Prepare your file**: a CSV with one person per row, or simply a list of email addresses.\n2. **Import it** with **Import CSV** on the Participants table of the study's Self-recruit tab.\n3. **Koji creates a respondent** for each person, each with a private invite link.\n4. **Send the links** by email, Slack, your CRM, or any other channel.\n5. **Track responses**: people who have not opened their link show as **Not started** until they do.\n\nWhen someone opens their invite link, they see your normal landing page, including the choice between a text and a voice interview. The only difference is that their interview is attached to their record, so you know who responded without asking them to fill in their details again.\n\n## Preparing Your File\n\n### Columns Koji Recognizes\n\nThere are no strictly required columns. Koji keeps whatever you provide and recognizes common spellings of the usual ones:\n\n| What it is | Header spellings Koji understands |\n|---|---|\n| Email | `email`, `E-mail`, `Email address`, `work_email`, and similar. If no header says \"email\", a column that is almost all email addresses is used. |\n| Name | `name`, `full_name`, `display_name`, `participant_name`, and similar, or `first_name` plus `last_name`, which are joined |\n| Your own ID | `external_id` or `id`, for matching back to your CRM or database |\n\nEvery other column (such as `company`, `role`, `segment`, or custom attributes) is kept with the person and comes back out unchanged in your downloads.\n\n### Format Requirements\n\n- **Separators:** comma, semicolon and tab-separated files all work. Koji picks the separator from the first line, so a file saved from a European-locale spreadsheet imports as is.\n- **Header row:** recommended. A plain list of email addresses also works, with or without an `email` header.\n- **Encoding:** UTF-8 is recommended so names in any language come through intact.\n- **Limits per upload:** up to 500 rows, 50 columns, and 1,000 characters in any single cell.\n- **Duplicates:** if the same person (same ID, or same email when there is no ID) appears twice in one file, the repeated row shares the first row's link.\n\nHere is an example file, matching the template you can download from the import dialog:\n\n```csv\nemail,name,external_id,company\njane@acme.com,Jane Smith,user-001,Acme Corp\nbob@example.org,Bob Johnson,user-002,Widgets Inc\nli.wei@startup.io,Li Wei,user-003,StartupCo\n```\n\n## Importing Your File\n\n1. Open your study and go to its **Interviews** page.\n2. Stay on the **Self-recruit** tab and find the **Participants** table.\n3. Click **Import CSV**.\n4. Drop your file into the dialog, or click **Select File**. Need a starting point? Click **Download** next to \"Need a template?\".\n5. Koji checks the file and creates the links. If something is wrong (too many rows, an over-long cell), the dialog tells you which row and column to fix.\n\nWhen the import finishes, the dialog shows how many personal interview links were created, plus how many people were already invited (they keep their existing link) and how many repeated rows share a link. If the study is still a draft, you will see a note that the links open once you publish it.\n\n## Personal Invite Links\n\nEach imported person gets a link that looks like this:\n\n```\nhttps://www.koji.so/i/your-study?invite=8f14e45f-ceea-467a-9575-2c5b0e2d1a3c\n```\n\nThe invite value is random, so nobody can guess another person's link from their own. When the person opens it:\n\n- They see the same landing page as everyone else, with the choice of text or voice\n- They skip the lead form, because you already know who they are\n- The **Anonymous** badge is not shown, since their answers are tied to their name\n- Their interview is attached to their respondent record in your results\n\n**Re-uploading is safe.** If you upload the same people again (for example, an updated list with a few new rows), people who were already invited keep their existing link and only the new rows get new ones.\n\n**Links from older imports keep working.** People imported before personal invite links were introduced still have their original links, so any you have already sent are unaffected.\n\n## Pre-Filled Details and the Lead Form\n\nIf your study has a [lead form](/docs/intake-forms-and-consent), invited people skip it entirely: the name, email and other columns you imported are already on their record. Everyone else who arrives through the generic link still sees the lead form as normal.\n\n## Getting the Links Out\n\nYou have three ways to collect the links:\n\n- **Download CSV** in the import dialog returns the file you uploaded, every row in its original order, with an **Interview link** column added at the end. Paste it into your email tool or CRM for a mail merge.\n- **Copy All URLs** in the import dialog copies every person's name (or email) and link to your clipboard.\n- **Invite links** on the Participants table downloads everyone you have ever imported into the study, in the columns you uploaded, with their link, response status, and start and completion times (UTC). Use it any time, not just straight after an upload.\n\nFrom each person's row menu you can also **Copy invite link**, and for someone who has not started, **Remove invite** to withdraw it.\n\n## Monitoring Progress\n\nThe Participants table updates as people respond:\n\n- **Not started:** imported people who have not opened their link yet. They have their own filter, so you can export or chase exactly the people who still need a reminder.\n- **In progress, Partial, Completed:** the interview's state once they begin.\n- **Quality score:** the score each completed interview receives. See [Understanding Quality Scores](/docs/understanding-quality-scores).\n- **Conversation details:** click any row to read the transcript and analysis.\n\nPeople who have not started do not count as responses in your study totals.\n\n## Structured Questions and CSV Imports\n\nIf your study includes [structured questions](/docs/structured-questions-guide) (scales, multiple choice, ranking, yes/no and more), invited people see the same interactive question widgets as anyone else. Their answers are linked to their respondent record, and the Participants table's **Export** includes the columns you imported, so you can break results down by segment in a spreadsheet.\n\n## Plan Availability\n\nCSV import is available on the **Interviews** and **Enterprise** plans. If you are on Free or Insights, you can still share your study's generic link, or upgrade on the [pricing page](/pricing) to import your own lists.\n\n## Tips for a Smooth Import\n\n1. **Clean your data first.** Fix obvious typos in email addresses before uploading.\n2. **Use clear headers.** \"Email\", \"Name\" and \"ID\" are recognized in most spellings, but clear headers save surprises.\n3. **Stay within the limits.** Up to 500 rows per upload; split larger lists into several files. Re-uploading never duplicates people.\n4. **Test with a small batch.** Import five to ten rows first and open one link yourself before importing the full list.\n5. **Publish before you send.** Links only open once the study is live.\n6. **Use the Not started filter for reminders.** Download that group with **Invite links** and send a single follow-up a few days later.\n\n## Related Resources\n\n- [Personalized Interview Links](/docs/personalized-interview-links) — how personal links work and when to use them\n- [Managing Research Participants](/docs/managing-research-participants) — track everyone across your studies\n- [Sharing Your Interview Link](/docs/sharing-your-interview-link) — other ways to distribute your interview\n- [Structured Questions Guide](/docs/structured-questions-guide) — add interactive question types to your study\n- [Panel Recruitment](/docs/panel-recruitment) — let Koji find participants for you\n\n## Further reading on the blog\n\n- [How to Recruit User Research Participants: The Complete Guide (2026)](/blog/how-to-recruit-user-research-participants-2026) — Recruiting the wrong participants is more expensive than recruiting none at all. Here's the complete playbook: screeners, channels, incentiv\n\n<!-- further-reading:blog -->\n","category":"Collecting Responses","lastModified":"2026-10-10T04:13:02.288644+00:00","metaTitle":"Importing Participants via CSV: Personal Invite Links | Koji Docs","metaDescription":"Import up to 500 people per CSV into a Koji study. Each gets a private invite link; track Not started, completed and download everyone's links.","keywords":["CSV import","bulk import","participants","spreadsheet","tracking links","respondents"],"aiSummary":"Use Import CSV on the Participants table of a study's Self-recruit tab to import up to 500 people per upload (comma, semicolon or tab separated, or a plain list of emails). Each person gets a private invite link that skips the lead form and ties the interview to them. Track people who have not started, copy or remove invites, and download everyone's links with Invite links. Available on Interviews and Enterprise plans.","aiPrerequisites":["sharing-your-interview-link"],"aiLearningOutcomes":["Prepare a CSV file with the correct format","Upload participants to a project","Distribute unique tracking links","Monitor participant completion status"],"aiDifficulty":"intermediate","aiEstimatedTime":"6 min read"}],"pagination":{"total":1,"returned":1,"offset":0}}