I’m trying to build a scenario where the body of an incoming email is parsed and specific data fields are mapped into a single row in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.
I’m stuck at the part where I need to extract and structure the data from the email body so that it’s correctly mapped to individual columns in the sheet (e.g., Name, Email, Product, etc.).
Could someone guide me on how to:
Parse the email body (plain text or HTML) and extract specific fields
Map each field to a corresponding column in a Google Sheet
Ensure it creates a new row for each incoming email
If anyone has done something similar or has an example scenario, I’d really appreciate your help!
A big factor that will determine how to parse fields out of an email body is if the email body is structured (ex. Form Submission Notification Email) or unstructured (ex. Free Text Contact Form Submission). Please provide this info and I can advise on recommended next steps!
Unfortunately, the emails are not structured — they come as plain text messages written freely by users, similar to a free-text contact form submission. There’s no fixed format, so the information (like name, email, request, etc.) may appear in different parts of the body.
Let me know if there’s still a way to handle this, or if you’d recommend any workarounds or AI-based parsing options.
So in that case I would incorporate ChatGPT and the prompt should read something like:
"From this email body:
{{ email_body }}
please extract out the following fields phone, date, location…etc (whatever you’re looking to identify). Please provide the format in structured key:value pairs or JSON."
Then you can use the JSON module to make datapills available for use in later steps.
This may take some testing and refining for sure but hope this helps!
This is just an example. Your final solution may or may not look like this depending on your requirements.
I would suggest completing the Make Academy before jumping into building a complete scenario. If you need specific assistance when you are building a scenario it’s easier to help you then.
Here are some useful links and guides you can use to learn more on how to use the Make platform, apps, and app modules. I found these useful when I was learning Make, and hope they might benefit you too —
You can also use the Hire a Pro category to request for private 1-to-1 assistance via video call/screenshare/private messaging/etc. This may help you get your issue resolved faster especially if it is urgent or contain sensitive information. It is important to post your request in the Hire a Pro category, as forum members are not allowed to advertise their services in other categories like here (even if it’s free/unpaid). Posting in the Hire a Pro category will allow other members to assist you over other forms of communication.
Alternatively, you can use the private messaging feature to directly reach out to other forum members. To do this, go to your profile, and click on the “New Message” button:
Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any further questions or issues.
