Bring your contacts into ppl, without starting over

October 10, 2026 · ppl team

Your address book already contains a lot of the people you want to keep up with. You should not have to type their names and phone numbers again just to start using a personal CRM.

ppl accepts a CSV file and can import from Google Contacts after you connect your Google account. Both routes let you review the import before confirming it. Choose the one that fits where your contacts live today.

Start with a copy you can review

If you are moving contacts from another app, export a CSV file and keep the original as a backup. Open a copy in a spreadsheet and check the column headings. Look for names, email addresses and phone numbers, and remove any rows you do not want to bring into ppl.

In ppl, open Settings and choose Import contacts. The CSV form accepts supported fields including first name, last name, email, phone, birthday, organization and notes. You can download a sample template from that page if you need an example of the expected format.

Upload the file to reach the preview. Check that the names and details appear in the right places. If something looks wrong, correct the file before confirming. A few minutes spent here can save you a much longer cleanup later.

Import from Google Contacts

The same import page includes a Google Contacts option. Connect your Google account and review the requested access on Google's consent screen. This import connection requests read-only access to your contacts. It is separate from choosing to connect Gmail or Calendar for other features.

Once the account is connected, preview the contacts before starting the import. Make sure you have selected the Google account whose address book you want to use. A work account and a personal account may contain very different sets of people.

You can disconnect the Google Contacts connection from the import page when you no longer need it. Disconnecting an import source is different from deleting contacts you have already imported.

Understand the duplicate check

The import checks email addresses against existing contacts. When it finds a matching address, it skips that contact rather than creating another copy. The import report shows how many contacts were imported and how many were skipped.

That check is useful, but it is worth understanding its limits. Two records for the same person may use different email addresses, and some contacts have no email at all. Review the results instead of assuming that every duplicate has been resolved.

If an existing contact needs a new detail, check that record directly. A skipped import is not a promise that every field on the existing record has been updated.

Give the address book some context

An import gets names and details into place. Your next conversation is what starts making the record useful. Add a note about the person you are calling this week, save an important date or set a reminder for something you promised to do.

You can also connect an AI assistant and ask it to look up an imported person or save a note you supply. Check the result in the web app. The assistant can work with the records and permissions you give it; importing an address book does not automatically give it access.

Start with the people you want to stay close to. A smaller address book with a few useful notes can do more for your week than a large one you never open.

For more on what belongs in a personal CRM, read our personal CRM guide. If you run into trouble with an import, email hello@withppl.com.