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Uploading files and documents to Pilea

How to upload documents to Pilea, what the system auto-detects, and what gets created after analysis.

Written by Simon Oliver
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Pilea accepts feedback in many formats — from spreadsheets and surveys to interview transcripts, PDFs, and images. Upload any document containing customer signals, and Pilea automatically analyzes it and creates backlog items from the patterns. You can categorize each upload by content type so Pilea analyzes it appropriately.

What file formats are supported

Pilea accepts:

  • Spreadsheets: CSV, TSV, XLSX, XLS (with header rows)

  • Documents: PDF, Word, Google Docs exports, text files

  • Images: Screenshots, mockups, bug photos (visual evidence of issues)

  • Transcripts: Interview transcripts, meeting notes, call recordings transcribed

File size: Up to 50MB each. Upload up to 20 files at once.

Pilea auto-detects content in your files:

  • Text columns (feedback, questions, responses)

  • Dates (when responses were submitted)

  • Email addresses (to link responses to existing customers)

  • Names (associated with respondents or speakers)

  • Images/attachments (visual evidence)

ℹ️ Note: There's no required column name or document structure. Pilea reads the content and sample values to detect what each column or section contains. If you have a simple two-column CSV with "Customer" and "Feedback", it will work.

Content types — help Pilea analyze correctly

When you upload, Pilea asks you to categorize the file so it analyzes appropriately:

Content Type

Examples

Analysis Intent

Survey

NPS/CSAT exports, app reviews, form responses

Analyze (extract customer feedback)

Interview

Customer interview transcripts, usability test notes

Analyze (primary research)

Sales / CS Call

Demo transcripts, renewal conversations

Analyze (direct customer feedback)

Customer Meeting Notes

Notes from customer meetings, partner reviews

Analyze (customer feedback signals)

Internal Meeting Notes

Sprint planning, retros, product reviews

Knowledge (reference material without backlog extraction)

Feedback List

Bulk feedback exports, bullet-point lists

Analyze (individual items)

Document / Report

Research reports, strategy docs, insight decks

Knowledge (pre-synthesized context)

Analyze intent tells Pilea to extract individual customer signals and create or update backlog items. Knowledge intent treats the file as reference material — Pilea stores it and you can search across it, but it won't automatically generate backlog items.

How to upload your files

  1. Go to File Uploads in the left sidebar.

  2. Click Upload Files.

  3. Drag and drop your file(s) onto the upload area, or click to browse.

  4. Select the Content Type that matches your file (Interview, Survey, Feedback List, etc.).

  5. Choose the Analysis Intent: Analyze (to extract backlog items) or Knowledge (to store as reference).

  6. Click Upload Files.

SCREENSHOT: The Upload Files upload area.

💡 Tip: If you have multiple files to import, you can add up to 20 at once in a single upload.

What happens after you upload

Pilea processes the file in the background. You'll see the progress update to Analyzing responses as each row or section is processed. Once complete, the file appears in your File Uploads list.

Click the file to open its detail page. You'll see three tabs:

  • Summary — an AI-generated overview of the themes and patterns across all content

  • Responses — a list of every imported entry (rows from a spreadsheet, transcript sections, image descriptions, etc.)

  • Backlog Items — the backlog items created or updated based on the feedback (only shown if Analysis Intent was "Analyze")

[SCREENSHOT: The file detail page showing the Summary, Responses, and Backlog Items tabs]

Each entry becomes a mention in Pilea, processed the same way as manually added feedback or feedback from an integration. Entries are linked to backlog items, and if an email column or contact name was present, they're matched to customer records automatically.

Viewing the imported entries in Mentions

The imported entries also appear in the Mentions list. You can filter by source to see only your imported entries. Each mention shows its processing status — entries move from Received to Processed once analysis completes.

ℹ️ Note: If your file contained an email column or contact name and a customer with that email already exists in Pilea, the entry is linked to that customer profile automatically. If no match is found, the entry is still analyzed, but it will not be tied to a customer record.

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