Generating Channel Content

Generating channel content is how you fill marketplace-specific attributes with AI-powered data. Select your SKUs, choose your generation options, and Merchkit's AI handles the rest.

The Generate Flow

Here's how channel generation works:

1. Navigate to your channel — Click the channel in your sidebar
2. Select SKUs — Choose which products to generate for
3. Open the action bar — Click the "Generate" menu
4. Choose your generation option — Generate empty fields only or regenerate everything
5. Wait for processing — Merchkit generates your attributes in the background
6. Review and export — Validate the results and export to the marketplace

Step 1: Open Your Channel

In your Merchkit sidebar, click the channel you want to work with (Wayfair, Amazon, Google Merchant, etc.).

The channel grid opens, showing all channel-specific attributes for that channel.

[SCREENSHOT: Wayfair channel grid view]

Step 2: Select SKUs to Generate

You can select SKUs in several ways:

Method 1: Select All

Click the checkbox in the column header to select all visible products in the current view.

[SCREENSHOT: Select all checkbox in channel grid header]

Method 2: Select by Filter

Use the filter bar to show only products you want to generate for, then select all:

• Select by completion status — "Show empty attributes only"
• Select by category — "Show Sofas only"
• Select by SKU range — "Show SKUs starting with SOFA-"

Then click Select All to select the filtered products.

[SCREENSHOT: Filter bar in channel grid]

Method 3: Select Individual SKUs

Click the checkbox next to individual product names to select specific SKUs.

[SCREENSHOT: Individual SKU checkboxes]

Method 4: Select by Range

Click the first SKU's checkbox, hold Shift, and click the last SKU to select a range.

Step 3: Open the Generate Menu

Once you've selected your SKUs, an action bar appears at the bottom of the screen (or at the top, depending on your view).

Look for the Generate dropdown button.

[SCREENSHOT: Action bar with Generate dropdown at bottom of screen]

Step 4: Choose Your Generation Option

Click the Generate dropdown to see your options:

Option 1: Generate Empty Attributes Only

Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Return (Mac) or Ctrl+Return (Windows)

Merchkit fills only attributes that are currently blank. If an attribute already has a value, it skips it.

Use this when:

• You're filling in missing data on existing products
• You want to preserve manually edited values
• You're doing incremental updates

Option 2: Generate All Attributes

Merchkit regenerates every channel attribute, overwriting any existing values (including manually edited ones).

Use this when:

• You're updating product data in your main Products view and want to refresh all channel attributes
• You want to re-apply an updated prompt to all SKUs
• You're fixing an attribute that was filled incorrectly

[SCREENSHOT: Generate dropdown menu with two options]

Step 5: Wait for Processing

After you click Generate, Merchkit:

1. Queues the generation job — Shows a progress indicator
2. Processes in the background — You can navigate away or continue working
3. Generates attributes — Uses your channel's prompts (default or custom) to fill each attribute
4. Completes — Notifies you when finished

A progress bar shows:

• Number of SKUs being processed
• Estimated time remaining
• Percentage complete

[SCREENSHOT: Generation progress indicator]

Generation Time

Generation speed depends on:

• Number of SKUs — Generating 10 products takes seconds; 1,000 takes a few minutes
• Number of attributes — Channels with many attributes (like Wayfair) take longer than simpler ones (like Google Merchant)
• Complexity of prompts — Simple text extraction is faster; complex analysis takes longer

Most generations complete within minutes, even for large batches.

Step 6: Review the Results

Once generation completes, the channel grid updates with new values.

[SCREENSHOT: Channel grid with newly generated attributes]

What to Look For

• Green checkmarks — Attributes successfully generated and valid
• Red warnings — Attributes with errors (format issue, invalid selection)
• Empty cells — Attributes the AI couldn't fill (usually means missing source data)

Spot Check Your Results

Before exporting, review a few random products:

1. Click a product name to view its detail
2. Check that generated attributes make sense
3. Manually edit any that look wrong
4. Close and check another product

[SCREENSHOT: Product detail view with generated attributes]

Editing After Generation

You can always edit attributes manually after generation:

1. Click a cell in the channel grid to edit inline
2. Or click a product name to open its detail view
3. Edit the value and save

This is useful when:

• The AI generated close-but-not-perfect results
• You want to make category-specific adjustments
• You want to emphasize certain attributes

Regenerating Specific Attributes

You don't have to regenerate everything. You can:

1. Select a single attribute column
2. Select only the SKUs that need it
3. Generate just that attribute

For example, if you only want to regenerate "Care Instructions" because you updated your custom prompt, select only that column and hit Generate.

Common Generation Scenarios

Scenario 1: New Products Added

1. Open your channel
2. Filter to show only products with empty attributes
3. Select all filtered products
4. Click Generate → Generate Empty Attributes Only
5. Review results and export

Scenario 2: Marketplace Requires New Attributes

1. The channel adds new required attributes
2. Open your channel (it loads the new attributes automatically)
3. Select all products
4. Click Generate → Generate Empty Attributes Only
5. Review and export the updated feed

Scenario 3: You Updated Prompts

1. You customized one or more channel prompts
2. Select all products
3. Click Generate → Generate All Attributes (to apply new prompts)
4. Review results
5. Export the refreshed feed

Scenario 4: Partial Update

1. You've manually fixed some products
2. You have new products that need generating
3. Filter to show only products with empty attributes
4. Select the filtered products
5. Click Generate → Generate Empty Attributes Only
6. Leave manually edited products untouched

Troubleshooting Generation Issues

Generation Failed

• Check your internet connection
• Ensure your channel is still connected and authenticated
• Try again with a smaller batch
• Contact Merchkit support if errors persist

Generated Values Look Wrong

• The AI might not have enough source data in your Products view
• Your custom prompt might be unclear
• Check your product description and specs for missing information

Generation Took Too Long

• Large batches (1,000+ SKUs) can take several minutes
• Complex channels (Wayfair) take longer than simple ones (Google Merchant)
• Generation happens in the background—you can navigate away and come back

Next Steps

Your channel content is generated. Now review and prepare it for export:

• Pre-Export Validation Checklist — Check for errors before exporting
• Exporting Channel Data — Download and submit your marketplace feed

Or, if you want to refine your approach:

• Customizing Channel Attribute Prompts — Improve your generation results