Bulk edit product descriptions in PrestaShop without evenings in the admin
You can bulk edit product descriptions in PrestaShop three ways: by hand in the admin, by importing a CSV file, or by asking a chat for new descriptions for a whole category. By hand, 300 products means hundreds of identical clicks. With the chat you see each new description in a preview, approve batches of 50 products, and can undo most changes.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
Why are wholesaler descriptions a problem?
Because they're usually the same as the competition's. Products come into the store from the wholesaler's file, and with them the same description ten other stores have. Then there are the gaps: the short description next to the image that nobody filled in, and no description for Google, the meta description.
Monday, 11:05 pm, the store closed long ago, and you're on description 31 of 40 in the Lanterns category. You open a product, fix the description, go to the SEO tab, enter the title and description for Google, save, go back to the list. Across the whole catalogue it becomes a project of its own. Work it out for your store: time per product times the number of products. If you outsource it, agencies charge by the hour; the PrestaShop agency balcerzak.it lists its support rates (in Polish).
Does a description copied from the manufacturer hurt you in Google?
Google doesn't penalise a manufacturer's description as such, but it has no reason to pick your page either. Its guidance on helpful content asks whether a page adds value compared with other results. A description identical to ten other stores adds none. When several stores have the same text, Google usually shows one of them, and you don't know whether it's yours.
The spam policies treat mass content with no value for users as a problem. How it was produced doesn't matter. The same applies to texts written with AI. Google's guidance on generative AI content recommends making sure it's accurate and relevant. That's why you read the chat's descriptions first and then approve them.
What are the ways to change descriptions of many products at once?
There are three realistic routes, plus modules that generate descriptions. They differ in what happens when something goes wrong.
| Method | When it makes sense | Who writes the content | When something goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| By hand in the admin | a dozen or so best sellers | you | you fix it by hand |
| CSV import | hundreds of ready texts | you or a copywriter, outside the store | you need an export from before the changes |
| AI description module | generating at import | the module, with a key to an AI service | depends on the module |
| Conversation with the chat | category by category, with tone control | the chat, following your model | you undo the whole batch from the change history |
Import has its traps. The PrestaShop import documentation warns about the option to delete records before importing. Mismatched IDs or the encoding of accented characters can overwrite the wrong products. And the file doesn't write the descriptions for you.
What does fixing a whole category look like in a conversation with the chat?
You describe the task in your own words, and your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) reads the products from the store and suggests new descriptions. It saves nothing without your approval.
- You describe the problem. For example: rewrite the work glove descriptions, the style model is product RG-100, keep the technical specifications.
- You get a list. The chat lists the products to fix, including those with an empty short description or no Google description.
- You look at a sample. New descriptions for two or three products next to the old ones. You adjust the tone until it suits you.
- You approve a batch. The preview covers up to 50 products in one language, old and new versions side by side.
- You check in the store. Saving works like the Save button in the admin, so the store search sees the new words straight away.
- You undo if needed. You restore a whole batch with one request from the change history.
You: Fill in the empty short descriptions in Work gloves. Two or three sentences based on the long description, no exclamation marks.
Your chat: 18 products have an empty short description. Preview of the first:
You can see the other 17 in the table below. Save all 18?
You: Yes.
Your chat: Saved. You can undo the batch from the change history, even a week from now.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: RG-100 cowhide leather gloves: (empty)
new version: RG-100 cowhide leather gloves: Cowhide leather gloves for building and garden work. Reinforced palm and an elasticated wrist. Sizes 8 to 11.
You send the request in the morning and approve the first batch after reading every description in the preview. Ready-made requests are in the use cases rewriting descriptions in your brand's tone and filling in empty short descriptions. The same method works for category texts, covered in the post on the PrestaShop category description. It also works for product names for Google Shopping.
How to write a good product description
A good description answers the questions a customer would ask a sales assistant in a physical shop. Use this list when you write yourself, when you brief a copywriter and when you give it to the chat as instructions:
- Who the product is for. A small living room, garden work, a gift.
- What it's made of. The material and how it wears.
- Dimensions and specifications. Copied exactly, without rounding.
- Care. Whether the cover can be removed and washed.
- What sets it apart. A concrete fact instead of “unique” or “top quality”.
The short description next to the image is two or three sentences with the most important information first. The description for Google is usually 140 to 160 characters. Google may replace it with a snippet from the page, but a good description often makes it into the results.
What works in TellMyShop Free and what in TellMyShop Pro?
In TellMyShop Free the chat finds products with empty, short or duplicate descriptions and prepares a plan. It only reads and changes nothing. TellMyShop Pro saves the new descriptions straight after licence activation, without a switch. Prices, sales and stock need the separate Sales switch, which is off after installation. Work on descriptions doesn't touch them. Details are on the pricing page.
Questions and answers
Will Google penalise me for descriptions written with AI?
Google judges whether content is helpful, not who wrote it. The problem is pages generated en masse with no value for the buyer. A description with real dimensions, materials and uses, which you read before saving, meets that bar. That's why you see every description from the chat in a preview first, and only then approve it.
Will the new descriptions sound like AI wrote them?
They may, if you don't give a model. Point to one product whose description you like, and say what to avoid, for example exclamation marks and words like “unique”. The chat writes to that model, and you adjust the tone on two or three examples before moving on to the whole category.
How many products can I fix at once?
One preview covers up to 50 products in one language. With 300 products that's six batches, each with its own preview and approval. You set hourly limits in the module panel. Before larger work the chat checks whether it fits, and if not, it suggests stages. To start, approve five products and look at them in the store.
What if my store has two languages?
Each language is a separate batch. The chat writes the description in that language directly, rather than translating word for word, and the preview shows which language the change applies to. Do your main language first and approve it. Then ask for the second language version based on it. You undo each batch separately.
Which PrestaShop versions does it work on?
The TellMyShop module works on PrestaShop 8.1 and newer, including version 9. You install it like any other module, from a ZIP file in Modules > Module Manager. You then add the server address in your chat, and the module panel shows step-by-step instructions. It works with a free account too.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.