Choose a mass deletion method

Mass deletion of products is a permanent action, so choose the right method first and make sure that you really want to remove the product from the entire catalog. If you just want to remove a product from a single category or prevent it from being sold, use a more reversible action instead of mass deletion.

• Bulk function for the Products list: suitable for a limited set, which you can review in the Control Panel before confirmation.
• Bulk product removal import: fits into a pre-assembled CSV set and provides a line-by-line preview.
• Remove from category: keeps the product in the catalog and other categories.

Take the necessary export or other recovery plan before deleting. Only confirm the execution when the preview quantities, product IDs, and any blocks meet your intent.

Mass deletion is different from removing a product from a category. Permanent deletion destroys the product and its product-category links; the Remove function for a category keeps the product in the catalog and other categories. Take the necessary export or other recovery plan before deleting. If your goal is simply to prevent sales, change the product status to Inactive .

Remove selected products from the Products list

Open the Products list in the Control Panel. Narrow the list with search and filters, select the products to be deleted from the checkboxes, and open the bulk actions. Select Delete . The control panel opens the Delete Products window and creates a preview before typing.

Review the preview for the number of selected, eligible, skipped, and blocked products, as well as the product IDs displayed. The Confirm button is unavailable if there are no eligible products. If the preview matches your intent, select Delete Products . Review the results for the number of successful, failed, and skipped rows.

Remove products from a category without deleting them

Instead of mass deleting products in AI Commerce , detaching the category relationship is suitable for situations where a product belongs to the wrong category but needs to remain in the catalog. Open the Products in this category or Linked products view of the category, select the products, and use the detach function. The confirmation text indicates that the products will remain in the catalog and other categories.

Do not use the Delete Products bulk action to clean up a category if other use of the product continues. A hard delete can affect product search, bundles, subscriptions, content, and integrations. After unlinking, check both the selected category and the product's other categories. If the product should not be visible anywhere, changing the usage status is a more recoverable option than deleting.

Prepare a bulk deletion CSV file

AI Commerce 's current Bulk Product Deletion import uses exactly two headers: product_identifier and force . Create a UTF-8 encoded CSV file with the following as the first line. product_identifier can identify the product by a unique identifier supported by the current product search. force is empty, false , or true in lowercase.

product_identifier,force
AA-123,false
BB-456,true

Do not use the old header products_model;delete or the value CONFIRM : they are not part of the current product mass deletion profile. force=true overrides the blocking of order history references, so use it only when the impact on the interpretation of order data is accepted. A product used in a bundle selection cannot be overridden with force value.

Preview CSV deletion in Data Transfer

Open Data Transfer in the Control Panel and select Mass Deletion Import of Products . Upload the CSV file and run the preview. The preview does not delete products. It resolves product tags, checks force values, looks for order history and bundle references, and classifies rows as deleted, skipped, or invalid.

Fix unknown or ambiguous product identifier and other line errors in the file before execution. Subsequent duplicate lines for the same product will be ignored. A product in the order history will be blocked unless the line has force=true ; a product in the bundle selection will always be blocked. Reload the corrected file and ensure that the number of lines approved matches the plan.

Confirm CSV deletion and review report

AI Commerce 's Bulk Product Deletion Import requires explicit confirmation from the administrator before the execution phase. Confirm the execution only after previewing. Each approved product is deleted in its own processing, and the report distinguishes between deleted, skipped, and failed rows. If the product status changes after previewing, the execution may report an error.

Open the completed run report from Data Transfer History and keep it with your change request. At a minimum, check the number of deleted products, all bypass and error messages, and a few intentionally deleted SKUs from the storefront and Dashboard. If no rows are eligible for deletion, the deletion will not be performed.

Handle blockages safely

Common barriers to bulk deletion of products in AI Commerce include unknown product ID, ID that matches multiple products, invalid force value, order history reference, and product use in bundle selection. An unknown product should not be silently ignored: check the SKU, the uniqueness of the ID, and the correct tenant. Duplicate means that the same already resolved product is processed only once.

Do not break the bundle relationship or force the deletion of a product that references order history just to complete a run. First, determine the business impact and approve the change separately. If the product needs to be kept historical but hidden from sale, use the Not in Use state. After a permanent deletion, ensure that the catalog cache is refreshed and report any discrepancies to the administrator.