Programmatic Image Processing: Convert AVIF to PNG in Clay Tables

According to compatibility data from Can I Email, AVIF images are supported in only 61% of email clients, which means that up to 39% of outbound recipients will see a broken image icon if you embed AVIF files directly [Caniemail 2026]. When go-to-market teams build automated outbound campaigns, this rendering gap is where programmatic conversion pipelines become necessary. If you send marketing emails with broken image frames, your campaign performance collapses, click-through rates drop, and spam filters flag your domain.

The core problem lies in the technological mismatch between modern web performance standards and legacy email client rendering engines. Websites serve images in modern formats like AVIF to optimize page speed, compress file sizes, and improve Core Web Vitals. Platforms like Shopify, Webflow, and major content delivery networks dynamically serve AVIF images to modern browsers because they render quickly. However, email clients like Microsoft Outlook on Windows use the Microsoft Word HTML rendering engine, which lacks modern image decoding libraries. Similarly, older versions of Apple Mail and other email clients fail to recognize AVIF files entirely. Instead of showing the logo or the personalized screenshot, these clients display a blank space or a broken file icon.

This is why go-to-market teams must programmatically convert AVIF images to PNG format. PNG is universally supported across all email clients, webmail interfaces, and devices. Standardizing your crawled images to PNG before they enter your outreach platform ensures that every recipient sees the visual assets exactly as intended, protecting your sender reputation and driving higher response rates.

When automating image conversion at scale, go-to-market teams cannot rely on manual web utilities. You need a programmatic API that integrates directly with data scraping tables. Several reliable services handle AVIF to PNG conversions via JSON-based REST APIs.

CloudConvert provides a job-based REST API designed to handle bulk media conversions. You define a series of tasks, starting with an import task that grabs the file from a URL, a convert task that changes the format to PNG, and an export task that provides a temporary download link. This architecture is reliable for complex, multi-step image operations.

FreeConvert offers an alternative REST API that simplifies the conversion flow. You send a POST request with the file URL and target format, and the API returns the converted file URL. It is a lightweight option that fits well in quick webhook chains.

Cloudinary is a third option, providing dynamic image URL transformations. By uploading the image to Cloudinary, you can change the file extension in the URL from .avif to .png, and Cloudinary's servers will convert and cache the image dynamically.

While all three options are viable, choosing the right API depends on your workflow speed and infrastructure requirements. The next sections show how to implement CloudConvert and FreeConvert APIs inside your automated tables.

To build a programmatic image conversion pipeline inside Clay, you chain your web scraping columns with an API call. Because Clay does not have a native image conversion formula, you use an HTTP Request column to connect to an external converter.

Step 1: Extract the Image URL

First, use Claygent or a standard website scraper to pull company logo URLs or screenshots from a list of target domains. Claygent scrapes the webpage, extracts the image path, and returns the URL in a table cell. If the target website uses modern performance optimizations, this URL will often point to an AVIF file.

Step 2: Configure the Clay HTTP Request Column Add a new HTTP Request column in your Clay table. Configure the request to call the CloudConvert API. Set the request method to POST and enter the CloudConvert jobs endpoint.

POST https://api.cloudconvert.com/v2/jobs

Configure the headers to include your CloudConvert API key and define the payload format.

{
  "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_CLOUDCONVERT_API_KEY",
  "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

Step 3: Define the Conversion Job Payload In the HTTP request body, define a JSON payload containing three tasks: import, convert, and export. Use Clay's column tokens to insert the AVIF URL from your scraper column into the import task.

{
  "tasks": {
    "import-1": {
      "operation": "import/url",
      "url": "COLUMN_TOKEN_FOR_AVIF_URL"
    },
    "convert-1": {
      "operation": "convert",
      "input": [
        "import-1"
      ],
      "output_format": "png"
    },
    "export-1": {
      "operation": "export/url",
      "input": [
        "convert-1"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Parse the Converted PNG URL

Once the API completes the job, the HTTP Request column returns a nested JSON response. Use Clay's JSON path extraction to isolate the output file URL from the export task. The path to extract is:

$.data.tasks[?(@.name=='export-1')].result.files[0].url

This path extracts the converted PNG URL, making it available for subsequent workflow steps.

Secure your programmatic AVIF to PNG asset pipelines

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Once your Clay pipeline extracts the converted PNG URL, you face a new problem: file storage durability. External APIs like CloudConvert or FreeConvert store converted files temporarily, usually expiring the links after 24 hours. If your outbound email tool sends campaigns in staggered batches or a recipient opens the email several days later, the image link will fail.

To prevent broken images, GTM teams need a persistent storage system. Organizations often consider three common alternatives before choosing a dedicated platform:

• Local file storage is difficult to sync with automated lead tables and cannot host public URLs for email outreach.
• Amazon S3 offers permanent storage but requires writing custom upload scripts, managing AWS IAM policies, and configuring public CDN access.
• Google Drive can store files but does not provide direct, reliable hotlinking URLs. Google Drive links often require authentication or change their URL structures without notice.

Fast.io provides an intelligent workspace platform that serves as a shared collaboration layer where human GTM teams and autonomous agents work together. When you import your converted PNG files to a shared Fast.io workspace, the files are automatically versioned, maintaining a detailed file version history that ensures all edits remain auditable.

Fast.io auto-indexes files, providing permanent, high-speed CDN URLs that are perfect for outreach email templates. Once a folder has Intelligence enabled, files are indexed automatically and queryable through chat by humans and agents alike. Furthermore, teams can use Metadata Views to turn raw documents into a live, queryable database. Metadata Views allow you to describe fields in natural language, and the AI designs a typed schema (supporting Text, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, URL, JSON, and Date & Time) to extract structured details from files. You can read more on the Metadata Views product page.

Fast.io workspace plans fit any team size, starting with the Starter plan at $29/mo, the Business plan at $99/mo, and the Growth plan at $299/mo. Every organization starts with a 14-day free trial that requires a credit card, allowing you to test Ripley (the built-in RAG agent), workspace intelligence, and Metadata Views. Compare details on the Fast.io pricing page.

To move your converted PNG images from Clay to Fast.io automatically, add an HTTP Request column that posts the converted PNG URL to Fast.io. Fast.io pulls the file from the source into your shared workspace.

Option 1: URL Import via API

The cleanest method is Fast.io's URL import. Add an HTTP Request column in Clay that sends the converted PNG URL to Fast.io. Fast.io pulls the file directly from the source, saving local bandwidth.

Set the request method to POST and keep the trailing slash. Authenticate with Authorization: Bearer YOUR_FASTIO_API_KEY. Send the body as application/x-www-form-urlencoded with source_url (the Clay column token for the PNG URL), file_name, profile_id (your 19-digit workspace ID), profile_type set to workspace, and folder_id.

POST https://api.fast.io/current/web_upload/

source_url=COLUMN_TOKEN_FOR_PNG_URL
file_name=company_logo.png
profile_id=1234567890123456789
profile_type=workspace
folder_id=root

Option 2: Clay Webhooks and Handoff

If you run complex campaigns, configure Clay to fire that HTTP Request when a new row is enriched. Clay posts the converted PNG URL to the same Fast.io URL import endpoint, and the file lands in the shared workspace automatically. Once Intelligence is enabled, imported files are indexed and queryable through Ripley.

Because Fast.io supports secure ownership transfer, agency partners or external contractors can build these workspaces, configure the schemas, and hand over control to internal human teams via a secure claim link while retaining admin access. The internal team receives the completed workspace, and the automated pipeline continues running.

Building a reliable image pipeline requires planning for API failures, empty fields, and optimization limits. You must implement defensive design patterns to keep your automated campaigns running.

First, configure fallback options for domains that block scrapers or lack logos. If Claygent cannot find an image URL, configure your HTTP Request column to skip the API call. This saves API credits and prevents empty records. You can write a simple formula in Clay to check if the logo column is empty before running the conversion.

Second, manage your image dimensions and file sizes. Outbound emails render best with small, optimized images. Large PNG files slow down email loading times and hurt engagement. When configuring your conversion task in CloudConvert or FreeConvert, use the optional compression parameters to limit the PNG output width to 400 pixels and compress the file size. This keeps your images sharp on high-resolution screens while maintaining a small file size for instant loading.

Third, monitor rate limits. If your Clay table enriches hundreds of leads simultaneously, your HTTP column might hit the conversion API's rate limits. Configure retries with exponential backoff in your script, or space out your Clay runs to avoid hitting execution limits.