declare @xml xml; select @xml = t.BulkColumn from openrowset(bulk 'some_unc_path', single_blob) t; update dbo.YourTable set YourColumn = @xml -- cast(@xml as varchar(max)) where some_condition_is_met;Microsoft strongly recommends using single_blob when populating xml variables (it is much more efficient as it matches how xml is stored internally). Using xml instead of varchar(max) will allow you to better utilize a full text indexing if needed. It also goes without saying that as William already noted, native xml is easy to process.
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