Custom attributes are fields you define once and every contact then carries, such as Plan tier, Account manager or Renewal date. Agents fill them in from the contact panel; filters, automation rules and message variables can then use them.

Attributes describe contacts. There are no custom attributes for conversations.

Define an attribute

Attributes live on the Contacts page, not in Inbox settings.

The Attributes tab on Contacts lists every custom field, with its key, type and options.

1. 1New attribute
2. 2Attribute list

1. Open Contacts from the rail and select the Attributes tab.

2. Select New attribute.

3. Enter a name, for example "Plan tier". Optionally add a description.

4. Check the Key. It's made from the name and uses lowercase letters, numbers and underscores. It's used by the API and message variables.

5. Choose a Type: Text, Number, List, Date or Checkbox.

6. For a List, add at least one option and press Add after each.

7. Select Create attribute.

The drawer sums it up in plain words, such as "Every contact gets a “Plan tier” field holding a text value."

The key can't be changed

Once an attribute is saved its key is locked. You can rename the attribute and change its type, description and options, but not its key. If you need a different key, create a new attribute.

An attribute defines the field, not the data. Values already stored on contacts are never checked against the type or converted when you change it, and deleting an attribute leaves the stored values where they are.

The tab lists each attribute with its key, type, options and when it was updated. Use the search box to find one. Creating, editing or deleting an attribute needs permission to manage contact attributes (contact_attributes:write), not just permission to edit contacts, because defining a field changes your organisation's schema. The + in the contact panel that opens the same drawer needs it too.

Fill in a value

1. Open a conversation and look at the contact panel. On the Details tab, scroll to the contact attributes.

2. Hover a field and select the pencil. One field is edited at a time.

3. Type or choose a value, then select Save value.

Every attribute you defined appears on every contact, empty until someone fills it in. Clearing a value removes it. Values that exist on a contact but aren't defined, for example ones an import wrote earlier, still show, marked as not defined.

Where attributes are used

• Advanced filters. Your attributes appear in a Customer group of fields, with operators that match their type. A condition on an attribute you later delete shows "No longer defined in Audience → Attributes". See Search and filter conversations.
• Automation rules. Conditions can read "the customer's" attribute. See Automation rules.
• Message variables. Type {{ in the composer and the list includes your attribute keys, so a reply can say the customer's plan. See Reply to a conversation.

Tips

• Use a List for anything with a fixed set of answers, so values stay consistent and filters work.
• Choose the type carefully before agents start filling in values. Existing values are not converted.

The contact panelWhere agents see and edit these fields.Automation rulesAct on a customer’s attributes automatically.