Custom User Fields (CUFs) give you the power to store and manage user data with precision, allowing for highly personalized interactions. By leveraging these fields, businesses can tailor conversations, enhance customer experiences, and boost engagement.
In this guide, we'll break down how Custom User Fields work, how to set them up, and best practices for integrating them into your automations. Whether you're running promotions, collecting leads, or segmenting your audience, mastering CUFs will take your Manychat strategies to the next level. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What are Custom User Fields and how do you use them?
- What are Bot Fields, and how do they differ from Custom User Fields?
- How can you view responses saved in Custom User Fields?
- How do you use Custom User Fields in your automations?
- Limitations and troubleshooting
What are Custom User Fields and how do you use them?
Custom User Fields allow you to store unique data for each of your contacts, making it easier to personalize your communication and automate tasks. You can use these fields with integrations such as Zapier, as conditions for targeting specific users, or even as variables (like First Name, Full Name, etc.) to customize messages.
You can create CUFs in two ways:
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Via Settings: Navigate to Settings → Fields → User Fields, then click the + New User Field button.
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Directly from the Data Collection block: While setting up a Data Collection block, click the + User Field button within the block's settings to create a new field for storing responses.
Each CUF you create has a Name, Type, and an optional Description, as well as a Folder (if you have any folders set up for organization).
You can manage, organize, or archive Custom User Fields in Settings → Fields. Move to and Archive options are available for managing CUFs.
The Move option allows you to relocate a CUF from one folder to another, helping you keep your fields organized and easily accessible. On the other hand, the Archive option temporarily removes a CUF from active use without permanently deleting it. Archived fields can be unarchived later if needed, but while they are archived, a new field with the same name cannot be created.
To completely delete a Custom User Field, you must first archive it, as the delete option only becomes available after the field has been archived.
If a CUF you want to delete is currently used in an active automation, you will receive a warning when attempting to delete it.
While deleting the CUF won't impact published automations, it will disable any future data collection associated with that field. To maintain your automation’s functionality, you’ll need to either replace the CUF with a different one or adjust the automation’s logic if data collection is no longer required.
When deleting a folder containing Custom User Fields, you can choose to either archive the fields inside the folder or move them to the root directory.
The details in this section provide everything you need to understand how Custom User Fields work and how they can enhance personalization and efficiency in your Manychat automations.
What are Bot Fields, and how do they differ from Custom User Fields?
Bot Fields are a powerful feature in Manychat designed to store global information that applies universally across your entire bot. Unlike Custom User Fields, which are unique to each user and personalize their experience, Bot Fields hold static or dynamic data that is the same for every user interacting with your bot.
You can find Bot Fields in the Settings → Fields section, right alongside Custom User Fields, as shown in the screenshot below.
Bot Fields are ideal for scenarios where the same information needs to be reused across multiple flows or conversations. Some practical examples include:
- Universal settings: Store your business hours, location, or contact information to display in different flows without repetition.
- Global campaign data: Keep a shared promo code, track campaign participation globally, or manage an event countdown.
- Account-wide preferences: Configure default settings like language or fallback messages that apply to all users.
- Global metrics: Use Bot Fields to track counters (e.g., number of purchases during a campaign or total quiz completions).
The table below highlights the key differences between the two features, along with simple examples for better understanding.
By leveraging both Bot Fields and Custom User Fields strategically, you can create a more personalized and dynamic experience for users while maintaining global consistency where needed.
How can you view responses saved in Custom User Fields?
If a message node in your automation contains a Data Collection block, a small purple button will appear in the upper right corner of the message node. Additionally, a Show Responses button will be visible beneath the message node’s statistics.
Clicking either button will display the responses in a spreadsheet-style view as demonstrated below.
There are also two other helpful options available:
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Feed view: You can switch to this mode to see real-time responses displayed one by one.
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Export as .csv: You can download the responses as a CSV file for use in your preferred spreadsheet software or for easy upload to a CRM.
⚠️ Note: These buttons are accessible only in view mode, so ensure you're not in editing mode if you want to review the responses.
How do you use Custom User Fields in your automations?
Lead generation
After collecting a user's email or phone number within an automation, you should save the responses to either System or Custom User Fields.
From there, you can seamlessly integrate their information into your email marketing service or CRM, or even register them for a webinar with a single tap using Zapier or other available integrations. For detailed guidance on using Zapier in Manychat, refer to this article.
Audience targeting
You can leverage data stored in Custom User Fields as conditions by incorporating them into a Condition block. For example, you can verify if a specific CUF contains a desired value or response, and based on that, trigger an automation or send a message to the user.
For more details, refer to this article on the Condition block.
Message variables
After saving a user's response in a CUF, you can utilize it as a variable. For instance, in the example below, the email provided by the user is repeated, and they are asked to confirm if it's correct.
To insert variables into your messages, click the {} icon and select the desired Custom User Field.
These are just a few examples of how Custom User Fields can enhance your automations, but exploring Manychat further will reveal even more tailored solutions to meet your specific business needs.
Limitations and troubleshooting
General limitations
The Custom User Field type should correspond with the reply type of the Data Collection block. For example, if you use a Data Collection block with Number reply type, the corresponding CUF should also be of the Number type.
Most of the reply types in the Data Collection block (such as Text, Multiple choice, Email, Phone, URL, File, Image, and Location) should be saved into Text Custom User Fields.
In the Data Collection block, Phone numbers should be stored in a Phone System Field or Text Custom User Field because phone numbers may include special characters like the "+" sign, which the Number type does not support.
If you're facing any issues with the Custom User Fields or Bot Fields, please contact our Support Team.