Variables in Manychat are dynamic fields that store unique data for each contact, making your messages more personalized and engaging. These fields can vary depending on the contact’s specific details.
For example, the First Name variable will show “John” for John Smith. This functionality applies to all System and Custom Fields in Manychat. To learn more about system and custom fields, please refer to articles Custom User Fields and System Fields.
How to use variables in messages
Using variables, you can easily include personalized details like a contact’s first and last name in your messages. Simply use:
- {{First_name}} for the first name
- {{Last_name}} for the last name
These variables can be inserted into any part of your message. To use them, type “{{”, and Manychat’s autocomplete feature will guide you to select the correct variable.
To include a dynamic variable in a message node, locate the variable icon { } and choose the necessary system or custom field:
Testing variables in Manychat
⚠️ When using the "Preview in Manychat" option, variable values will not be displayed because contact data is not rendered in this mode. This behavior is intentional and part of how the "Preview in Manychat" feature is designed to function.
For a more reliable and efficient way to test an automation with variable values, use the Preview option "In …" (e.g., "In Instagram"). This method allows you to thoroughly test all the steps in the Automation and view the variable values. Simply follow the prompts after selecting the Preview "In Instagram" option.
For more detailed information, check out the following article: Preview in Manychat.
Special considerations for Instagram contacts
⚠️ Instagram users do not have First or Last Names by default in Manychat. Instead, they are identified by their Instagram handle, which is stored in the Instagram Username variable:
To populate the First and Last Name fields for Instagram contacts, these values must be updated manually through API integrations or collected using User Input fields.
In most cases, by default, the Instagram Username field will only display the Instagram handle, as this is the primary identifier provided by Instagram.
This distinction is important to keep in mind when personalizing messages for Instagram contacts.
TikTok contacts
⚠️ TikTok users do not have First or Last Names by default in Manychat. Instead, they are identified by their TikTok handle, which is stored in the "TikTok Username" variable. If the "Name" field is filled in their TikTok account, it will be stored in the "TikTok Display Name" variable.
- {{TikTok Username}} for the Username field.
- {{TikTok Display Name}} for the Name field.
To populate the Last Name field for TikTok contacts, these values must be updated manually through API integrations or collected using User Input fields.
This distinction is important to keep in mind when personalizing messages for TikTok contacts.