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Developers/Tutorials/Migrate from Help Scout

Migrate from Help Scout to message.com

Help Scout is shared-inbox email plus a chat widget (Beacon). message.com replaces both with a unified inbox that adds phone, includes AI in the base plan, and drops per-mailbox pricing.

What stays the same

  • Email-first ticket workflow. Both treat email as a first-class channel.
  • Beacon-style chat widget. Same install pattern: one async script.
  • Saved replies. Help Scout saved replies → message.com saved replies.
  • Docs sites. Help Scout Docs articles → message.com KB sources (see Knowledge base).

What is different

  • No per-mailbox cap. Help Scout charges per mailbox above a certain count; message.com does not.
  • Native phone. Not in Help Scout's scope.
  • Unified inbox primitive. Email tickets, chats, and calls share one conversation resource.
  • AI included. Help Scout AI is metered separately.

1. Export Help Scout data

  1. Open developer.helpscout.com and generate an API app token.
  2. Paginate GET /v2/customers for the customer list.
  3. Paginate GET /v2/conversations for the conversation history.
  4. Note your mailboxes; you will recreate each as a message.com inbound address (with optional department).
  5. Export Docs articles (GET /v2/collections/<id>/articles) if you plan to bring them into the KB.

2. Set up message.com

  1. Sign up at app.message.com/register.
  2. Add tickets as a channel. Decide whether to use custom email domain (MX move) or forwarding.
  3. Create one inbound address per old Help Scout mailbox.

3. Import customers

Use the API to bulk-upsert. Map:

  • Help Scout emails[0].value → email.
  • Help Scout firstName + lastName → name.
  • Help Scout customer id → externalId with helpscout: prefix.
  • Properties → attributes.

4. Swap the Beacon snippet

Remove the Beacon snippet (beacon-v2.helpscout.net). Paste:

HTML
<script>
  (function(d,s,o){
    var j=d.createElement(s);j.async=1;j.src='https://app.message.com/widget.js';
    j.dataset.workspace=o;
    d.head.appendChild(j);
  })(document,'script','YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID');
</script>

5. Move email

Two paths:

  • MX move. Point your domain's MX at message.com. Cleanest. See Connect a custom email domain.
  • Forwarding. Set Help Scout mailbox to forward to your message.com inbound address. Easier rollback; slightly slower delivery.

6. Recreate saved replies and workflows

  • Saved replies → message.com Saved replies.
  • Help Scout workflows → message.com routing rules + AI custom tools.
  • Help Scout Docs → KB sources crawled by Knowledge base.

Cutover checklist

  • Test email delivery: send to your address, confirm the ticket lands in message.com.
  • Test outbound replies: reply from message.com, confirm authentication-results show spf=pass dkim=pass.
  • Beacon snippet replaced on every page.
  • Saved replies recreated.
  • KB sources crawled and indexed.
  • Dual-load (forwarding) for a week before MX move.
  • Once stable, move MX. Disable forwarding.
  • Cancel Help Scout subscription.
  • Archive Help Scout export bundle.

Common pitfalls

  • SPF and DKIM drift. Adding message.com as a sender without updating SPF / DKIM is the most common cause of replies landing in spam. See Connect a custom email domain.
  • Beacon Identify. If you used Beacon('identify', ...), port to Message.identify({ ... }).
  • Help Scout Docs articles. The KB import covers Q+A grounded retrieval. If you need a public-facing help center for SEO, plan that separately.
  • Multiple mailboxes. One inbound address per old mailbox keeps routing clean.