Migrate from Intercom to message.com

Both platforms ship a chat widget plus an inbox. The migration is mostly a snippet swap and a contact export-import. message.com adds the unified inbox model (chat plus tickets plus calls in one queue), drops per-seat pricing, and includes AI in the base tier.

What stays the same

• Snippet-style install. Async <script> tag before </body>. Single line of HTML.
• Identify pattern. Both expose an identify call on a global object. message.com's is Message.identify({ email, userId, ... }).
• HMAC verification. Both support a server-side user-hash. See Identify logged-in users.
• Conversation model. Conversations have status, assignment, tags. The dashboard surface is similar.

What is different

• No per-seat tax. message.com prices on engagement and channels, not per agent. Add the team without paying per head.
• Unified inbox. Chat, email tickets, and phone calls land in one inbox keyed off the same conversation primitive. Intercom routes those to separate product lines.
• AI included. Smart Hold, AI Receptionist, agent assist, and KB-grounded replies in the base plan, not as a separate Fin add-on.
• Phone built in. Carrier-grade SIP runs on our own voice infrastructure, included in the platform. No bolt-on telephony plan to buy.
• Different API surface. Same conventions (JWT bearer auth, JSON, cursor pagination) but different paths. See REST conventions.

1. Sign up and set up

1. Sign up at app.message.com/register.
2. Run through onboarding (90 seconds). Brand colour, site URL, channels.
3. Copy the snippet from Settings → Chats → Installation.

2. Export Intercom data

From Intercom:

1. Contacts. Data → People → Export. CSV download. Most Intercom plans allow this.
2. Conversations. Data → Conversations → Export. JSON or CSV. Large workspaces export by month.
3. Custom attributes. Definitions live in Settings → Data → People data. Note any non-default attributes you need to recreate.
4. Tags and saved replies. Export or copy manually; usually faster to recreate the active ones than transform CSV.

3. Import contacts

Two options:

• CSV. In message.com, go to Settings → Visitors → Import. Upload the contacts CSV.
• API. For larger workspaces, script the upsert.

// Upsert exported Intercom contacts into message.com visitors
import fs from "node:fs";

const contacts = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("intercom-contacts.json", "utf8"));

for (const c of contacts) {
  await fetch("https://app.message.com/api/v1/visitors/upsert", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.MESSAGE_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "Idempotency-Key": c.id,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      email: c.email,
      name: c.name,
      externalId: `intercom:${c.id}`,
      attributes: c.custom_attributes,
    }),
  });
}

4. Swap the snippet

On every page that loads Intercom:

1. Remove the Intercom snippet (the (function(){})() block from widget.intercom.io).
2. Paste the message.com snippet.

<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. Re-implement identify

Wherever you currently call Intercom('update', { email, user_id, ... }), switch to Message.identify({ email, userId, ... }). The shape is similar; user_id becomes userId, snake_case attributes become camelCase. See JavaScript API.

6. Set up tickets and phones (optional)

• Email tickets. Connect a custom domain or forward from Gmail.
• Phone. Claim a DID under Settings → Phones → Numbers. See Phone numbers API.

Cutover checklist

• Test snippet on a staging URL. Confirm launcher loads and identify fires.
• Send a test chat. Reply from the message.com inbox. Confirm round trip.
• Test on mobile. Both portrait and landscape.
• Confirm CSP allowlist updated (app.message.com on script-src, connect-src, wss://app.message.com).
• Run dual-load (Intercom + message.com snippets simultaneously) for one week. Monitor inbound volume on both.
• After dual-load shows clean handoff, remove the Intercom snippet from prod.
• Update email signatures and footer links pointing to old Intercom-hosted help center.
• Cancel the Intercom subscription. Save 30 days of grace period for any final exports.
• Archive the Intercom export bundle off-platform for compliance.

Common pitfalls

• Per-seat sticker shock relief. Easy to forget the message.com pricing model. Add agents freely; the bill stays predictable.
• Custom attribute naming. Intercom defaults to snake_case; message.com defaults to camelCase. Pick one and convert on import.
• Saved replies / macros. Not exportable from Intercom. Recreate manually in Settings → Saved replies.
• Articles / help center. If customers link to Intercom-hosted articles, set up redirects from your old Help Center URL to new KB pages.
• Webhooks. If you have Intercom webhooks firing into your backend, point them at message.com's outgoing webhook endpoint instead. See Webhooks overview.