How to import contacts Documentation

What you will accomplish

Prepare a clean contact list, import it into the active workspace, review validation errors, and build usable audiences for WhatsApp campaigns.

Before you begin

Collect consent according to your business process and applicable WhatsApp policy.
Use one row per customer.
Include country code in phone numbers.
Keep test imports small before uploading a full list.

CSV fields

Field	Required	Notes
name	Recommended	Use the customer or lead name visible to agents.
phone/mobile	Yes for WhatsApp use	Use country code and avoid formatting surprises.
email	Optional in UI, required for public API contact creation	Use a real business email only when available.
tags	Optional	Use consistent labels such as lead-source, city, or product interest.
source	Optional	Track where the lead came from.

Step 1 - Open Contacts

Confirm the correct workspace is selected, then open Contacts. Existing contacts belong only to the active workspace.

AyuChat contacts list with synthetic contacts, search, filters, and table actions. — Start from the contacts list and confirm the correct workspace before importing or editing records.

Step 2 - Import or create contacts

AyuChat add contact form opened with empty fields for creating a synthetic contact. — Use Add Contact for a controlled single-record test before uploading a larger CSV.

Choose the import action or create a contact manually.
Upload the CSV.
Map columns to AyuChat fields.
Review validation and duplicate warnings.
Confirm only after the preview looks correct.

Step 3 - Tag and segment

Use tags for durable labels and audiences for campaign-ready groups. Avoid creating many nearly-identical tags, because that makes campaign targeting harder to review.

Verify the result

Contact count increased in the active workspace.
Imported names and phone numbers display correctly.
Audience membership matches your expected segment.
Opted-out or invalid contacts are excluded from sends where the product enforces that rule.

Common problems

Problem	Resolution
Invalid phone number	Normalize the number with country code and digits only where possible.
Duplicate contacts	Merge or update the existing record instead of creating another recipient.
Wrong audience	Review tags and filters before launching the campaign.
API contact creation fails	Check API key scope and required name, phone, and email fields.