Custom fields

Help Scout conversation custom fields let you send additional structured data on the conversation created by a handoff.

How custom fields work

Help Scout supports conversation custom fields — typed fields defined per mailbox that can be attached to conversations.

Each custom field is identified by a numeric Help Scout field ID. To populate a field at handoff time, it is exposed as a named input on the Help Scout Utilities block, keyed by that numeric ID. The value you map into the input in the dashboard becomes the value written to the custom field on the new conversation. Exposing a custom field as a labeled input requires a configuration change deployed by your Ada team.

Find the Help Scout custom field ID

Each Help Scout custom field has a numeric ID that is needed before the field can be added to the block.

To find the Help Scout custom field ID:

1. In Help Scout, navigate to Manage → Mailboxes → [the Ada mailbox] → Custom Fields.
2. Click the field you want to expose.
3. Read the numeric ID in the URL — for example, .../custom-fields/12345/edit means the field ID is 12345.

Add custom fields to the block

Adding a named custom field requires a configuration change deployed by your Ada team.

To add custom fields:

Contact your Ada representative and provide the following for each field you want to add:

• Help Scout custom field ID — the numeric ID from the steps above (for example, 12345).
• Display name — the label that will appear on the block (for example, Order Number).
• Description — optional helper text shown under the input on the block to explain what the field is for.

Your Ada team will deploy the change. Once deployed, the new custom field inputs appear on the Help Scout Utilities block in the Ada dashboard.

Use a custom field in the handoff block

After your Ada team confirms the deployment is complete, the new field is available in the block.

To use a custom field in the handoff block:

1. Open the Help Scout Utilities block (action: Handoff to a human agent) in your handoff answer. The new custom field appears as an optional input, labeled with the display name your Ada team configured.
2. Map an AI Agent variable into the field — either a built-in variable or a variable you collected earlier in the conversation.
3. The mapped value is written to the corresponding Help Scout custom field on the new conversation. Verify it by opening the resulting conversation in Help Scout and checking the custom field section.