Chatbot Builder

Using Variables and Personalization in Chatbots

1 min readMar 19, 2026

Variables and Personalization in HelpKit

Personalized messages dramatically improve engagement. HelpKit's variable system lets you inject contact data, conversation context, and custom values into any message.

System Variables

These are available in every message and auto-reply:

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | {{customer_name}} | Contact's WhatsApp display name | | {{first_name}} | First name (if available in CRM) | | {{last_name}} | Last name | | {{phone}} | Contact's phone number | | {{email}} | Email (if added to contact) | | {{business_name}} | Your business name | | {{agent_name}} | Currently assigned agent | | {{date}} | Today's date (DD/MM/YYYY) | | {{time}} | Current time (HH:MM AM/PM) | | {{conversation_id}} | Unique conversation ID |

Custom Contact Fields

Create custom fields under Settings → Custom Fields and reference them with {{custom.field_name}}.

Examples:

•{{custom.city}} — Contact's city

•{{custom.plan_name}} — Their subscription plan

•{{custom.order_id}} — Last order ID

Flow Variables (Captured Responses)

When using a Question block, you can save the reply to a variable:

1.Add a Question block

2.In the block settings, enable "Save response to variable"

3.Name your variable (e.g., user_choice)

4.Reference it later as {{flow.user_choice}}

Conditional Personalization

Combine variables with Condition blocks for dynamic paths:

If {{custom.plan_name}} = "Pro"
  → "Hi {{first_name}}, as a Pro member you get priority support!"
Else
  → "Hi {{first_name}}, upgrade to Pro for faster support."

Fallback Values

Always set fallback values in case data is missing:

{{customer_name | default: "there"}} → outputs "Hi there!" if name is unknown

Testing Variables

Use Flow Preview mode and enter sample values for each variable to see how your messages render before going live.