Applicable for: AI Assistant Managers and Administrators
Lead attributes allow NoForm AI to gather specific data points from your website visitors during a conversation. By properly configuring these attributes, you can ensure your team receives high-quality, structured information for every qualified lead while automating the data collection process.
Understanding Required Lead Attributes
When you create a new bot, the system automatically configures two default attributes: Email and Phone. These are labeled as "Required lead attributes" because they are the only fields that determine whether a conversation is classified as a "Lead."
Email: The visitor's email address, which the assistant will proactively request.
Phone: The visitor's phone number, which the assistant will also proactively request.
A conversation only becomes a qualified lead once the system successfully extracts either an email or a phone number. If neither is collected, the interaction remains a regular chat, even if the visitor provides other business-specific information. Note that while these are "required," you can toggle one off, but you cannot disable both at the same time; the system will automatically re-enable the other to ensure at least one qualification method is active.
Adding Custom Lead Attributes
Beyond basic contact info, you can add up to 20 custom attributes to capture data specific to your business, such as budget, project timeline, or company size. To add a custom attribute, navigate to the AI assistants section in your sidebar, select your assistant, and open the Lead qualification tab.
Feature | Requirement / Limit |
Max Attributes | 20 custom attributes per bot |
Character Limit | Maximum of 64 characters per attribute name |
Ordering | Attributes at the top of the list are prioritized during extraction |
Removal | Click the trash icon to immediately remove an attribute |
To create a new one, click the Add attribute button and enter a name (e.g., "Project Budget") in the input field. The name must contain at least one non-whitespace character.
How to Make the Assistant Ask for Custom Attributes
Adding a custom attribute tells the system to look for that information, but the assistant will not proactively ask for it unless you provide specific instructions. While the assistant is programmed to automatically ask for Email and Phone, custom attributes are "passively" extracted unless you update your AI Interaction Rules.
To make the assistant proactively request custom information, follow these steps:
Add the Attribute: Ensure the field (e.g., "Company Size") is added in the Lead qualification tab.
Update Interaction Rules: Go to the Setup tab of your assistant.
Provide Explicit Instructions: In the LEAD INFO COLLECTION, write a natural instruction. For example: "After collecting Email Address or a Phone Number, make sure to ask the customer to provide their Company Size"
Data Extraction and Lead Notifications
The system extracts lead data in two phases. During the conversation, the assistant follows your AI Interaction Rules to gather data naturally. After the conversation has been idle for approximately 15 minutes, a background process analyzes the full transcript to find and save all configured required and custom attributes.
Once a lead is captured, NoForm AI sends an email notification to your team. This email includes a lead summary displaying all successfully extracted attributes as label-value pairs (e.g., "Budget: $50,000"). These attributes are also included in webhook payloads if you have integrated NoForm AI with external systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the visitor's name a default attribute?
No, the visitor's name is not pre-configured during onboarding. If you want to collect names, you must add "Name" as a custom attribute in the Lead Qualification settings.
Will a custom attribute qualify a lead if no email is provided?
A custom attribute alone will not qualify a lead. Even if the system captures a visitor's budget or industry, the conversation will not be marked as a "Lead" in your dashboard unless either an Email or Phone number is also collected.
Can I choose which attributes appear in notification emails?
Currently, all extracted attributes are automatically included in the lead notification email sent to your team. There is no toggle within the Lead Qualification tab to hide specific attributes from these notifications once onboarding is complete.
Benefits
Automated Qualification: Ensures every conversation is vetted for contact information before being marked as a lead.
Structured Data: Collects business-specific details like budget or timeline, providing your sales team with context before they follow up.
Seamless Integration: Extracted data is automatically sent to your team via email or webhooks for immediate action.
Flexible Setup: Allows you to prioritize which information is most important to your specific business model.