> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.zaapi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.zaapi.com/contacts/understanding-contacts.md).

# Understanding contacts

Contacts are the customers behind your conversations. Every person who messages you — on any channel — has a single Contact record in Zaapi, with their details, custom fields, notes, and full Ticket history in one place.

#### Where contacts fit

Zaapi's data model has three levels:

* **Contact** — the customer
* **Conversation** — the message thread on a single channel
* **Ticket** — the unit of work, with its own ID, owner, status, and resolution

```
Contact
 └── Conversation (one per channel — e.g. Facebook Messenger, LINE, Shopee Chat)
      └── Ticket
      └── Ticket ...
```

The Contact describes **who the customer is** — not what any specific issue is about (that's the Ticket), or which channel it came in on (that's the Conversation).

#### One customer, every channel

The same customer might message you on WhatsApp today and Facebook next week. In Zaapi, both Conversations belong to the same Contact — so when they reach out on a new channel, your team isn't starting from zero. Their details, notes, contact fields, and past Tickets are right there in the sidebar.

Zaapi links Conversations to a Contact automatically when the phone number or email matches, and you can also merge Contacts manually. See **Merging contacts**.

#### What's on a Contact

* **Identity** — first and last name, phone number, and email, plus secondary phone numbers and emails collected across channels.
* **Channels** — every channel this customer has used to reach you.
* **Contact fields** — structured data about the customer, both default fields and custom fields you define (see **Creating contact fields**).
* **Notes** — free-form context for your team.
* **Conversation labels** — the labels applied across this customer's Conversations.
* **Ticket history** — every Ticket this customer has ever opened, across all channels.

#### Why contacts matter

* **Context follows the customer.** No more asking a customer to repeat their order number because they switched from Shopee chat to WhatsApp.
* **Track what your business cares about.** Custom contact fields let you capture anything — customer status, industry, total sales, account owner — and keep it attached to the customer, not buried in a thread.
* **Build segments.** Filter the Contacts page by any field to find, say, every newsletter subscriber in retail with total sales over ฿10,000.
* **Take your data with you.** Export Contacts with all their fields for CRM imports, campaigns, or analysis.