> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.hoopai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contact types

> Assign and manage contact types such as lead, customer, and subscriber to organize your CRM and automate workflows in the HoopAI platform.

Contact types categorize contacts by their relationship to your business — lead, customer, subscriber, or any custom type you define. Types help you filter, segment, and trigger automations based on where a contact stands in their journey.

## What are contact types?

Every contact in the CRM can be assigned a type. Common default types include:

| Type           | Typical use                                                   |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Lead**       | A prospect who has expressed interest but has not purchased   |
| **Customer**   | A contact who has completed a purchase or signed a contract   |
| **Subscriber** | A contact who has opted in to receive communications          |
| **Other**      | A general-purpose type for contacts that do not fit the above |

## Assigning a contact type

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the contact record">
    Navigate to **Contacts > Smart Lists** and click a contact's name.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Locate the type field">
    In the contact info panel, find the **Contact Type** field.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a type">
    Click the dropdown and choose the appropriate type. The change saves automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can also assign contact types:

* **During import** — map a CSV column to the Contact Type field
* **Via workflows** — use the **Update Contact Field** action to set the type automatically when a trigger fires (e.g., change type from Lead to Customer when a payment is received)
* **Via forms** — use a hidden field or conditional logic to assign a type based on the form submitted

## Filtering by contact type

Use the **Contact Type** filter in Smart Lists to view only contacts of a specific type:

1. Open **Contacts > Smart Lists**
2. Click **Filters** and select **Contact Type**
3. Choose the type(s) to display
4. Apply the filter

Save the filtered view as a smart list for quick access — for example, a "All Customers" smart list.

## Using contact types in workflows

Contact types are available as both trigger conditions and workflow actions:

* **Trigger filter** — run a workflow only for contacts of a specific type (e.g., send a re-engagement email only to leads)
* **IF/ELSE condition** — branch a workflow based on the contact's type
* **Update action** — automatically change the type when a contact completes a milestone (purchase, booking, form submission)

## Custom contact types

If the default types do not fit your business, create custom types:

1. Go to **Settings > Custom Fields** (or the Contact Type configuration area)
2. Add new type values such as "Partner," "Vendor," "VIP," or "Inactive"
3. Save — the new types are immediately available in the Contact Type dropdown

## Default type assignment

Configure which type is assigned to new contacts by default:

* Contacts created via forms can inherit the type based on the form's settings
* Contacts created manually default to the type specified in your account settings
* Contacts created via API or Zapier use the type specified in the payload, or default to Lead if none is provided

<Tip>
  Use workflow automations to automatically update contact types at key lifecycle moments — form submission, first purchase, subscription expiry — so your segments stay accurate without manual effort.
</Tip>