Update Contact
Write new values to contact attributes when a person reaches a workflow step.
The Update Contact node changes one or more contact attributes during a campaign execution.
When to use it
Use this node when the campaign should update contact profile state.
Common examples:
- mark an onboarding milestone as complete
- store lifecycle stage or intent level
- update a date, status, or preference field
- set attributes used by later segment logic
Settings
- Node name: optional display name shown on the workflow canvas.
- Attributes: one or more contact fields and the values to write.
- On Failure: controls whether the execution fails or continues if the update cannot be saved.
Each attribute can use one of two value sources:
- Static value writes the value entered in the node.
- API output reads a typed value from an earlier Fetch API Data node.
For an API output, select an upstream output key and enter an optional dot-notated response path. For example, selecting workflow.customer_profile with the path profile.last_name writes the value from workflow.customer_profile.profile.last_name.
Leave the response path blank to use the complete API response. This is useful when writing an object or array to a JSON field. The Fetch API Data node must run before the Update Contact node.
JSON fields use a JSON editor in the attribute row. Enter a complete object or array, such as:
{
"digest": "weekly"
}
Leave the editor blank to clear the field. Top-level strings, numbers, and booleans are not accepted for JSON fields.
If an API output or response path is unavailable during execution, no attributes are changed. The node then follows its configured On Failure behavior.
Simulation and execution behavior
Simulations validate the workflow path and expected update. Real executions persist the configured attribute changes to the contact.
Later nodes can use updated attributes only after this node has run successfully.
Best practices
- Update only fields that are owned by the workflow or intended for automation.
- Avoid overwriting user-managed preference fields unless that is the campaign goal.
- Use clear field names so later segment and branch logic remains understandable.