Switching from Intercom to DeskLeap: The Complete Migration Guide
If you're one of Intercom's 30,000+ customers who chose the platform specifically to avoid enterprise complexity, this guide is for you. Here's exactly how to migrate from Intercom to DeskLeap — step by step, with no data left behind.
Why Migrate Now?
You don't have to panic. The deal hasn't closed yet. But history tells us what happens after Salesforce acquisitions:
- Slack: Acquired for $27.7B in 2021. Prices increased 30-50% within two years. Free tier gutted. Features folded into Salesforce bundles.
- Tableau: Acquired for $15.7B in 2019. Absorbed into Salesforce's data cloud. Independent roadmap disappeared.
- MuleSoft: Acquired for $6.5B in 2018. Now a Salesforce integration product, not a standalone platform.
The pattern: acquire, integrate, raise prices, bundle. Intercom's $29/seat starting price and $0.99/resolution AI pricing will almost certainly change post-acquisition.
Migrating now — while Intercom's export tools still work as documented — is significantly easier than migrating after Salesforce restructures the product.
What You're Moving
A typical Intercom workspace contains five categories of data:
- Contacts — users, leads, and companies with custom attributes
- Conversations — chat history, email threads, ticket transcripts
- Knowledge Base — help center articles and collections
- Automations — workflows, triggers, custom bots
- Fin AI configuration — trained responses, custom actions, handoff rules
DeskLeap can replace all five. Here's how to export each one and set it up.
Step 1: Export Your Contacts
Intercom stores contacts as "Users," "Leads," and "Companies." Export each separately:
- Go to Contacts → All Users
- Click More → Export
- Confirm the export — Intercom will email you a CSV file
- Repeat for All Leads and Companies → All
What you get: CSV files with names, emails, phone numbers, custom attributes, tags, and company associations.
Importing to DeskLeap: Go to Dashboard → Contacts → Import. Upload the CSV. DeskLeap auto-maps standard fields (name, email, phone, company) and lets you map custom attributes to custom fields.
Watch out for:
- Intercom's "User ID" field maps to DeskLeap's external ID — keep this for cross-referencing
- Custom attributes with complex data types (arrays, objects) export as JSON strings — you may need to flatten these
- Company associations import separately — import companies first, then users
Step 2: Export Your Conversations
This is the trickiest part. Intercom's conversation export has notable limitations:
Option A: CSV Export (Metadata Only)
- Go to Reports → Dataset Export
- Select your conversation dataset and time range (up to 2 years)
- Download the CSV
Limitation: The CSV includes metadata (timestamps, assignees, tags, ratings) but not the actual message content.
Option B: Bulk PDF/Text Export (Full Content)
- Go to your Inbox
- Use conversation filters to target the conversations you need
- Use bulk selection to select conversations
- Export as PDF or text files
Best for: Archiving conversation history for compliance or reference.
Option C: REST API Export (Recommended for Full Migration)
For a complete migration with full transcripts, use Intercom's Conversations API:
GET https://api.intercom.io/conversations
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN
Accept: application/jsonThis returns full conversation objects including all message parts, admin replies, notes, and attachments. Paginate through results to export everything.
Importing to DeskLeap: DeskLeap's API accepts ticket creation with full conversation history. Map Intercom conversations to DeskLeap tickets, preserving timestamps, assignees, and customer context.
Step 3: Export Your Tickets
If you use Intercom's ticketing (separate from conversations):
- Go to Reports → Dataset Export
- Select the tickets dataset
- Define your time range and export
For individual tickets with full details, use the Inbox: open the ticket, click the 3 dots menu → Export ticket. Include attributes and internal notes.
Importing to DeskLeap: Map Intercom ticket states to DeskLeap statuses (New, Open, Pending, Resolved, Closed). Custom ticket attributes map to DeskLeap's metadata fields.
Step 4: Migrate Your Knowledge Base
Intercom's Help Center articles need manual or API-based export:
- Use the Articles API to pull all articles with their HTML content
- Note the collection structure (Intercom uses collections → sections → articles)
- Export article metadata: title, body HTML, status, author, created/updated dates
Importing to DeskLeap: DeskLeap's knowledge base uses a similar hierarchy (collections → articles). Create your collections first, then import articles via the DeskLeap API or manually through the dashboard. HTML content transfers directly — formatting, images, and embedded media are preserved.
Tips:
- Download all images from Intercom's CDN before migration — URLs will eventually break post-acquisition
- Update internal links between articles to point to DeskLeap URLs
- Review AI-generated articles for accuracy — if Fin created any auto-articles, verify them
Step 5: Rebuild Your Automations
Intercom's workflows don't export directly. You'll need to recreate them in DeskLeap, but most translate cleanly:
| Intercom Feature | DeskLeap Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Workflows (if/then triggers) | Automation Rules |
| Custom Bots | AI Chatbot (built-in) |
| Fin AI Agent | DeskLeap AI (included) |
| Assignment Rules | Auto-assignment + Round Robin |
| SLA Rules | SLA Policies |
| Tags & Segments | Tags & Views |
| Macros / Saved Replies | Canned Responses |
Document your current Intercom workflows before you start. Screenshot each workflow, note the triggers, conditions, and actions. Then rebuild them in DeskLeap's automation builder — the concepts are the same, even if the UI differs.
Step 6: Set Up Your DeskLeap AI
If you're using Fin AI Agent, DeskLeap's built-in AI replaces it without per-resolution charges:
| Fin AI (Intercom) | DeskLeap AI |
|---|---|
| $0.99 per resolution | Included — unlimited |
| $9.99 per lead qualification | Included — unlimited |
| 50 resolution minimum ($49.50/month floor) | No minimums |
| Proprietary Apex model | OpenAI-powered (configurable) |
| Custom Actions (API calls) | AI auto-replies + suggested articles |
| Topic detection | AI categorization + sentiment analysis |
To set up DeskLeap's AI:
- Go to Settings → AI Configuration
- Add your knowledge base articles — the AI learns from them automatically
- Enable AI Chatbot for your widget
- Enable AI Auto-Reply for email tickets
- Enable AI Categorization and Sentiment Analysis for automatic ticket triage
No per-resolution fees. No session packs. No minimum charges.
Step 7: Install the Chat Widget
Replace Intercom's Messenger with DeskLeap's chat widget:
- Remove the Intercom JavaScript snippet from your site
- Add DeskLeap's widget code (one line of JavaScript)
- Configure your widget's appearance, welcome message, and business hours
- DeskLeap's widget supports multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic) out of the box
The switch takes minutes, not days.
The Pricing Comparison That Matters
Here's what a 10-agent team actually pays:
| Intercom (Today) | DeskLeap | |
|---|---|---|
| Base seats (10 agents) | $290/month ($29/seat Essential) | $0 — the platform is free |
| AI Agent (2,000 resolutions) | $1,980/month | $290/month if you add the AI Agent for all 10 agents — not metered by resolution |
| AI Copilot | Included in plans | Included with the AI Agent |
| Total | $2,270/month | $0, or $290 with the AI Agent on every agent |
| Annual | $27,240 | $0, or $3,480 with the AI Agent on every agent |
That's a $23,760/year difference — and Intercom's pricing will only go up under Salesforce. Slack's prices increased 30-50% within two years of acquisition. There's no reason to expect Intercom will be different.
Migration Timeline
A realistic migration timeline for a 10-agent team:
- Day 1: Create DeskLeap account, invite team members
- Day 1-2: Export contacts and import to DeskLeap
- Day 2-3: Export and migrate knowledge base articles
- Day 3-4: Rebuild automations and SLA policies
- Day 4-5: Configure AI settings, test chatbot
- Day 5: Swap chat widget, go live
- Day 5-7: Archive historical conversations from Intercom
Most teams are fully operational on DeskLeap within a week.
Don't Wait for the Salesforce Integration
The acquisition closes in Q4 FY2027. After that, expect:
- Intercom's product folded into Salesforce Agentforce
- Pricing restructured to fit Salesforce's enterprise model
- Independent API access potentially gated behind Salesforce licenses
- Export tools may change or become restricted
Migrate while the tools work, the data is accessible, and you're in control of the timeline.
Start your free DeskLeap trial — migrate at your own pace, with support from our team if you need it.
Already using Intercom and considering the switch? Contact our migration support team for personalized assistance with your data transfer.
]]>