Create Leads / User with Phone Number

Hi there, ​@Jairus Lai  great question, and we can definitely support this workflow.

Can I create a contact without an email? The short answer is Yes.

You can create a lead with just a phone number (no email) using the Contacts API. For leads, neither email nor external_id is required, so you can pass only the phone in E.164 format. Here’s a minimal example:

curl -X POST https://api.intercom.io/contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Intercom-Version: 2.14" \
  -d '{
    "role": "lead",
    "phone": "+15551234567",
    "name": "WhatsApp Lead"
  }'

Note: CSV import requires an email address for each row, so CSV isn’t suitable for phone-only creation. Use the API instead for this use case.

Starting a WhatsApp conversation to that phone number

Once the lead exists with their phone number saved, you can start an outbound WhatsApp conversation from the Inbox using a pre‑approved WhatsApp message template. WhatsApp uses the contact’s default Phone attribute to send the message, so make sure the number is saved on the lead and formatted as E.164 (e.g., +44…, +1…).

Key points: * Connect your WhatsApp channel first in Settings and have at least one approved template ready. Templates are required to initiate a new WhatsApp conversation and to message outside the 24‑hour window.

• To start the conversation from the Inbox: create a new message, choose WhatsApp, pick the sender number, select the lead, and insert your approved template, then send 1:1.

• Ensure the phone number sits in the default Phone attribute and is valid and E.164‑formatted; that attribute is what WhatsApp (and SMS) will use for delivery and matching.

• WhatsApp’s “24‑hour customer care window” applies: after 24 hours since the customer’s last reply, you can only message using a template until they respond again.

Alternatives if you don’t want to use the API

 If you have Intercom Phone enabled, making an outbound call to a number not already in your contacts will automatically create a new lead for that number. You can then send your WhatsApp template to that newly created lead.

• You can also share WhatsApp message links/QR codes from the WhatsApp settings to encourage the lead to message you first; that will auto‑create a lead on inbound and capture their WhatsApp number.

Quick checklist

Create the lead with only phone via the Contacts API (role=lead; phone in E.164).

• Verify your WhatsApp channel is connected and you have an approved template ready.

• Confirm the number is stored in the Phone attribute and is valid E.164.

• Start a new WhatsApp conversation from the Inbox and send the template 1:1.

Just to be sure we're on the same page, could you take a look at the article below in case you haven't seen it already?

https://www.intercom.com/help/en/articles/9881312-using-whatsapp-as-a-channel