Skip to main content

Drift Destination

Nexla's bi-directional connectors allow data to flow both to and from any location, making it simple to create a FlexFlow data flow that sends data to a Drift location.
drift_api.png

Drift

Create a Drift Destination​

  1. Click the + icon on the Nexset that will be sent to the Drift destination, and select the Send to Destination option from the menu.

  2. Select the Drift connector from the list of available destination connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Drift organization, and click Next; or, create a new Drift credential for use in this flow.

  3. In Nexla, Drift destinations can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite destination setup for common Drift API write operations. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Drift endpoint, making destination configuration easy and efficient.
    • To configure this destination using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.

    Drift destinations can also be configured manually, allowing you to send data to Drift endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
    • To configure this destination manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.

Configure Using a Template​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure destinations to send data to common Drift endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Drift API endpoint, making destination setup easy and efficient.

  • To configure this destination using a template, select the endpoint to which data will be sent from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Then, click on the template in the list below to expand it, and follow the instructions to configure additional endpoint settings.

    Create Contact

    Creates a new contact record in your Drift organization. Use this endpoint to add new leads, prospects, or customers to Drift — for example, when syncing new contacts from a CRM, marketing automation platform, or data warehouse into Drift.

    • No URL parameters are required for this endpoint. The contact attributes (such as name, email, and any custom fields) should be included in the data payload sent from the Nexset.
    • The request body is sent as a JSON object. Ensure that the Nexset fields are mapped to the appropriate Drift contact attribute names before activating this destination.

    Drift contact records support both standard attributes (name, email, phone) and custom attributes defined in your organization's Drift account. For a complete list of supported contact fields and the request body format, refer to the Drift Contacts API documentation.

    Update Contact

    Updates an existing Drift contact by their Drift contact ID. Use this endpoint to modify contact attributes such as name, email, phone, or custom properties — for example, when syncing updated CRM data or enriching contact records with new information from an external system.

    • Enter the Drift contact ID in the Contact ID field. This is the numeric identifier assigned by Drift to the contact record. The contact with this ID will be updated with the data from the Nexset payload.
    • Only the fields included in the request payload will be updated. Fields not included in the payload will retain their existing values (PATCH behavior).

    Contact IDs can be retrieved using the Retrieve Contact or Get Contacts by Email source endpoints. For additional details on updatable fields, refer to the Drift Contacts API documentation.

    Update Contact via Non-Drift ID

    Updates a Drift contact using an external identifier rather than the Drift contact ID. Use this endpoint when you want to update contacts by matching them to an external system's identifier — such as a CRM record ID, email address, or other external ID — without needing to know the Drift-assigned contact ID.

    • Enter the external identifier type in the ID Type field. This specifies which type of external identifier is being used to locate the contact. Common values include:

      • email — Locate the contact by email address
      • externalId — Locate the contact by an external CRM or system ID previously set on the contact
    • Enter the value of the external identifier in the ID field. This is the actual identifier value corresponding to the type entered in the ID Type field.
    • The contact attributes to update should be included in the data payload sent from the Nexset.

    This endpoint is particularly useful for update workflows where you are pushing data from an external system (such as a CRM) and only have access to that system's own identifiers rather than Drift-native contact IDs. For additional details, refer to the Drift Contacts API documentation.

    Delete Contact

    Deletes a contact record from Drift by its Drift contact ID. This endpoint performs a standard contact deletion and is distinct from the GDPR purge endpoint, which deletes personal data by email address for compliance purposes. Use this endpoint to remove stale, duplicate, or unwanted contact records from your Drift organization.

    • Enter the Drift contact ID in the Contact ID field. The contact with this ID will be permanently deleted from your Drift organization.

    :::warning Important Contact deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Verify that the correct Contact ID is being passed before activating this destination. For GDPR-related data deletion by email address, use the GDPR Data Deletion endpoint instead. :::

    Post Timeline Event

    Creates a new timeline event on a Drift contact's activity timeline. Timeline events allow you to record external activities — such as product events, CRM updates, or behavioral triggers — directly on a contact's Drift record. This enables your sales team to see a unified view of prospect activity within Drift conversations.

    • Enter the Drift contact ID in the Contact ID field. The timeline event will be added to this contact's activity history.
    • Include the event details in the data payload sent from the Nexset. Timeline event payloads typically include an event type, timestamp, and any relevant attributes describing the event.

    Timeline events are visible to agents within Drift conversations and can be used to personalize outreach based on recent contact activity. For additional details on the event payload format, refer to the Drift Contacts API documentation.

    Unsubscribe Contacts From Emails

    Unsubscribes one or more email addresses from Drift email communications. Use this endpoint to honor opt-out requests, maintain compliance with email marketing regulations, or synchronize unsubscribe lists from an external system into Drift.

    • Include the list of email addresses to unsubscribe in the data payload sent from the Nexset. The request body should contain the email addresses in the format expected by the Drift Emails API.

    This endpoint is designed for bulk unsubscribe operations driven by data from external systems. For additional details on the request body format, refer to the Drift Emails API documentation.

    Create Conversation

    Creates a new conversation in Drift. Use this endpoint to programmatically initiate conversations — for example, to proactively start a conversation with a contact as part of an automated outreach workflow or to create conversations triggered by external events.

    • No URL parameters are required for this endpoint. The conversation details (such as the contact to associate, the initial message, and the assigned user) should be included in the data payload sent from the Nexset.

    For additional details on the conversation creation payload format, refer to the Drift API documentation.

    Update Conversation

    Updates an existing Drift conversation's status or assigned user. Use this endpoint to programmatically close, open, or mark conversations as pending, or to reassign conversations to different agents — for example, as part of an automated triage or escalation workflow.

    • Enter the Drift conversation ID in the Conversation ID field. This is the numeric identifier for the conversation to update.

    • Include the update fields in the data payload. Common updatable fields include:

      • status — Set to open, closed, or pending to change conversation status
      • assignedAgentId — Set to a Drift user ID to reassign the conversation to a different agent

    For additional details on updatable conversation fields and status values, refer to the Drift API documentation.

    Create Message

    Sends a new message to an existing Drift conversation. Use this endpoint to programmatically send messages from a bot or agent — for example, to deliver automated follow-up messages, share information triggered by external events, or add messages to conversations as part of a workflow.

    • Enter the Drift conversation ID in the Conversation ID field. The message will be posted to this conversation.
    • Include the message content in the data payload sent from the Nexset. The payload supports plain text messages as well as rich content with buttons and user attribution.

    Messages can be attributed to a specific Drift agent by including a user ID in the payload, allowing automated messages to appear as if sent by a named agent. For additional details on message payload formats, refer to the Drift developer documentation.

    Create Account

    Creates a new account record in Drift. Accounts in Drift represent companies or organizations associated with your contacts and typically correspond to records in your CRM. Use this endpoint to sync new company records from an external system into Drift — for example, from Salesforce, HubSpot, or a data warehouse.

    • No URL parameters are required for this endpoint. The account attributes (such as name, domain, owner, and custom properties) should be included in the data payload sent from the Nexset.

    For additional details on the account creation payload format and supported fields, refer to the Drift API documentation.

    Update Account

    Updates an existing Drift account record's properties, including name, domain, and custom attributes. Use this endpoint to keep Drift account data synchronized with an authoritative source such as a CRM or data warehouse.

    • Enter the Drift account ID in the Account ID field. The account with this ID will be updated with the data from the Nexset payload.
    • Only the fields included in the request payload will be updated. Fields not included in the payload will retain their existing values (PATCH behavior).

    Account IDs can be retrieved using the Retrieve Account or List Accounts source endpoints. For additional details on updatable fields, refer to the Drift Accounts API documentation.

    Delete Account

    Deletes an account record from Drift by its Drift account ID. Use this endpoint to remove outdated or unwanted account records from your Drift organization — for example, as part of a data cleanup workflow triggered by account deletions in an external CRM.

    • Enter the Drift account ID in the Account ID field. The account with this ID will be permanently deleted from your Drift organization.

    :::warning Important Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Verify that the correct Account ID is being passed before activating this destination. :::

    Update User

    Updates a Drift user's (agent's) profile information, including name, email, phone, locale, avatar URL, and availability status. Use this endpoint to keep Drift user profiles synchronized with an external identity or HR system.

    • Enter the Drift user ID in the User ID field. This is a required field — the user with this ID will be updated with the data from the Nexset payload.
    • Include the fields to update in the data payload. Only the fields provided in the payload will be changed; all other user attributes will remain unchanged.

    User IDs can be retrieved using the List Users or Get User source endpoints. For additional details on updatable user fields, refer to the Drift developer documentation.

    Provision User via SCIM

    Creates a new Drift user account using the SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) protocol. Use this endpoint to automate user provisioning as part of an identity management workflow — for example, when onboarding new employees whose accounts need to be created in Drift as part of an automated provisioning process.

    • No URL parameters are required for this endpoint. The user profile information (following the SCIM 2.0 schema) should be included in the data payload sent from the Nexset.
    • The request body must conform to the SCIM 2.0 User schema, including required fields such as userName and at least one email address.

    For additional details on the SCIM user creation payload format, refer to the Drift SCIM API documentation.

    Update User via SCIM (PUT)

    Replaces a Drift user resource entirely using the SCIM PUT method. Unlike PATCH, a PUT request replaces the entire user resource with the supplied payload, so all required attributes must be included. Use this endpoint for full user profile replacements as part of an identity provider synchronization workflow.

    • Enter the SCIM user ID in the Id field. This is the SCIM-assigned identifier for the user to replace.
    • The complete SCIM user resource (all required fields) must be included in the data payload. Omitted optional fields will be cleared.

    For additional details on the SCIM PUT request format, refer to the Drift SCIM API documentation.

    Update User via SCIM (PATCH)

    Partially updates a Drift user resource using the SCIM PATCH method. Unlike PUT, a PATCH request only updates the attributes included in the payload, leaving all other attributes unchanged. Use this endpoint when you need to update specific user attributes — such as availability status or display name — without overwriting the entire user record.

    • Enter the SCIM user ID in the Id field. This is the SCIM-assigned identifier for the user to update.
    • Include only the attributes to be modified in the data payload, following the SCIM PATCH operation format.

    For additional details on the SCIM PATCH request format, refer to the Drift SCIM API documentation.

    Deprovision User via SCIM

    Deletes a Drift user account using the SCIM protocol. Use this endpoint to automate user deprovisioning — for example, when an employee leaves the organization and their Drift account should be removed as part of an automated offboarding workflow driven by your identity provider.

    • Enter the SCIM user ID in the Id field. This is the SCIM-assigned identifier for the user to delete.

    :::warning Important User deprovisioning via SCIM is permanent. Ensure that the correct SCIM user ID is being passed before activating this destination. :::

    GDPR Data Deletion

    Permanently deletes all personal data associated with a specific email address from your Drift organization, in support of GDPR right-to-erasure requests. Use this endpoint when processing data subject deletion requests (DSAR) to ensure full compliance with GDPR obligations.

    • Enter the email address of the data subject in the Email Address field. All personal data associated with this email address will be permanently and irreversibly deleted from your Drift account.

    :::danger Critical GDPR data deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. This endpoint deletes all personal data associated with the specified email address across your Drift organization. Ensure this operation is authorized before activating this destination. :::

Configure Manually​

Drift destinations can be manually configured to send data to any valid Drift API endpoint.

Using manual configuration, you can also configure Nexla to automatically send the response received from the Drift API after each call to a new Nexla webhook data source.

API Method​

  1. To manually configure this destination, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.

  2. Select the API method that will be used for calls to the Drift API from the Method pulldown menu. Common Drift API write methods include:

    • POST: For creating new resources (contacts, conversations, messages, accounts, events)
    • PATCH: For partially updating existing resources (contacts, conversations, accounts, users)
    • PUT: For fully replacing a resource (SCIM user PUT operations)
    • DELETE: For removing resources (contacts, accounts, SCIM users)

Data Format​

  1. Select the format in which the Nexset data will be sent to the Drift API from the Content Format pulldown menu. The Drift API expects request bodies in JSON format for all write operations. Nexla will automatically convert the data to the selected format for each API call.

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the Drift API endpoint to which you want to send the Nexset data in the URL field. This should be the complete URL including the protocol (https://) and any required path parameters.

    The base URL for the Drift API is https://driftapi.com. For example, to create a new contact, the full URL would be https://driftapi.com/contacts. For update operations that target a specific resource, include the resource ID at the end of the URL — for example, https://driftapi.com/contacts/12345 to update contact 12345.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this destination, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2).

    You do not need to include the Authorization header. Nexla automatically includes the Bearer token from your Drift credential in every API request.

Exclude Attributes from the Call​

Optional

  • If any record attributes in the Nexset should be omitted when sending data to this Drift destination, select the attributes from the Exclude Attributes pulldown menu.

  • Any number of attributes can be selected for exclusion, and all excluded attributes will be shown in the field. To remove an attribute from the list, click the X icon next to the attribute name.

Record Batching​

Optional

  1. If records should be sent to this destination in batched API calls, check the box next to Would you like to batch your records together? to enable record batching.

  2. Enter the maximum number of records that should be batched together in a single API call in the Batch Size field. By default, this value is set to 100.

  3. Select the algorithm that will be used to group records into batches from the Grouping Algorithm pulldown menu. The sample request shown in the panel on the right will be updated to reflect the current batching settings. Some algorithms require additional settings—click on an algorithm listed below to view instructions for configuring these settings.

Response Webhook​

Optional

Nexla can automatically send the response received from the Drift API after each call to a new Nexla webhook data source. This option allows you to keep track of the status of each API call and any additional information returned after each call.

  • To enable this option, check the box next to Would you like to process the API response as a Nexla Webhook source?.

Sample Request Payload​

Sample request payloads containing a portion of the Nexset data that will be sent to the Drift API endpoint based on the current settings are shown in the Sample Payload panel on the right. These samples can be referenced to ensure that the destination and request settings are correctly configured.

  • Click on a sample request payload to expand it and view the complete payload content.
  • Sample payloads are automatically updated with each setting change, making it easy to verify that changes achieve the desired effect.

Endpoint Testing (Manual Configuration)​

After all endpoint settings have been configured, Nexla can send a test payload to the Drift API to ensure that the destination is configured correctly.

  1. To send a test payload, select the Test button at the top of the Sample Payload panel, and click on a listed sample payload to expand it.

  2. If any modifications to the sample payload are needed, make the necessary changes directly within the sample window.

  3. Click the Send Test Data button at the top of a sample payload to send the test payload to the Drift API using the current settings.

Save & Activate the Destination​

  • Once all endpoint settings have been configured, click the Done button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the destination. To begin sending data to the Drift destination, open the destination resource menu, and select Activate.

    The Nexset data will not be sent to the Drift API until the destination is activated. Destinations can be activated immediately or at a later time, providing full control over data movement.