# How to Check if a Contact Already Exists in ManyChat — Albato Help Center

Source: https://albato.com/wiki/articles/manychat-check-if-contact-exists-on-the-platform

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# How to Check if a Contact Already Exists in ManyChat

Last update:  
22/5/2026 · 5 min read

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IN THIS ARTICLE

[ManyChat](https://manychat.com/) is a service that allows you to create bots and automate conversations with your customers across different channels, such as Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and more. By connecting ManyChat to Albato, you can send data to over 800+ apps, including AI tools like [ChatGPT](https://albato.com/apps/openai) and [Grok](https://albato.com/apps/grok).

In this instruction, you will learn what to do when you want to message a contact who signed up through a form on another platform, such as Facebook Ads. But you’re not sure if this contact already exists in ManyChat. If the contact exists, you can update it with the most recent information you’ve collected. We described the automation in the instructions below. Follow these steps to set it up.

### Step 1. Connect ManyChat with Albato

[Follow this guide](https://albato.com/blog/publications/how-to-connect-many-chat-to-albato) on how to connect Albato with **ManyChat**.

### Step 2. Create an automation and define the trigger

Here’s how to check if the contact already exists on the platform.

1.  Go to the **Automations** tab and click on **Create New Automation**.

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2.  Click on the first step of your automation and select the **Facebook Lead Ads Trigger**.

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3.  Choose your connection, the page, and the desired form.

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4.  Next, add the **ManyChat** step to **search for a contact by name**.

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5.  When mapping the field, use the name you received from the lead on Facebook.

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6.  Add a step to **send a message** to this contact.

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In this example, we will send a message, but this structure can also be used to add a tag or other actions related to contacts in ManyChat.

7.  Specify the **contact ID** and the **message** you want to send. Other fields are optional.

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8.  Add a **Break** tool. This will ensure that after the contact is found and the message is sent, the automation will be stopped.

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9.  If the contact doesn’t exist in ManyChat, after the **Break** step add the **Create a Subscriber** step.

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10.  Fill in the fields of this step by mapping the information that will come from Facebook. Set the **Consent phrase** field to **YES**.

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11.  Add another action to **send a message**.

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12.  Use the **contact ID** generated in the previous step.

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13.  Now the entire structure is set up.

### Step 3. Define the Error Handler

This feature lets you set what happens with the automation whenever an error occurs. In this scenario, if the contact doesn’t exist in ManyChat, an error will occur at the contact lookup step.

If you configure the **Error Handler** correctly, you make the flow skip to the **Create Contact** step and then send the message. This ensures the automation works for both new contacts and those that already exist in ManyChat.

1.  Click on the three dots next to the **Search for a contact by name** step and select the **Error Handler**.

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2.  Set it so that whenever an error occurs, the automation skips to the **Create Contact** step.

manychat14.png

Now your automation is ready, and you can check if a contact already exists in **ManyChat**. It will either create a new contact and send a message or update the existing contact, for example, by adding a tag if needed.

If you have any questions, contact support via the live chat on our website.

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