Agents & Profiles

Agents are the sending profiles ContactID uses to fill contact forms. Every send is done from an agent, and switching agents is how you change everything about a message in one click.

1. What An Agent Contains

Every agent has these fields:

• Agent name. Just for you; helps you tell them apart in the dashboard.
• Sender identity. First name, last name, company, email, phone (optional), website (optional).
• Subject line. Used for websites whose contact forms have a Subject field.
• Pitch message. The main body of what gets sent. Can be plain text or rich text with formatting.
• Signature. Auto-appended by ContactID with the “Sent via ContactID” line (see the article on the signature for details).
• AI Personalization settings (optional). Whether to run the pitch through AI on a per-website basis.

2. Why Have Multiple Agents?

Most users start with one agent (their default) and add more only when they need to. Common reasons to add a second:

• Different campaigns. A cold outreach for demo requests versus a partnership pitch have different messages.
• Different products. If you sell more than one thing, each product may need its own agent.
• Different personas. Sending as the CEO vs. as the sales team vs. as customer support.
• A/B testing. Two agents with different pitches, split your list, compare reply rates.

3. Only One Agent Runs Per Batch

A batch is single-agent. You pick the active agent, add URLs, and start; every form is filled with that agent’s data. To use a different agent, either:

• Wait for the current batch to finish, switch agents, add more URLs, and start again.
• Or run separate batches from separate devices (see the multi-device article).

4. The Default Agent

One agent is marked as your default. This is:

• The first agent used when you open the extension.
• The agent used if you send from the dashboard without opening the extension explicitly.
• The agent used for any batch imported from a bulk source without an explicit agent choice.

You can change your default any time in the Agents section by clicking Make Default on any agent card.

5. How Agents Interact With AI Personalization

AI Personalization (optional) is configured per agent. Each agent has an “AI Enabled” toggle:

• AI Enabled off: The agent’s pitch message is sent verbatim to every website.
• AI Enabled on: ContactID runs the pitch through the AI model on a per-website basis to rewrite it in the target website’s context.

You can have some agents with AI on and others with AI off. Turn it on for cold outreach where personalization matters and off for template broadcasts where speed matters.

6. Editing And Saving An Agent

Every edit to an agent is saved as soon as you click Save Changes. There is no version history, so if you overwrite a pitch you like, retrieving the old version is not possible. Copy the pitch into a note-taking app before rewriting if you want a backup.

Your first agent is what fills contact forms in your first batch. Set it up carefully; a good agent gets used for years. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough.

1. Open The Agents Section

Sign in to your ContactID dashboard, then click Agents in the left sidebar. If you have not created any agents yet, you will see the default agent that was pre-created during onboarding, plus a New Agent button.

2. Click New Agent

A creation form opens. You can also edit the pre-created default agent directly if you prefer; the fields are the same.

3. Fill In The Sender Identity

This is what the recipient will see:

• First name. Your real first name (Sarah).
• Last name. Your real last name (Chen).
• Company. The company name you represent (Acme Design Studio).
• Email. The reply-to address if the recipient responds. Use a monitored inbox; some recipients reply within minutes.
• Phone. Optional. Some contact forms ask for one; if the field is present, ContactID will fill it, otherwise it is ignored.
• Website. Optional. Also filled only when the form asks for it.

4. Give The Agent A Name (For You)

The Agent Name field is internal, just so you can tell your agents apart. Use something descriptive:

• “Cold outreach for demos”
• “Partnership pitch, Q1”
• “Recruiter outreach for senior roles”

This name is never sent; it only appears in your dashboard and side panel.

5. Write The Pitch Message

The pitch is what actually gets sent. Every contact form has a Message or Comments field, and this text goes there.

Use the rich text editor to format if you want, though most contact forms strip formatting on submission and show plain text to the recipient anyway. Keep it short: three to five sentences beats a full essay for cold outreach.

Common pitch structures that work:

• Direct ask. “Hi, I run Acme Design Studio and I’d love to redesign your homepage for free as a portfolio piece. Interested?”
• Problem/solution. “Noticed your team is hiring for a senior React role. We’re a recruiting agency specialized in exactly that. Want to chat?”
• Value first. “Loved your recent post on customer retention. I write a free newsletter on the same topic for 5,000 SaaS leaders; happy to share our best insights.”

6. Set The Subject Line

Not every contact form has a subject field, but many do. Write a subject that would make you open the form submission if you saw it in your own inbox:

• Bad: “Business Inquiry”
• Good: “Free homepage redesign for [your company]”

The subject is only used if the target form asks for one; otherwise it is ignored.

7. (Optional) Enable AI Personalization

Scroll to the AI Personalization section. If you want the pitch personalized per website, toggle it on. This routes each submission through the AI model to rewrite the message in the recipient’s context. See the AI Personalization category for full details before enabling.

8. Save

Click Save Agent. The agent appears in your Agents list. If this is your first, it is automatically set as your default; if you already had a default, this new agent is added but the default does not change.

Every contact form asks for at least a name and an email; ContactID pulls this from your active agent. Getting this data right matters because it is what the recipient sees.

1. First And Last Name

Contact forms typically have one field labeled “Name” or two labeled “First Name” and “Last Name”. ContactID handles both:

• When there is one Name field: ContactID sends first name + last name, joined by a space (e.g., “Sarah Chen”).
• When there are two fields: ContactID sends first name to the first and last name to the second.

Use your real name. Recipients who reply want to reach a real person, and generic names (“John Smith”, “Jane Doe”) get flagged as suspicious more often.

2. Company Name

The company field is used for websites whose contact forms have a Company or Organization field. This is a strong signal in B2B outreach; recipients decide whether to reply based on who they are being pitched by.

Use your real company name as it appears on your website. If you do not have a company, use your personal brand or “Freelance [your role]” (e.g., “Freelance Marketing Consultant”).

3. Email Address

This is the most important field. It is where every reply lands.

• Use a real, monitored inbox. Do not use info@ or sales@ that goes to nobody.
• Match the domain to your company if possible. [email protected] looks more trustworthy than [email protected] in B2B contexts.
• Do not use disposable email services. Some target websites block them, and your submissions will fail silently.

4. Phone Number (Optional)

Only some forms have a phone field. Fill this in if you want to be reachable by phone; leave blank if you do not want to give out your number.

Formats accepted:

• International format: +1 555 123 4567
• US format: (555) 123-4567
• Plain digits: 5551234567

ContactID normalizes the format to whatever the form expects.

5. Website URL (Optional)

The website field is a chance to send traffic back to your own site. Include it if you have one:

• Full URL: https://yourdomain.com
• Or root domain: yourdomain.com

Some recipients will click through to check you out before replying. A polished site raises reply rates significantly.

6. What Not To Include

Some fields are auto-detected but should never be filled:

• Social security number, tax ID, or ID card fields. These do not appear on legitimate contact forms; if present, the target website is likely a scam or phishing form. ContactID skips these fields automatically.
• Password fields. These are auth forms, not contact forms. ContactID does not fill them.
• Payment fields. Same as above.

7. Editing Your Info Later

Every field can be edited any time from the Agents section. Changes apply from your next batch onward; batches already in progress use the info as it was at the start.

Your pitch is what actually gets read. Getting the message right is the single biggest lever on your reply rate. Here is what works, what does not, and how to structure a pitch for cold outreach.

1. Keep It Short

The best cold pitches are three to five sentences, under 150 words total. Longer messages have lower reply rates because most recipients skim contact-form submissions in their inbox and decide within 10 seconds whether to reply.

Rule of thumb: if the recipient has to scroll to see the end, it is too long.

2. Structure That Works

This four-part structure works for most B2B cold outreach:

• Hook (one sentence). Something specific to why you are writing. Not generic.
• Value (one to two sentences). What you offer and why it matters to them.
• Ask (one sentence). What you want them to do next. Clear and simple.
• Sign-off. Your name and role.

Example:

Hi, I noticed your team just launched a new product page for enterprise clients (congrats).

> I run Acme Design Studio and we specialize in enterprise landing pages. Recent clients include Stripe and Notion. Our redesigns typically lift conversion by 20 to 40 percent within a month.

> If a free portfolio audit of your new page sounds useful, reply and I’ll send it over in the next 48 hours.

> Sarah, Acme Design Studio

3. What Does Not Work (Common Mistakes)

Cut every one of these from your pitch:

• “I hope this email finds you well.” Everyone opens with this. Delete it.
• “My name is [X] and I’m reaching out because…” They can see your name. Delete it.
• “I’ll keep this brief.” Then just be brief. Do not announce it.
• “Are you the right person to talk to about…” Wastes a sentence. Just pitch.
• “I know you’re busy so I’ll…” Same problem. Just get to the point.

4. Personalization Matters

Generic pitches get generic reply rates (0.5% to 2%). Adding one specific detail about the recipient can double or triple your rate.

The specific detail could be:

• A recent post they published.
• A product they launched.
• A conference they spoke at.
• A hire they made.
• A client they signed.

Manual per-recipient research is slow. This is exactly what the AI Personalization feature is built for; the AI reads the target website and inserts one specific reference at send time. See the AI Personalization category for setup.

5. Rich Text Vs Plain Text

Most contact forms strip formatting on submission and show plain text to the recipient. So bold, italics, and colors do nothing on the receiving end.

Use rich text only if you plan to:

• Include a bulleted list (some contact forms preserve line breaks).
• Include a hyperlink you want the recipient to click.

Otherwise, plain text is fine and slightly less likely to trip spam heuristics.

6. Signature Handling

ContactID auto-appends a small signature to every pitch:

Sent via ContactID extension: https://rb.gy/q35m7f

This is added automatically at send time. Do not add it manually to your pitch or you will get two signatures. See the article on the ContactID signature for details on what it does and why.

7. Testing Your Pitch

Before running a batch to 1,000 URLs, send to 10 first. Wait a day, check your inbox for replies, and see what the response rate is. Refine and rerun.

The pitch message field uses a rich text editor with basic formatting options. Here is what each button does, when to use formatting, and when to skip it.

1. Editor Toolbar Overview

The editor toolbar sits above the message field with these buttons, left to right:

• Bold, italic, underline. Standard character formatting.
• Bulleted list, numbered list. For itemized content.
• Link. Insert a hyperlink.
• Clear formatting. Removes all formatting from the selected text.

2. Formatting Contact Forms Strip Anyway

Most contact forms convert your submission to plain text before showing it to the recipient. That means:

• Bold, italic, and underline are usually invisible on the receiving end.
• Font sizes and colors are stripped.
• Custom fonts are stripped.

If you want the recipient to see formatting, use only:

• Line breaks and paragraphs (preserved by almost every form).
• Bulleted lists (preserved by about 70% of forms).
• Hyperlinks (preserved when the form supports it, otherwise the URL is shown as plain text).

3. When To Use Rich Text

Rich text is worth using for:

• A short bulleted list of value points. Three quick benefits are easier to skim than a paragraph.
• A hyperlink to a specific portfolio piece. “See our redesign of stripe.com” with a link.
• Line breaks between the hook, value, and ask so the message reads clearly.

4. When Plain Text Is Better

Skip rich text if:

• Your pitch is only two or three sentences (formatting adds nothing).
• You are worried about looking too polished (“marketed at” instead of “written by a real person”).
• You use AI Personalization heavily; the AI rewrites the message and formatting can get lost anyway.

5. Pasting From Word Or Google Docs

The editor accepts pastes from Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other rich text source. It will preserve bold, italic, links, and lists, but it strips:

• Fonts and font sizes.
• Colors and background colors.
• Tables (converted to plain text with tabs).
• Images (removed entirely).

6. Adding A Hyperlink

Select the text you want to link, then click the link icon in the toolbar. Paste the URL in the popup and click Insert. The link is now embedded in the text.

Most forms preserve links; a few strip them and show the URL alongside the text. If the form supports HTML, the recipient can click; if not, they see something like “our recent work (https://example.com)”.

7. Character Count And Limits

The editor shows a character count in the bottom right. The absolute maximum is 5,000 characters. Recommended maximum is 500 characters (about 100 words) for cold outreach; anything longer typically hurts reply rates.

Many contact forms have a Subject field. ContactID fills it from the Subject field on your active agent. Here is how to set it and what makes a good subject.

1. Where To Set The Subject

• Sign in to your dashboard.
• Go to Agents.
• Click the agent you want to edit.
• The Subject field sits between the sender identity block and the pitch message.
• Type your subject, click Save Changes.

2. When ContactID Uses The Subject

The subject is filled only when the target form has a Subject field. On forms that do not, it is silently ignored; only the pitch message is sent.

Roughly 40% of B2B contact forms have a Subject field. Consumer-facing forms (support, feedback) have one more often, around 60%.

3. What Makes A Good Subject

A cold-outreach subject line has one job: make the recipient open the message. Rules:

• Be specific. “Homepage redesign for [company]” beats “Design services”.
• Under 60 characters. Longer subjects are truncated in most inbox previews.
• No ALL CAPS. Reads as spam.
• No emojis for B2B. Reads as unprofessional in most industries.
• Mention the recipient’s name or company if it fits naturally.

4. Subject Line Formats That Work

Pick one of these patterns:

• Direct value. “Free portfolio audit for [company]”
• Question. “Are you the right person for design partnerships?”
• Reference. “Loved your post on customer retention”
• Pattern break. “Quick idea for your enterprise page”

5. Subject Lines To Avoid

• “Hi” or “Hello”. No information; feels like spam.
• “Business Inquiry”. Generic; every spammer uses this.
• “URGENT” or “IMPORTANT”. Reads as manipulative.
• “RE:” or “FWD:”. Some people try to fake a reply thread. It is transparent and hurts trust when discovered.

6. Personalizing The Subject Per Recipient

If you have AI Personalization enabled, the AI can rewrite the subject line per target website too, matching the personalization done on the pitch. See the AI Personalization category for the setup.

Manual per-recipient subject editing is not supported in ContactID; that would defeat the purpose of automating a batch.

Your default agent is what ContactID uses when a batch does not explicitly pick one. Setting it correctly saves clicks every time you send. Here is how.

1. Why Have A Default

Every batch runs from one agent. If you have one agent, that is your default; if you have many, ContactID needs to know which to use when:

• You start a batch from the extension without switching agents first.
• You send from the dashboard’s quick-send flow.
• You import a URL list from CSV without picking an agent.

Marking one as default means “use this unless I say otherwise”.

2. Set The Default

• Go to the Agents section in your dashboard.
• Find the agent you want as default.
• Click the star icon in the top right of the card. A filled star means “default”; an outlined star means “not default”.

Only one agent can be default at a time. Setting a new one automatically unmarks the previous default.

3. Change The Default Any Time

Defaults can be changed as often as you want. If you run a partnership campaign for a week, set the partnership agent as default; when you move to a sales campaign, switch. There is no cooldown.

4. What The Default Does Not Change

• Batches already in progress. They use whatever agent was picked when started.
• Scheduled sends. They lock in the agent at schedule time, not send time.
• Other users on your account. Not applicable; accounts are single-user.

5. Deleting A Default Agent

If you delete the agent currently set as default, ContactID automatically promotes the oldest remaining agent to default. If you want a specific one instead, set it explicitly after the deletion.

Agent editing is instant; every field is saved on click of the Save button. Deletion is permanent. Here is how to do both, and what to watch out for.

1. Editing An Agent

• Go to Agents in your dashboard.
• Click the agent card you want to edit.
• The edit form opens with every field pre-filled.
• Change any field.
• Click Save Changes.

Changes apply to any batch started after the save. Batches in progress use the pre-save values.

2. There Is No Version History

Once you save, the old version of the pitch is gone. If you overwrite a message you might want back, you cannot recover it from ContactID.

3. Duplicating An Agent

Duplicating is the safest way to try a new pitch variant without losing the original.

• On the agent card, click the three-dot menu.
• Click Duplicate.
• A new agent appears with the same fields and ” (copy)” appended to the name.
• Edit as needed.

Duplicates start with the AI Personalization setting off, even if the original had it on. Re-enable it manually if you want.

4. Deleting An Agent

• On the agent card, click the three-dot menu.
• Click Delete Agent.
• Confirm the deletion in the popup.

Once confirmed, the agent is gone. There is no recycle bin.

5. Rules About Which Agents Can Be Deleted

• You cannot delete your only agent. You must have at least one. Create a new one before deleting the last remaining one.
• You cannot delete an agent while it is running a batch. Pause or finish the batch first.
• Deleting the default automatically promotes another to default.

6. What Deletion Does Not Remove

Deleting an agent does not remove:

• Past sends. The Activity log still shows every send this agent made.
• AI wallet spending that happened during the agent’s use.
• The signature on messages already sent; those are already delivered.

Deletion only stops the agent from being used going forward.

Multiple agents let you run distinct outreach campaigns without cross-contaminating messages. Here is how to structure agents for common multi-campaign patterns.

1. Why Split Into Multiple Agents

Common reasons users create a second or third agent:

• Different products. Selling web design and separately selling a SaaS tool; each needs its own pitch.
• Different audiences. Enterprise messaging is very different from small-business messaging.
• Different asks. Demo request vs. partnership pitch vs. content collaboration.
• A/B testing. Two agents with different pitches, split the same list, compare reply rates.
• Different senders. CEO for high-value pitches; team member for volume.

2. Naming Convention For Multiple Agents

Give each agent a descriptive name so you can pick correctly without opening the details:

• “Cold demo request, Q1 2026”
• “Partnership pitch, enterprise”
• “Recruiting outreach, senior engineers”
• “A/B test, variant A”

Two-word names get lost when you have five agents. Descriptive is worth the extra typing.

3. Splitting A List Across Agents

The typical workflow for A/B testing:

• Prepare your URL list.
• Split it randomly in a spreadsheet (or use ContactID’s built-in split feature; see below).
• Import half to a batch with Agent A.
• Import the other half to a batch with Agent B.
• Run both. Compare reply counts and quality after a week.

4. Built-In List Splitter

When you import a large URL list, ContactID’s Import screen offers to split it. Click Advanced Import Options, then set:

• Number of splits (2 to 5).
• Split method: random, or first-half/second-half.

Each split is saved as a separate URL list. You can then start a batch on each list with a different agent.

5. Running Different Agents In Parallel

Yes, you can. Two batches from the same account can run on two devices at the same time (see the multi-device article). Just be sure the URL lists do not overlap.

Or run them sequentially on the same device: start batch A, wait for it to finish, switch agents, start batch B.

6. Tracking Which Agent Sent What

The Activity log tags every send with the agent used. Filter by agent to see per-agent stats:

• Total sent.
• Successful vs failed.
• AI cost (if AI Personalization was on).
• Replies received (if you use the reply tracking feature; see the article on tracking replies).

7. When One Agent Is Enough

If you send the same pitch to different verticals, you probably do not need multiple agents. Update the one agent’s pitch instead, and use AI Personalization to tune it per website.

Multiple agents make sense when the underlying pitch, ask, or sender is genuinely different.

Every message ContactID sends includes a small automatic signature. Here is what it looks like, why it is there, and the ContactID policy around it.

1. What The Signature Looks Like

At the bottom of every pitch, ContactID appends:

Sent via ContactID extension: https://rb.gy/q35m7f

This is added automatically at send time. It appears on a new line below your pitch, formatted in small, muted text so it does not distract from the message.

2. Why The Signature Exists

The signature serves three purposes:

• Transparency. Recipients know the message came through an automated tool, not typed by hand. This lets them decide how to respond fairly.
• Attribution. The rb.gy/q35m7f link redirects to ContactID, so anyone curious can look up the product.
• Compliance. Many jurisdictions (especially the EU under GDPR and some US state laws) require automated messages to be labeled. The signature meets that requirement.

3. Is The Signature Removable?

No. The signature is a required part of using ContactID and cannot be removed by any account, on any plan. Attempting to work around it (by editing the extension code, blocking network calls, or forging submissions) is a terms-of-use violation and grounds for account suspension.

4. Does The Signature Hurt Reply Rates?

The honest answer is: slightly, in some markets. Studies of hand-typed cold outreach versus automated outreach show around 5% to 15% lower reply rates when automation is disclosed.

The tradeoff is real. But:

• Volume dwarfs the effect. ContactID lets you contact 100x more prospects than manual outreach. Even at 15% lower reply rate per message, you get many more replies.
• Reply quality goes up. Recipients who reply after seeing the automation disclosure are pre-qualified as open to it. Manual outreach gets more replies from people annoyed by the assumption of hand-typing.
• AI Personalization narrows the gap. Personalized automation reads much closer to hand-typed work, and reply rates approach parity.

5. What The Signature Does Not Include

The signature is deliberately short. It does not include:

• Your name or company (that is in the pitch body).
• Any tracking pixel or open-detection.
• Any personal data about you or the recipient.
• Any HTML or JavaScript.

It is just text and a link, exactly as shown.

6. Duplicate Signature Prevention

If you accidentally paste the signature into your pitch manually (for example, from a note-taking app where you drafted it), ContactID detects this and does not append a second signature. The submission goes out with exactly one signature.

7. Signature And Rich Text

If your pitch uses rich text formatting, the signature is added as plain text on a new paragraph. It is not styled to match; it stays consistent across all messages regardless of pitch formatting.