Migrate from Drift to Hunch

This guide walks through every step of moving from Drift to Hunch: replacing the widget, preserving what matters, reconnecting your tools, and validating the new setup before going live.

Before you start

Hunch and Drift are not identical products. Drift is a conversational sales and marketing platform (now part of Salesloft). Hunch is a website AI operator — it answers, acts, books, fills forms, routes to humans, and runs across channels.

What you keep:

Your website visitors and their behavior (Hunch starts fresh with live traffic)
Your knowledge base content (export from Drift, import to Hunch)
Your CRM connections (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. — reconnected in Hunch)
Your human handoff workflows (rebuilt in Hunch's operator model)

What changes:

The chat widget on your site (one script tag replacement)
Your conversational routing model (from playbook-based to intent-based)
Your reporting model (from conversation metrics to site analytics + influenced revenue)

Timeline estimate: Most teams complete the switch in an afternoon. The actual script replacement takes minutes. Knowledge migration and workflow tuning take the bulk of the time.

Step 1: Replace the Drift script with Hunch

This is the only step with a direct cutover. Plan for 5 minutes of downtime on the widget.

1a. Remove the Drift snippet

In your site's <head> or before </body>, find the Drift installation script. It looks like this:

<!-- Start of Drift Code -->
<script>
  'use strict'
  !(function () {
    var t = (window.driftt = window.drift = window.driftt || [])
    if (!t.init) {
      if (t.invoked) return void (window.console && console.error && console.error('Drift snippet included twice.'))
      ;((t.invoked = !0),
        (t.methods = ['identify', 'config', 'track', 'reset', 'debug', 'show', 'ping', 'page', 'hide', 'off', 'on']),
        (t.factory = function (e) {
          return function () {
            var n = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments)
            return (n.unshift(e), t.push(n), t)
          }
        }),
        t.methods.forEach(function (e) {
          t[e] = t.factory(e)
        }))
      t.load = function (t) {
        var e = 3e5,
          n = Math.ceil(new Date() / e) * e,
          o = document.createElement('script')
        ;((o.type = 'text/javascript'),
          (o.async = !0),
          (o.crossorigin = 'anonymous'),
          (o.src = 'https://js.driftt.com/include/' + n + '/' + t + '.js'))
        var i = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]
        i.parentNode.insertBefore(o, i)
      }
    }
  })()
  drift.DSN = 'YOUR_DRIFT_APP_ID'
  drift.load('YOUR_DRIFT_APP_ID')
</script>
<!-- End of Drift Code -->

Delete the entire block.

1b. Install the Hunch embed script

Add this single script tag in the same location:

<script src="https://cdn.hunchbank.com/embed.js" data-website-id="YOUR_HUNCH_WEBSITE_ID"></script>

You can find your website ID in the Hunch dashboard under Settings > Installation.

Open your site in a browser and confirm the Hunch widget appears. Open browser DevTools and check the console for any errors. The widget should show a chat button in the bottom-right corner.

Step 2: Migrate your knowledge base

Drift stores knowledge in Topics and Drift Knowledge. Hunch uses a retrieval-based knowledge model — it indexes your actual website content rather than requiring a separate article database.

What to export from Drift

Go to Drift > Knowledge > Topics
Export each topic's content — especially:
- Product and pricing information
- FAQ answers
- Buying guides and comparison content
- Onboarding flows
- Sales qualification scripts

Drift does not offer a bulk knowledge export. You will need to copy topic content manually or use Drift's API to export it.

What to do with it in Hunch

Hunch can ingest this content in two ways:

Option A: Add to your website pages (recommended) If the knowledge already lives on your site (pricing page, FAQ page, docs), Hunch will discover it automatically during its scan. No import needed.

Option B: Upload as reference documents For content that is not on your public website (internal processes, sales scripts), use the Knowledge section in the Hunch dashboard:

Go to Configuration > Knowledge
Create a new retrieval source
Paste or upload your topic content
Run a validation check to confirm the AI can find the right answers

Migration tip

Prioritize your top 10 most-used Drift Topics. Validate that Hunch retrieves accurate answers for each before migrating the rest.

Step 3: Handle chat history

Hunch does not import historical chat transcripts from Drift. This is intentional — Hunch is built around live visitor interactions and commercial outcomes, not a conversation archive.

What to do with old transcripts

Export from Drift: Go to Drift > Settings > Data & Privacy > Export Data. Drift will generate a CSV export of all conversations and email it to the account owner.
Store the export: Save it to your internal data warehouse, Google Drive, or a secure bucket. Your sales team can reference it if needed.
Mark the cutover date: Note when you switched so your team knows which system to check for historical vs. new conversations.

What about ongoing conversations?

Any active Drift conversations at the time of cutover should be:

Resolved or assigned in Drift before removing the script
Started fresh in Hunch — the visitor will see the Hunch widget on their next page load

For high-value active deals, consider a handoff note: ask the prospect to reach out again via the new widget and reference their previous conversation.

Step 4: Reconnect CRM and integrations

Hunch connects to the same CRM and tools you used with Drift, but through Hunch's native integration layer.

HubSpot

In the Hunch dashboard:

Go to Extensions > HubSpot CRM
Click Connect
Enter your HubSpot private app token (create one in HubSpot under Settings > Integrations > Private Apps)
Map the data you want to sync: contacts, deals, company enrichment

Hunch will now log conversations, leads, and influenced revenue back to HubSpot automatically.

Salesforce

Go to Extensions > Salesforce
Configure OAuth or API token access
Map lead, contact, and opportunity fields

Other tools

Check the Extensions page in the Hunch dashboard for available integrations. Hunch also supports:

Webhooks for custom integrations
Slack notifications for handoffs and alerts
Email, Telegram, and WhatsApp channels

Step 5: Configure workflows and handoffs

Drift's workflow model is playbook-based (sequence of questions to qualify leads). Hunch's model is intent-centric (detect intent, resolve or route).

Rebuild your most common flows

For each playbook you had in Drift:

Drift playbook	Hunch equivalent
Lead qualification flow	Intent detection + form-filling tool + CRM sync
Booking meetings	Tool-based booking action (connects to your calendar)
"Talk to sales" button	Handoff trigger — configure in Configuration > Triggers
Product recommendation	Knowledge retrieval + rich response cards
Bot → Human escalation	Confidence-threshold handoff in Configuration > Handoffs

Set up notifications

Go to Configuration > Notifications
Configure Slack alerts for handoffs, high-intent visitors, and anomaly detection
Set up email digests for daily/weekly summaries

Validate with a test run

Before removing the Drift script completely:

Run Hunch side-by-side with Drift on a staging environment
Test each workflow path: pricing question, booking request, sales handoff
Verify handoffs reach the right team members
Check that CRM sync populates the expected fields

Rollback plan

If something goes wrong, revert by:

Removing the Hunch embed script
Re-adding the Drift snippet (you kept it, right?)
Restoring any settings changed during the migration

Hunch does not modify your website's content, database, or server configuration. The entire integration is a single script tag.

FAQ

Will I lose my chat history? No — you export it from Drift before switching. Hunch does not delete anything from Drift. Your Drift data remains in your Drift/Salesloft account until you close it.

Can I run Drift and Hunch at the same time? Yes, during a transition period. Run both widgets (Hunch recommends hiding Drift from returning visitors once Hunch is active). We recommend a 1-2 week parallel run to validate coverage.

Do I need to change my DNS or server config? No. Hunch requires no DNS changes, no CNAME records, and no server-side modifications. The entire setup is a client-side script tag.

What happens to Drift's email sequences? Hunch does not have a direct equivalent to Drift's email sequencing. For nurturing sequences, keep your existing email automation tool. Hunch handles real-time website conversations, handoffs, and multichannel follow-through.

How long does the full migration take? Script replacement: 5 minutes. Knowledge migration: 1-2 hours. Workflow reconfiguration: 2-4 hours. Most teams complete everything in a single afternoon.

Can I import Drift's playbooks into Hunch? Not automatically. Playbooks need to be rebuilt in Hunch's trigger + action model. This is a good opportunity to simplify — most Drift playbooks are more complex than they need to be.

Before you start​

Step 1: Replace the Drift script with Hunch​

1a. Remove the Drift snippet​

1b. Install the Hunch embed script​

1c. Verify the widget loads​

Step 2: Migrate your knowledge base​

What to export from Drift​

What to do with it in Hunch​

Migration tip​

Step 3: Handle chat history​

What to do with old transcripts​

What about ongoing conversations?​

Step 4: Reconnect CRM and integrations​

HubSpot​

Salesforce​

Other tools​

Step 5: Configure workflows and handoffs​

Rebuild your most common flows​

Set up notifications​

Validate with a test run​

Rollback plan​

FAQ​