Migrate from HubSpot Chat to Hunch
This guide walks through every step of moving from HubSpot Chat to Hunch: replacing the widget, preserving what matters, reconnecting your tools, and validating the new setup before going live.
Before you start
Hunch and HubSpot Chat are not identical products. HubSpot Chat is a conversational marketing and sales chat tool inside the HubSpot CRM ecosystem. 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 HubSpot, import to Hunch)
- Your HubSpot CRM (Hunch integrates directly)
- Your human handoff workflows (rebuilt in Hunch's operator model)
What changes:
- The chat widget on your site (one script tag replacement)
- Your chatbot approach (from flow-based to intent-based)
- Your reporting model (from contact attribution to site analytics + influenced revenue)
Timeline estimate: Most teams complete the switch in an afternoon. Script replacement takes minutes. Workflow tuning takes the bulk of the time.
Step 1: Replace the HubSpot Chat script with Hunch
This is the only step with a direct cutover. Plan for 5 minutes of downtime on the widget.
1a. Remove the HubSpot Chat snippet
In your site's <head> or before </body>, find the HubSpot conversations script. It looks like this:
<script
type="text/javascript"
id="hs-script-loader"
async
defer
src="//js.hs-scripts.com/YOUR_HUBSPOT_PORTAL_ID.js"
></script>
Delete the entire line.
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.
1c. Verify the widget loads
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
HubSpot Chat uses conversational flows and knowledge base articles (HubSpot Service Hub). Hunch uses a retrieval-based knowledge model — it indexes your actual website content rather than requiring a separate article database.
What to export from HubSpot
- Go to HubSpot > Service Hub > Knowledge Base > Articles
- Export articles — HubSpot supports bulk export under Settings > Data Management > Export
- Review your chatbot flows under Conversations > Chatflows and save the content
- Especially important:
- FAQ content
- Product and pricing information
- Booking and meeting flows
- Common customer questions
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, use the Knowledge section in the Hunch dashboard:
- Go to Configuration > Knowledge
- Create a new retrieval source
- Paste or upload your article content
- Run a validation check to confirm the AI can find the right answers
Migration tip
Start with the 5-10 most-answered questions from your HubSpot chatflows. Validate that Hunch retrieves accurate answers, then expand.
Step 3: Handle chat history
Hunch does not import historical chat transcripts from HubSpot. 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 HubSpot: Go to HubSpot > Settings > Data Management > Export and request a conversations export (CSV).
- Store the export: Save it to your internal data warehouse, Google Drive, or a secure bucket.
- Mark the cutover date: Note when you switched so your team knows which system to check.
What about ongoing conversations?
Any active HubSpot Chat conversations at the time of cutover should be:
- Resolved or assigned in HubSpot before removing the script
- Started fresh in Hunch — the visitor will see the Hunch widget on their next page load
Step 4: Reconnect CRM and integrations
Since Hunch integrates directly with HubSpot CRM, reconnection is straightforward.
HubSpot CRM
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 log conversations, leads, and influenced revenue back to HubSpot automatically — preserving your existing CRM setup.
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
HubSpot Chat's workflow model is flow-based (chatflows with branching logic). Hunch's model is intent-centric (detect intent, resolve or route).
Rebuild your most common flows
| HubSpot Chat flow | Hunch equivalent |
|---|---|
| FAQ chatbot | Knowledge retrieval + rich response cards |
| Meeting booking | Tool-based booking action (calendar connection) |
| Lead qualification | Intent detection + form-filling tool + CRM sync |
| "Talk to a human" button | Handoff trigger — configure in Configuration > Triggers |
| Bot → Human escalation | Confidence-threshold handoff in Configuration > Handoffs |
Set up notifications
- Go to Configuration > Notifications
- Configure Slack alerts for handoffs and high-intent visitors
- Set up email digests for daily/weekly summaries
Validate with a test run
Before removing the HubSpot Chat script completely:
- Run Hunch side-by-side with HubSpot Chat on a staging environment
- Test each workflow path
- Verify HubSpot CRM sync populates the expected fields
Rollback plan
If something goes wrong, revert by:
- Removing the Hunch embed script
- Re-adding the HubSpot snippet
Hunch does not modify your website's content, database, or server configuration.
FAQ
Will I lose my chat history? No — you export it from HubSpot before switching.
Can I run HubSpot Chat and Hunch at the same time? Yes, during a transition period. Run both widgets. We recommend a 1-2 week parallel run.
Do I need to change my DNS or server config? No. Hunch requires no DNS changes, no CNAME records, and no server-side modifications.
Will Hunch still sync to my HubSpot CRM? Yes. Hunch has a native HubSpot integration. All conversations, leads, and influenced revenue will sync back to your existing HubSpot CRM.
How long does the full migration take? Script replacement: 5 minutes. Knowledge migration: 1-2 hours. Workflow reconfiguration: 2-4 hours.
Can I import HubSpot's chatflows into Hunch? Not automatically. Chatflows need to be rebuilt in Hunch's trigger + action model.