Summary
This guide explains how to configure the Zoho Create or update contact action in Astra. Once set up, this action automatically creates or updates contact records in Zoho CRM based on customer conversations, helping you keep your data accurate and up to date.
How the action works
When this action runs:
Astra looks for a Contact in Zoho CRM using the customer’s email
If the contact exists, it updates the record based on your configuration
If the contact does not exist, it can create a new one (depending on your settings)
This ensures every interaction is reflected in your Zoho CRM without manual effort.
Instructions
Follow these steps to configure the action:
Step 1: Open the Zoho create or update contact template
Log in to your Astra account
Go to the Action Library
Select Zoho - create or update contact
Open the Configuration step
Step 2: Set up the action intent
What you do
Enter a clear action name and intent
Click Edit action intent anytime to update it
What happens
A clear intent helps the agent decide when to trigger this action
Offline Sync
Keep this OFF to run the action during the conversation
Turn it ON to run the action after the conversation ends
Step 3: Select your Zoho account
What you do
Choose an existing Zoho account
Or click Add account to connect a new one
What happens
All contact data created or updated will be stored in the selected account
Step 4: Configure contact creation and updates
Allow creating and updating new contacts
When ON:
Creates a new contact if none exists for the email
Fully updates contacts created through Astra
When OFF:
Does not create new contacts
Allow updating existing fields
When ON:
Updates mapped fields for contacts already in Zoho (even if not created through Astra)
When OFF:
Does not update existing contact fields
Only updates the summary field (if configured)
Step 5: Map fields (Zoho → Astra)
Field mapping defines how data flows from Astra into Zoho CRM.
What you do
For each row:
Select a Zoho field (left side)
Match it with an Astra field (right side)
What happens
When the action runs, Astra sends the mapped data to the corresponding Zoho contact fields
Required fields
You must map the following fields:
Email
Last name
The action will not run without these.
Adding more fields
Click Map field to add additional mappings
You can map:
Standard fields (Email, Phone, First name, etc.)
Custom fields from Zoho
Note: Only fields that are editable and support text-like values (such as text, email, phone, picklist, textarea, or URL) are supported.
Creating new Astra fields
You can create new Astra fields while mapping.
These fields will:
Be available in the agent configuration
Appear as contact attributes for selection
Using the summary field
If you map a Zoho field to Summary:
Astra writes a conversation summary into that field
What does the end-to-end behavior look like
Here’s the end-to-end behavior:
Astra looks up a Contact using the mapped email
If no contact is found:
A new contact is created only if allowed by your settings
If a contact exists:
The contact is updated based on your configuration
If full updates are restricted:
Only summary updates may be applied (if configured)
Additional feature: Offline Sync
Offline Sync allows the action to run after the conversation ends instead of during the conversation.
When enabled
The action runs once after the conversation is complete
Conversation end conditions
Text agent: 10 minutes after the last message
Voice agent: When the call ends
This is useful when you want to capture finalized information instead of updating data in real time.
What to do next
Once configured, your action will automatically:
Capture customer details from conversations
Create or update contacts in Zoho CRM
Keep your CRM data up to date without manual work
You can now use this action as part of your automation workflows in Astra.