How to migrate from Drift before the sunset

Drift is shutting down. Salesloft, which owns it, says in its Drift Sunset FAQ that Drift will be retired on January 31, 2027. If Drift runs the chat on your website, you have two jobs before then: get your data out, and get something else answering your visitors.

This guide covers both. If you just want a list of options, read Drift alternatives for small businesses. If you want to see how Formala compares side by side, see our Drift alternative page.

What is ending, and when

Everything in this section comes from Salesloft's Drift Sunset FAQ (last modified September 22, 2026). Salesloft says it will update the FAQ as details are confirmed, so check it before you plan around these dates.

• January 31, 2027: Drift is retired. Your access ends on this date or on the end date of your current contract, whichever comes first.
• Until then: your service level and support stay the same.
• After January 31, 2027: the Drift chat widget stops working, Drift Email (Siftrock) stops, and custom integrations built on the Drift API stop.
• If your contract ends before January 31, 2027: your access to Drift data ends on your contract date. You can submit an export request to your Account Manager or Support.
• If your contract ends after January 31, 2027: your data is no longer accessible online after the retirement date, but Salesloft stores it offline through April 30, 2027 so you can still request an export.
• May 1, 2027: if no export request has been submitted, all remaining Drift data is permanently deleted. Salesloft says the deletion is final and the data will not be recoverable.

The FAQ also says to remove the Drift script from your website and replace it with your new widget. Salesloft recommends 1Mind for chatbot functionality and allGood for Drift Email. You are not required to use either.

The date that matters for you is the earlier of your contract end and January 31, 2027. Find your contract and write that date down first.

How to export your Drift data

There are two routes, and you can use both.

1. Ask Salesloft for an export

The Sunset FAQ says that to export your data, you contact your Account Manager or Salesloft Support. Support tickets go through the Salesloft support portal (help.salesloft.com/s/contactsupport). Salesloft asks you to include your account name and a description of what you're trying to do. Do this early, and ask in writing which data types the export will include.

2. Download CSVs yourself while you still have access

Salesloft's help article "Drift - Exporting Drift Data and Importing it into your CRM/MAP" describes two CSV exports you can run from inside Drift.

Contacts, as a static Segment:

1. In Drift, go to Visitors > All contacts.
2. Click Create filter and choose the conditions you want. Salesloft notes that the Last Active attribute helps you find recently updated records.
3. Save it as a Static Segment. Saving takes you to the Segment view.
4. Click Manage members in the top-right corner, then Export CSV of segment.
5. The CSV is emailed to the address of the Drift user who is logged in.

Conversations, from the Chat Data report:

1. Go to Reports > Conversations > Chat data.
2. Use the date selector to set the time frame, and apply column filters if you need them.
3. Click Export as CSV to download the file.

The Chat Data export includes what is visible in the filtered report, such as date, visitor details, message count, chat length and participants. Salesloft's report article says the Chat Data report is available on the Premium, Advanced and Enterprise plans, is a Beta feature, and only shows chats where the visitor responded. It also defaults to the past 30 days, so widen the date range before you export.

Salesloft suggests merging the Segment CSV and the Chat Data CSV by email address if you need both before importing into another system, and checking that your column headers match the field names in that system.

Checklist for choosing a Drift replacement

Before you compare tools, write down what Drift actually did for you. Then work through this list.

1. Who is the chat for? A B2B sales team that routes visitors by territory and account needs a conversational sales platform. A small business that wants questions answered and inquiries captured needs something much simpler.
2. Can it answer from your own information? Your services, service area, hours and policies, not generic answers.
3. Does it collect the details you need? Name, email, what the visitor wants, and anything specific to your work, like a project address or photos.
4. How do you hear about new leads? Check exactly how alerts arrive and what they include.
5. Can visitors book a time? If Drift booked meetings for you, check which calendars a replacement connects to.
6. Can a person step in? Look for live takeover when a chat needs a human.
7. Can you get your data out? You are leaving one tool because it is shutting down. Make sure the next one lets you export leads.
8. What does it connect to? If you relied on Drift integrations, check what the replacement offers natively and what you would build yourself.
9. How hard is the install? You will be removing the Drift script anyway, so compare how the new widget goes on your site.
10. What does it cost, and can you try it first? Compare plans at the volume you actually get, and check whether there is a free plan or trial.
11. Can you run it before your deadline? Leave time to set it up, test it on real questions and swap it in before your access ends.

Where Formala fits, and where it doesn't

Formala is an AI website receptionist for small businesses and service companies, such as contractors and home service businesses. It is not built for enterprise sales teams. If you ran account-based playbooks, territory routing or a sales pipeline in Drift, Formala is not a like-for-like replacement, and you should look at conversational sales platforms instead.

If you used Drift as the chat on your website to answer questions and capture leads, here is what Formala does:

• Answers website chat 24/7 from your business's own information, and qualifies leads.
• Emails you a lead alert with the full transcript, and sends the visitor a confirmation email.
• Books appointments through a connected Google or Outlook calendar.
• Lets you take over any chat live.
• Accepts photo and PDF attachments from visitors.
• Keeps leads in a lead inbox you can export to CSV.
• Sends lead data to a webhook if you want to connect your own systems.
• Installs with one line of code.
• Offers an optional in-browser voice chat add-on for $59 a month, which includes 200 minutes.

What Formala does not do: it does not answer phone calls, it does not send SMS or text alerts, and it does not have native Slack or CRM integrations. Lead alerts are email only. The webhook is the way to send leads elsewhere.

Pricing: a Free plan with 10 conversations a month and no card required, then Starter at $19 a month, Growth at $39, Pro at $79 and Business at $149. There is no free trial. The Free plan is how you try it.

A simple migration plan

1. Find your contract end date and compare it with January 31, 2027.
2. Request your export from your Account Manager or Support, and download the Segment and Chat Data CSVs yourself while you still have access.
3. Pick a replacement using the checklist above.
4. Set it up with your business information and test it with real questions your visitors ask.
5. Remove the Drift script from your website and add the new one.
6. Check that new leads arrive where you expect them.

If you're a small business or service company, you can compare Formala and Drift or start on the Free plan and have Formala answering your website before your Drift access ends.