Moving Intercom articles is one project. Moving your inbox, Messenger, or Fin is another. If the public help center is the only thing you want to change, leave your support setup in place and test the new site as a separate project.
1. List the articles and who should see them
Start with the Intercom Articles API and your live help center. Inventory article URLs, collections, translations, images, publication state, and audience rules. Also note where each article is used: Messenger, a saved reply, a workflow, Fin, or an external link.
Mark each article as public, restricted, or unpublished before importing it. Do not assume a copy of a public-looking page includes its original audience rules. Check the preview as an anonymous visitor and as a customer who should have access.
2. Verify the support paths before touching DNS
Preview a collection and a handful of representative articles. Open them on desktop and mobile, use search, follow a cross-link, and test the contact path. If the new site uses Messenger, check how it behaves for signed-out and signed-in visitors. Send a test conversation and confirm that it reaches the right inbox and workflow.
Keep your domain and high-value paths where possible. Map changed URLs and redirect them where you control the old host. Check deep links already sent in replies and email, not just links you can update today. See the Intercom comparison and migration preview if you want to compare the result with your current help center.
3. Switch Fin's sources deliberately
If Fin stays, the new site is a knowledge-source change, not just a design change. Intercom's website sync can ingest public URLs; it cannot fetch pages behind a login. Review the pages selected for sync and keep private knowledge in an access-controlled source rather than making it public for the crawler.
Use a handful of real questions to check which article Fin cites, whether it applies the right conditions, and when it hands off. Include a question whose answer changed during the move. Once the new source is verified, retire stale copies from Fin's available sources so it is not choosing between conflicting versions. Recheck after cutover and keep a rollback path for the old source configuration.
4. Watch for missing articles and wrong answers
After launch, review 404s, the top old URLs, Messenger handoffs, and Fin's sources. Treat a broken contact route or an answer exposing restricted content as a release blocker. For the next improvement, use the customer support automation guide to pick one repeat issue, and the AI knowledge base hub if you also need to serve agents outside Intercom.