Why Custom Fields on Insights matter
Insights are where Influencer guidance lives in ARchitect. But the real question your leadership keeps asking is: what did we do with that guidance, and did it actually move the needle?
Custom Fields on Insights are designed to help you answer that. Use them to track:
Action taken — Was this insight shared with product, sales, or marketing? Did it inform a briefing or a customer conversation?
Business impact — Did it shape a roadmap decision, a sales motion, or a marketing message?
Ownership and status — Who's responsible for acting on the insight, and where does it stand?
This is how AR teams connect influence to impact — by making the link between analyst guidance and internal action visible and reportable.
Part 1: Setting up Custom Fields (for Site Admins)
Who can configure custom fields
You'll need to be a site admin to access the configuration page.
Where to find it
Go to Site → Site Admin → Insights Configuration
The page now has two tabs: Categories and Custom Fields
Click the Custom Fields tab to get started
Creating a new custom field
From the Custom Fields tab, click Add Field and fill in:
Setting | What to enter |
Label (Title) | The name users will see. Must be unique across your site. |
Data type | Checkbox, Date, Dropdown, Email, Number, Text, Text Area, or URL |
Required | Toggle on if users must complete this field to save an Insight |
Insight categories | Select which Insight categories this field should appear on |
A few things to keep in mind:
Label uniqueness is validated as you type — you'll see an error right away if the label is already in use.
Dropdown fields need at least two active items, and only one can be marked as the default.
Category selection works the same way as influencer types do for Influencer custom fields — pick one, several, or all Insight categories.
Editing and managing fields
Once a field exists, you can:
Edit the label, required flag, or active/inactive flag
Delete the field entirely (more on that below)
Manage dropdown items — add new ones, rename existing ones, or mark them inactive
A field can't be both required and inactive — you'll see an error if you try.
A note on deleting fields
Deleting a custom field is permanent. You'll see this confirmation message:
"Are you sure you want to delete this field? You will lose any data entered in this field across all your Insight records."
If you're not sure, mark the field inactive instead. Inactive fields preserve existing data and hide the field from new entries, but you can reactivate it later if needed.
Dropdown items that are in use
You can't delete a dropdown item that's currently referenced by existing Insight records — you'll see an error. To retire it, mark it inactive instead. Existing records keep their value, but the item won't appear in new selections.
Part 2: Using Custom Fields day-to-day (for end users)
Filling in custom fields on an Insight
Custom Fields show up in a dedicated Custom Fields section on:
The New Insight page
The Edit Insight page
The Insight creation modal (wherever it's invoked — from an Influencer profile, an Interaction, or from an AI-generated insight on an Interaction)
Category matters: The fields you see depend on the Insight category you've selected. Change the category, and the relevant custom fields update accordingly.
A few behaviors to be aware of:
Required fields are validated when you save. If you miss one, you'll get a clear error pointing you to the field.
Character limit is 2,000 per field.
Empty values aren't stored — if you clear a field, the record is removed rather than saved as a blank. This keeps your data clean.
Inactive fields don't appear at all for new or existing Insights.
Viewing custom fields in the Insights grid
The Insights grid now supports column management the same way Interactions does.
To add or remove columns:
Open the column control on the Insights grid
You'll see every default field plus every active custom field
Check the ones you want to display, uncheck the ones you don't
By default, all columns are checked — so you'll see everything until you decide to simplify the view.
Filtering by custom fields
You can filter the Insights grid — and every Insights reporting page (Breakdown by Category, Sentiment Breakdown by Category, Sentiment Trend) — by any active custom field.
Exporting custom fields
Exports from the Insights grid now work the same way as the Interactions grid. When you export, you can choose:
Displayed Columns — exports only what's currently visible in your grid view
All Data — exports every field, including all custom fields
Each custom field becomes its own column in the CSV, labeled with the field's name.
A few scenarios worth knowing about
Scenario | What happens |
A custom field is deleted while it's part of a saved view | The saved view quietly drops the reference — no broken state. |
You need to change a field's data type after it's been used | You can't. Data types are locked once data exists. If you need a different type, create a new field. |
You flip a field to Required after records already exist | Existing records aren't retroactively flagged. The required check only fires when someone saves a new value. |
You mark a field inactive | Existing data stays put and readable. The field just isn't available for new entries or edits. |
You rename a dropdown item | Every Insight record referencing the old name is updated automatically — no drift between stored data and what users see. |
FAQs
Do I need to recreate my Projects or Interactions custom fields for Insights?
No. Each entity has its own set of custom fields. If you want the same metadata tracked across entities, you'll need to set it up on each one.
Can I have different custom fields for different Insight categories?
Yes — that's the whole point of the category selection when you create a field. For example, you might have a "Product area impacted" dropdown that only appears on Product Feedback insights, and a "Marketing campaign" field that only appears on Marketing-related ones.
What's the difference between deleting and deactivating a field?
Deleting permanently removes the field and all data stored in it across every Insight record. Deactivating hides the field from new entries but keeps the historical data safe. When in doubt, deactivate.
Will custom fields show up on old Insights I created before the field existed?
Yes — the field will appear on the record, just with no value stored. You can go back and fill it in, or leave it empty.
Can I report on custom field data across all my Insights?
Yes. Every active custom field is available as a filter on all Insights reporting pages, and you can export the full dataset from the grid.