# People

People are the foundation of everything in Bento. They represent everyone who interacts with your business, whether they've signed up for your newsletter, purchased a product, or simply visited your website. 

## What is a Person?

A Person in Bento is anyone whose information you've collected and stored. This includes:

- **Subscribers** who signed up through your forms
- **Customers** who made a purchase
- **Visitors** who browsed your website (once identified)
- **Leads** imported from other systems

Each person has a unique profile that stores their email address, name, custom fields, tags, and a complete history of their interactions with your brand.

## The Person Profile

Every person in Bento has a profile that contains:

- **Contact Information**: Email address, first name, last name
- **Custom Fields**: Any additional data you collect (phone, company, preferences)
- **Tags**: Labels you've applied for organization and targeting
- **Events**: A timeline of all their actions and behaviors
- **Emails**: A list of all the emails they have received

## How People Get Into Bento

People enter your Bento account through several channels:

1. **Forms**: When someone submits a Bento form or a connected form (such as WPForms, OptinMonster, Thrive Leads, etc.)
2. **API**: When your application sends subscriber data via the API
3. **Integrations**: When syncing from Shopify, Stripe, or other connected platforms
4. **Imports**: When you upload a CSV or migrate from another platform
5. **Bento.js**: When a visitor is identified on your website either by signing in or by filling out a form that we're tracking


> People created through forms and the API can trigger Flows, while imported contacts do not trigger automations by default.


## Working with People

From the People section in Bento, you can:

- Search and filter your entire audience
- View individual profiles and their complete history
- Manually add or edit tags and fields
- Export segments for use in other tools
- See real-time activity as events come in

## How People Connect to Other Concepts

People are at the center of everything in Bento:

- **Tags** are applied to people to categorize them
- **Fields** store custom data on each person
- **Events** track what people do
- **Segments** group people based on shared characteristics
- **Emails** are sent to people based on their profile and behavior
- **Flows** automate actions when people do specific things

Understanding People is the first step to using Bento effectively. Everything else builds on this foundation.