Get started with segments in ActiveCampaign

A segment is a specific group of contacts based on a set of conditions, including actions, website visits, field values, and contact tags. For example, you can create a segment based on demographics, a specific tag, who clicked or opened a campaign, and more.

Segments are essential to email marketing - they make it possible to create and send highly personalized campaigns and other messaging to a set audience, helping you increase revenue, drive engagement, and improve your deliverability.

This article explains how segments work in ActiveCampaign, provides the next steps to take, and provides a list of segment definitions.

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How Segments work

Segments are created with the segment builder. This builder is found in multiple areas of the platform, creating a familiar experience each time you need to create a segment.

Where you can find the segment builder:

• Segments Overview (Contacts > Segments)
• Advanced Search
• Campaign
• Scoring
• Automation Triggers
• Automation Actions:
  
  • If/Else
  • Wait (until conditions are matched)
  • Goal

While you can create segments anywhere the segment builder is available, you can only save segments in the Segments Overview from Segments Overview, Advanced Search, or Campaigns Overview. Saving segments allows for easy reference and reuse with the Segment Library.

Segments Overview

Saved Segments are managed on the Segments Overview page in your ActiveCampaign account. To get there, click Contacts > Segments. From this page, you can create, save, edit, and delete segments, view AI-suggested segments, and check the number of contacts in each segment.

Learn more about the Segments Overview page.

AI-suggested segments

AI-suggested segments automatically appear in your account with the sparkle icon next to the “segment’s name.

AI creates three segments tailored to your account based on user activity, behavior, and industry trends.

Learn more about AI-suggested segments.

Use saved segments

At the bottom of the segment builder under “Saved Segments” you can access and apply the conditions of a saved segment to apply or build upon existing segments. This can help you maintain consistency and save time.

Note that using a segment from the “Saved Segments” section will add the conditions below the segment you are working on. It will not replace the condition fields.

In the example below, we added the conditions of the “Engaged Contacts” saved segment to the working “Tag is Newsletter” segment by clicking the “Use conditions” button.

Learn how to use saved segments. 

Next Steps

Now that we have a good understanding of how segments work in ActiveCampaign let’s learn how to:

• Create and save Segments
• Manage Saved Segments
• Convert your legacy list segments to the updated segments experience

Segment Definitions

Segment: Noun: A group of contacts that meet specific conditions, including actions, website visits, field values, and contact tags. There are times we also use the term “segment” as a verb and mean (v) the division of contacts into groups (segments) that meet specific conditions.

Segments are dynamic. This means that the set of contacts changes in real time depending on who meets or no longer meets the segment criteria.

Condition: The rules that define how contacts are sorted into a segment. Contacts that meet the conditions of a segment are said to be part of that segment.

Conditions are made up of three parts:

• The condition name (e.g., name, has tag, clicked link, etc.)
• The operator (e.g., “is”, “contains”, “is after”, etc.)
• The value (e.g., a free-text field, dropdown select, etc.)

Depending on the condition, the available operators and values may differ. All parts of the condition must be defined in order for it to be considered a valid condition that can be used within a Segment.

Multiple conditions can be combined with AND/OR logic and condition groups.

Logic: Also referred to as AND/OR Logic. Logic is used within a segment to define how multiple conditions should be combined:

• If the logic is set to AND, all conditions must be met in order for a contact to be considered a match
• If the logic is set to OR, only one condition must be met in order for a contact to be considered a match

All AND/OR logic must be consistent within the same condition group. Additional condition groups can be added to allow for another layer of AND/OR logic.

Learn how to use and/or conditions in ActiveCampaign segments.

Condition Group: Group of conditions that follows the same logic. You cannot combine AND with OR logic in the same condition group. Additional condition groups can be added to allow for another layer of AND/OR logic.

Saved Segments: Segments that have been saved from the Segments Overview page, Advanced Search, or Campaigns Overview page. You can find and manage your Saved Segments by clicking Contacts > Segments.

Segment Builder: The tool within ActiveCampaign you use to create segments.

Segment Library: The “Saved Segments” section and dropdown within the segment builder that stores saved segments and AI-suggested segments.

AI-suggested segments: Segments that are generated by AI based on user activity, behavior, and industry trends.

Segments Overview: The page where you manage your saved segments. Click Contacts > Segments to get to your Segments Overview page.

Legacy List Segments: List-based segments created before September 30, 2024, managed under Contacts > Lists. In our updated segments experience, segments are no longer list-based and can be managed on the Segments Overview page.

To manage and use any legacy list segments moving forward, you must convert them to the updated experience. Learn how to convert legacy list segments to the updated segments experience.