How to use predictive sending to automate send times

With ActiveCampaign, you can use predictive sending to send automated and email campaigns to contacts based on their habitual open times. Doing so helps increase engagement with your communications and creates a highly personalized experience for each contact.

Take Note

• Predictive sending is not available for 1:1 emails or trial accounts
• Predictive sending from Campaigns is only available with the Standard campaign type
• Predictive sending timing is recalculated weekly and only applies if you have it enabled and are actively using the feature. Enabling predictive sending means sending at least one campaign with predictive sending or adding a predictive send block in automation. Once enabled, results will take up to a week to reflect and improve with regular use

How it works

There are two ways to send a campaign with sending:

• An automated campaign from the Automations feature
• A one-time email campaign from the Campaigns feature

We collect open activity data for each contact who engages with your emails. When a contact either reaches a "Send an email" action with "Send with predictive sending" selected in an automation, or if they are sent a one-time email campaign with the "Use Predictive Sending" feature, we'll use that contact's opens data to predict the best time to send them your email. The email will then be queued to send at the contact's predicted time in their time zone within 24 hours of reaching your send email step or the scheduled send time.

A note for contacts in an automation: after reaching the "Send an email" action, the contact will move to the following action in your automation. As a best practice, we recommend adding a "Wait until" action right below the "Send Email" action that waits until your email is sent. This is especially useful if you don't want the contact to progress through your automation until the email is sent to them. (More information below.)

Once sent, the email will appear on the contact's profile page under their activity stream.

The "Send at predicted time" option is not recommended for time-sensitive automation emails.

New contacts with no open activity data

If there is no open activity data for the contact, the campaign will be sent randomly within 24 hours of the contact reaching the "Send an email" step or within 24 hours of being sent a one-time email campaign with the “Use Predictive Sending” feature.

Contacts who use an Apple device with iOS 15 with Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) enabled

We will include opens from contacts who use an Apple device with iOS 15 with MPP. To learn more about MPP, visit ActiveCampaign and Apple iOS 15 Mail Privacy Protection.

How to use predictive sending in Automations

Predictive sending in Automations can be managed from the Automations tab. If you're unsure how to create an automation or automation email, the "Creating an automation walkthrough" help article will guide you through that process.

1. Click Automations on the left menu.
2. Click into your existing automation or click the "Create a new automation" button.
3. Click the (+) node where you want to add your email
4. Click "Sending," then click the "Send an email" action on the right pane.
5. A modal window will appear. Select one of the following options to add a campaign to the automation action:
   • Create a new email - This lets you create a new campaign from scratch with a template or AI
   • Start from an existing email - This lets you copy a previously created campaign or copy a campaign that is already in your automation
   • Save and design later - This lets you add the "Send an email" action to your automation and then come back to design it later. Once you start designing the email, you will have access to the Predictive Send option
   • Select an email in the automation - This lets you select an existing campaign that is assigned to your automation and is not already being used in another "Send an email" action
6. Click the "Continue" button. 
7. For the "Create a new email" and "Start from an existing email" options, follow the remaining steps to create your email, then click "Create." Click the "Predictive Send" option on the next modal, then click "Save."
8. For the "Select an email in this automation" option, click the dropdown, select a campaign, then click "Save." Click the "Send an email" action to open it, then click the "Predictive Send" option. 

Adding a "Wait" action after the "Send Email" action

It is recommended to add a "Wait" action after the "Send Email" action in your automation. This is because each contact will immediately proceed through your workflow after reaching your "Send Email" action, even if "Send with Predictive Sending" is selected. Adding the "Wait" action after the email action lets contacts queue in this wait step until their email is sent. As soon as the email is sent, they will move to the next action in your automation.

Note that this "Wait" action should not replace any existing wait steps in your automation.

Learn how to add wait steps after emails in an automation.

How to use predictive sending in Campaigns

Predictive sending in Campaigns can be managed from the Campaigns summary page or when you create an email from the Calendar tab.

From the Campaigns Overview List View

1. Click Campaigns on the left menu.
2. Click the “List View” tab on the top left.
3. Click into an existing campaign or click the “Create a campaign” button.
4. Choose the Standard campaign type and click “Next.”
5. On the Campaign Summary page, in the “Schedule” section, click the “Schedule” button.
6. Click the “Use Predictive Sending” option.
7. Choose the “Delivery Date” and “Start Time” for your campaign send.
8. Click “Set schedule.”
9. If you have not already, design your email and complete the fields in the Campaign Summary page.
10. When your email is ready to send, click the “Finish” button at the top right.

From the Campaigns Calendar

1. Click Campaigns on the left menu.
2. Click the “Calendar” tab on the top left.
3. In the Campaigns Calendar, click on the future date that you want to send your campaign.
   
   

     The predictive sending feature will not appear if you click on today’s date.

4. In the “Schedule a campaign” modal:
   
   • Type in a “Campaign Name”
   • Choose “Standard Campaign Type”
   • Choose the “Delivery Date”
   • Choose the “Use Predictive Sending” option, then choose the “Delivery Date” and “Start Time.” Note that the “Delivery Date” will default to the date selected on the calendar in step 3
5. Click the “Next” button.
6. Create your campaign.
7. Once you are done creating your campaign, click the “Finish” button at the top right to schedule your campaign to send.

Learn more about the Campaigns Calendar.