Summary
Using negative conditions and "OR" in a segment does not return the correct results.
Resolution
When using negative conditions, it is highly recommended to use the "AND" logic.
When it comes to segments using negative conditions (i.e. “tag A does not exist” or “tag B does not exist”), if the idea is to exclude anyone who has either of those things, you want to connect the conditions with “AND”, not “OR”. It sounds counterintuitive, but using “OR” makes it so if any conditions are true, the contact is considered meeting the conditions to be included. If a contact did not have tag A but did have tag B because the “does not have tag A” condition is true, tag B becomes irrelevant.
Conversely, using “AND” with a negative condition operates more like “NOR”, as all of the conditions must be true in order to meet the rules for inclusion. It can help to think more in terms of sentence grammar, so if you were to use “AND” in this case, it would read more like:
“If a contact does not have [tag A] AND also does not have [tag B], send them this email”
If either of those conditions isn’t true (either by having tag A or having tag B), the “AND” makes it so that the conditions are “all or nothing”, so only those who have neither tag A "NOR" tab B would receive the email.
Cause
Using "OR" with a negative condition.
Related Articles