Improve targeting with Audiences AI

Audiences AI complements and improves your targeting strategies by using real-time customer data to identify and suggest adding segments of subscribers likely to make a purchase and excluding segments of subscribers less likely to make a purchase.

Audiences AI is part of the suite of tools available with AI Pro.

If you’re interested in using Audiences AI and other AI Pro tools to maximize revenue and boost ROI, sign up and learn more about Attentive AI™️ or reach out to your Attentive CSM.

Note: Audiences AI doesn’t generate AI-optimized audiences for retargeting campaigns or campaign sequences.

Tip: Want to learn how to get the most out of Audiences AI? Follow our best practices to include more high-value subscribers, exclude low-intent subscribers, and optimize your campaigns for better engagement and ROI.

Prerequisites

You must meet the following criteria to be able to use Audiences AI:

  • You must have already sent at least 5 campaign messages through Attentive
    • Each of those messages must have reached at least 10% of your current active subscriber list
    • Each of those messages must have been sent within the past 54 weeks (1 year + 2 weeks) and no later than two weeks ago.
    • Each of those messages must have resulted in at least one conversion

While there is no strict minimum list size, we recommend using Audiences AI with lists of 15,000 subscribers or more.

Audiences AI is generally available for text messages and in beta for email.

Generate optimized audiences with Audiences AI

  1. Go to Campaigns.
  2. Create or edit a campaign.
    • If editing a campaign, choose a campaign message.
  3. Click Add or Edit in the Audience panel.
  4. Choose segments to optimize by selecting them from the Select a segment dropdown.
  5. Choose segments to exclude by clicking Exclude, then selecting them from the Excluded segments dropdown.
  6. Audiences AI is turned on by default. You’ll see information about your optimized audience, including the number of recipients and whether you're adding or removing unlikely purchasers. You can click Enable audience optimization to turn it on and off.
  7. Click Save.

Animation showing a user clicking the ‘Edit’ button in the ‘Audience’ panel when creating a new campaign message, choosing an audience, toggling audience optimization off, then back on.

Audiences AI then begins generating an AI-optimized audience. When your AI-optimized audience is ready, you’ll see a message in Attentive letting you know it’s been successfully created.

Adjust AI-optimized audience

After Audiences AI finishes generating your AI-optimized audience, you can optionally adjust audience optimization and choose a different suggested audience.

A highlighted 'Audience optimization' section showing selected options to 'Add likely purchasers' and 'Track unlikely purchasers' alongside a 'Suggested audience' of '1,249' including '+777 likely' and '47 unlikely, with ‘Edit’ buttons to change optimization settings and choose a different audience.

Audience optimization

Follow these steps to choose how Audiences AI handles subscribers based on likelihood to purchase:

  1. Click Edit next to Audience optimization.
  2. Optimize your audience:
    • Remove unlikely purchasers: Check to remove subscribers that Audiences AI considers unlikely to make a purchase.
    • Identify unlikely purchasers: Check to identify subscribers that Audiences AI considers unlikely to make a purchase. If this option is checked, the message is still sent to subscribers, but you can compare message performance for these subscribers to that of your base audience and likely purchasers. See Understand AI Pro performance with reports for more about how Audiences AI can boost performance.

      Note: You can choose Remove unlikely purchasers or Identify unlikely purchasers, but not both.
    • Add likely purchasers: Check to add subscribers that Audiences AI considers likely to make a purchase.
    • Manage unlikely purchasers
  3. Click Apply.

Suggested audience

Follow these steps to choose from several different audience options:

  1. Click Edit next to Suggested audience.
  2. Choose a new audience. Depending on the size and specificity of the original segment, you may see multiple options or just one option. Each option includes an explanation of how audience expansion may affect revenue and ROI.
  3. Click Apply.

Best practices for audience inclusions and exclusions

Use these best practices to improve campaign performance by including high-value subscribers and excluding low-intent ones, helping you increase engagement, reduce costs, and optimize ROI.

Use audience inclusions to expand your best segments

Audience inclusions let you reach subscribers similar to those in your most valuable segments without reducing overall engagement or conversion rates. You can use these strategies to expand your highest-performing audience segments.

Send to high-ROI segments

These base segments represent proven, revenue-driving audiences. Enabling audience inclusion with these segments will identify and include additional subscribers with high purchase intent:

Engaged subscribers VIP and high-value customers High-intent shoppers
Subscribers who recently engaged but haven't purchased yet:
  • Clicked or opened messages within the last 30–60 days.
  • Frequently consume educational content like product guides and webinars.
  • Participated in quizzes or surveys indicating specific interests.
Customers with strong brand engagement and purchasing behavior:
  • High lifetime value (LTV) customers who buy frequently.
  • Active loyalty program members who respond to exclusive offers.
  • Full-price buyers, indicating strong brand affinity.
  • Buyers who make multiple purchases within a short period.
Subscribers showing strong intent to purchase:
  • Cart and checkout abandoners.
  • Subscribers repeatedly viewing specific products or collections.
  • Subscribers on waitlists or signed up for back-in-stock alerts.

Send to affinity segments

These base segments capture subscribers based on their shopping behaviors, preferences, and interests. Enabling audience inclusion with these segments will identify and include additional subscribers who share similar affinities:

Tip: Use audience inclusions to expand reach when targeting smaller segments (less than 75% of your list) to maintain strong engagement.
Price sensitivity Product interests Lifestyle and behavioral traits
Segment subscribers based on their purchasing behavior:
  • Discount shoppers who buy primarily during promotions.
  • Full-price buyers.
  • Luxury shoppers who frequently buy high-priced items.
Target subscribers who engage with specific product types:
  • Shoppers frequently browsing or buying within specific categories (e.g., skincare, home decor).
  • Subscribers engaging with new arrivals or limited-edition products.
  • Regular gift buyers, especially during holidays or birthdays.
Note: Audiences AI evaluates overall purchase likelihood, not specific category/product affinity. Subscribers may be added even if they haven’t demonstrated specific interest in a segment’s associated category/product.
Refine targeting based on customer values and habits:
  • Shoppers who prefer sustainable or ethical products.
  • Regular buyers who may benefit from subscription options.
  • Loyal brand advocates who frequently engage with content or community initiatives.

When to avoid audience inclusions

Don't use audience inclusions for:

  • Segments based purely on demographics (location, gender, etc.).
  • Winback or unengaged segments (subscribers inactive over long periods).
  • Retargeting segments (subscribers who've already taken specific campaign actions).

Use audience exclusions to optimize campaign effectiveness

Audience exclusions help improve campaign effectiveness by removing subscribers unlikely to engage, reducing costs, and prioritizing more responsive subscribers.

Broad campaigns Cost optimization
Exclude low-propensity subscribers when targeting broad segments (more than 50% of your subscriber list). Reduce send volume and costs without sacrificing engagement.

When to avoid audience exclusions

Don't use audience exclusions for:

  • Small, targeted lists (exclusions can excessively narrow the audience).
  • Highly specific campaigns aimed at niche audiences (exclusions may remove valuable subscribers).

Quick reference: audience inclusions vs. exclusions

Feature Purpose Best used for Avoid when
Audience inclusions Expand reach by adding high-intent lookalike subscribers High-ROI and affinity segments Demographic, winback, or retargeting segments
Audience exclusions Optimize effectiveness by removing low-intent subscribers Large, broad sends; cost optimization; retargeting campaigns Small or highly specific segments
Tip: Test inclusions with segments smaller than 75% of your list and exclusions with segments larger than 50% for optimal results.

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