Audience Filters control who can enter your Automation workflow based on profile data, tags, or segment membership. Use them to send targeted messages to specific customer groups.
This article walks you through how to add and manage audience filters in Omnisend Automation.
Before You Begin
Audience Filters can be used with any Automation Workflow.
The feature is available on all Omnisend plans. Learn about Omnisend pricing.
You can add up to 5 audience filters per workflow.
⚠️ Segment-based audience filters introduce timing delays. Jump to Segment Filters section for workarounds.
When to Use Audience Filters vs. Other Automation Settings
Omnisend offers three ways to control who receives your automation messages. Choose the right tool based on when you want to filter and what data you're targeting.
Filter Type | What It Does | When to Use | Best For |
Audience Filters | Control who enters the workflow at trigger time | You want to target by profile data before the workflow starts | Country, Tags, Custom Properties, Segment membership |
Trigger Filters | Control what event data qualifies the trigger | You need to filter based on the triggering event itself | Product Title, Order Total, Form Name, Collection |
Conditional Splits | Control workflow paths after entry (can check at any point) | You need to route contacts mid-workflow or check data after a delay | Segment membership after delay, Purchase history, Engagement behavior |
💬 Learn more: Trigger Filters | Conditional Splits.
Setup Process
Audience filters appear alongside the trigger settings. The rules can be based on Profile data (tags, address, name, etc.) and Segments.
Go to Automations → Select your workflow → Click Trigger block → Scroll to Audience Filters → Click Add filter
Profile-Based Audience Filters
Profile filters target contacts based on their contact data: address, gender, birthdate, language, custom properties, and more.
Example: If your audience filter is set to Country is United States or United Kingdom, only contacts from one of these countries will enter the workflow.
Segment-Based Filters
Segment filters target contacts based on segment membership. This is powerful but requires understanding how segment updates work.
Segment Timing and Delays
Segments update every 1–2 minutes after an event. Audience filters check segment membership instantly at trigger time, before the segment updates.
What this means:
Customer places an order;
Automation triggers;
Audience filter checks: "Is this contact in Segment X?" → ❌ Not yet (segment hasn't updated);
Contact is excluded from workflow;
1–2 minutes later, contact is added to Segment X (too late).
Solutions:
Use profile-based filters (Country, Tags, Custom Properties) instead of segment-based filters whenever possible. They update in real-time.
Add a 1–2 minute delay before the first message block, then use a Conditional Split (not an audience filter) to check segment membership.
AND/OR Logic in Audience Filters
When you add multiple audience filters, you control how they work together using AND or OR logic.
AND logic (default): All conditions must be true for a contact to enter the workflow.
Example: Country is United States AND Tag is VIP → Only US-based VIP customers enter.
OR logic: At least one condition must be true for a contact to enter.
Example: Country is United States OR Country is Canada → Contacts from either the US or Canada enter.
Use Cases
1. Prevent Message Fatigue
Create segments to exclude contacts who recently received messages:
Example Segments:
"Received in Last 24 Hours" (Received at least 1 message in the past 1 day)
"Received in Last 48 Hours" (Received at least 1 message in the past 2 days)
In your automation:
Add audience filter → Segment is NOT [Received in Last 24 Hours]. This ensures only contacts who haven't received recent messages proceed through the automation.
2. Region-Specific Compliance (GDPR/Privacy)
Restrict automations to specific regions due to legal requirements. If you want to send a promotional SMS message but need to exclude certain countries to meet compliance requirements, use address data in audience filters.
Audience Filter: Country is United States OR Country is Canada OR Country is Australia.
Contacts that are not in your selected countries will not enter the automation.
💡 Why use audience filters here: Legal compliance – contacts outside these regions should never receive SMS, regardless of workflow logic.
FAQ
Why aren't my segment-based audience filters working?
Segments update every 1–2 minutes after an event, but audience filters check membership instantly at trigger time. Contacts may enter the workflow before they appear in the segment, causing exclusion.
Solution: Use profile-based filters (Tags, Country, Custom Properties) instead, or use conditional splits.
I've hit the 5 audience filter limit. Can I add more?
You can add up to 5 audience filters per workflow. Workarounds:
Combine multiple segments into one using AND/OR logic, then filter by that combined segment.
Use Conditional Splits inside the workflow for additional targeting.
Group filters with OR logic to target multiple segments with one filter (Segment is A OR B OR C).
How do I filter by a specific product in my automation?
Use a Trigger Filter, not an Audience Filter. Go to Trigger settings → Add trigger filter → product title → Set to "equals" → Enter product name.
What's the difference between audience filters and conditional splits?
Audience Filters: Control who enters the workflow. Checked once at trigger time. Best for profile data.
Conditional Splits: Control workflow paths. Can check conditions at any point, even after a delay. Best for behavioral data.
Use audience filters for simple entry gates. Use splits when you need to filter contacts after they've entered the workflow.
Feel free to reach out to our Support Team at any time if you need assistance. You can find us via in-app chat or at [email protected].