Segment entry and exit triggers let you start an automation workflow the moment a contact enters or exits a segment. Use this to reach contacts who are newly added, re-added, or have recently dropped out of a segment – and deliver content tailored to where they are in their journey.
Before You Begin
Automation Workflows are available on all Omnisend plans. See Omnisend pricing plans.
All user roles, except Analyst, can access automation workflow settings.
This trigger does not carry order or purchase data. Variables such as order number, product name, or billing address will be empty in your messages. If your workflow needs order details, use a Placed Order or Paid for Order trigger instead.
This trigger fires once – at the exact moment a contact enters or exits the segment. It does not fire continuously while a contact remains in the segment.
Automation Setup
To set up an automation based on a contact's entry into or exit from a segment:
Create the segment with the rules you want to use.
Go to Automations → Create workflow → Create from Scratch.
Select a segment-based trigger: Entered segment or Exited segment, and define the segment criteria.
⚠️ Important: Create this workflow from scratch. Modifying the trigger of a preset automation can cause unexpected behavior – the preset trigger may conflict with the segment-based trigger on the backend.
Automation Trigger Settings
You can trigger the automation when a contact enters or exits a segment of your choice.
By default, the workflow will not trigger for contacts who were already in the segment when you enabled it. To include those contacts, select the Trigger workflow for contacts in the segment checkbox. Find more details below.
Trigger Workflow for Contacts Already in the Segment
This option lets you trigger the workflow for all contacts who currently meet the segment filters at the moment you enable the workflow – not just those who enter the segment afterward.
Step 1. Select a segment-based trigger
Choose Segment as your trigger filter.
Define the segment criteria (e.g., "Segment is [Selected Segment]").
Step 2. Check the box to "trigger workflow for contacts in the segment"
Checking this box ensures that the workflow starts for all existing contacts in the segment.
If left unchecked, only future segment entries will trigger the workflow.
Step 3. Enable the workflow and review the confirmation message
When you enable the workflow, a confirmation message tells you how many existing contacts will be added: "This workflow will now trigger for up to X contacts and anyone who matches the trigger rules in the future."
Once enabled, all existing contacts in the segment will immediately enter the workflow. All future contacts meeting the segment criteria will also trigger the automation.
⚠️ This option is available only for new workflows that have never been enabled. Once a workflow has been enabled, this checkbox is permanently disabled for that workflow – even if you pause or disable it afterward.
Workaround: Duplicate the existing workflow, enable the checkbox in the new draft, then start the duplicate.
Exit Conditions
You can add an exit condition to stop contacts from continuing through the workflow once they no longer meet your criteria. The most common exit condition for segment-based automations is "Contact exits the segment."
When this condition is active, a contact who leaves the segment will exit the workflow immediately – rather than continuing through remaining steps.
⚠️ Exit conditions are not retroactive. An exit condition applies only to contacts who enter the workflow after the condition is set. Contacts already in mid-workflow are not affected. Read more about Exit Conditions.
Frequency
Frequency settings control whether a contact who has already triggered the automation can trigger it again when they re-enter or exit the segment.
Frequency off (default): The same contact can retrigger the workflow every time they re-enter the segment.
Frequency on: Contacts who have already been through the workflow (or triggered it within your set time frame) will be skipped.
Example: You have a segment based on the city. A contact from London enters the segment, triggering the workflow. They later update their city to New York (exits segment), then change it back to London (re-enters segment). Your Frequency setting determines whether the workflow triggers again.
Note: If you want the workflow to trigger for contacts who re-enter the segment, keep Frequency off. If you want to prevent re-triggering, enable Frequency.
Editing Segment Used In Automation
When you update a segment linked to an active workflow, it can affect how the workflow behaves.
Impact of Segment Updates
Rule changes can cause contacts to re-enter or exit the segment, which may retrigger the workflow.
Risk of duplicate messages: Contacts who re-enter or exit a segment may receive messages they have already received.
How to Prevent Duplicate Messages
Enable the Frequency setting in the associated workflow. This ensures contacts can only trigger the workflow within a specified time frame or just once.
To enable Frequency:
Open the workflow.
Click the Trigger Block.
Scroll to Frequency Setting and enable the toggle.
Select one of the following:
Anytime in the Past – the contact will not trigger the workflow again.
In the Last X Hours, Days, or Weeks – prevents re-triggering within your set time frame.
Before Editing a Segment
Review which workflows are triggered by the segment.
Enable Frequency settings on any workflow where you want to prevent re-triggering.
Manual Import & Automation Trigger
Contacts who are manually imported or updated will enter the workflow if they match the criteria for the linked segment.
Frequency off: All imported contacts matching the segment criteria will trigger the workflow, regardless of whether they have triggered it before. This can result in duplicate messages if you re-upload an existing contact list.
Frequency on: Only contacts who have not triggered the workflow before (or not within the set time frame) will enter the workflow.
Enable Frequency to allow new contacts in while preventing existing contacts from re-triggering unnecessarily.
The same applies to contacts imported automatically from your store and contacts added after filling out a form – they are treated as organically added to the segment, and the automation triggers for them automatically.
FAQ
Why didn't my contacts receive the automation? They were already in the segment when I enabled it.
By default, the workflow triggers only for contacts who enter the segment after it is enabled. To include contacts already in the segment, enable the Trigger workflow for contacts in the segment checkbox – but this option is only available when setting up a brand new workflow that has never been enabled. If you need to apply this to an existing workflow, duplicate it, enable the checkbox in the new draft, and start the duplicate.
Why are far more contacts entering my automation than are in my segment? Segments are dynamic – contacts exit and re-enter them whenever the segment conditions are met or unmet. Each time a contact re-enters the trigger segment, they will trigger the workflow again unless a Frequency limit is set. This is especially common with time-based rules (such as "no purchase in the last 30 days"), where the window resets and the same contacts repeatedly re-qualify. Enable Frequency and choose a minimum re-entry period to prevent this.
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