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.
💡 Using segment-based audience filters? See timing considerations and best practices for reliable segment-based filtering.
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 refresh a few seconds after an event fires. For event-based triggers (Placed Order, Viewed Product, Subscribed, Custom Event, and others), Omnisend applies a ~15-second wait before evaluating segment-based audience filters. This ensures the segment has had time to refresh before membership is checked.
Recommended approach: For the most reliable results – particularly with large or complex segments that may take longer to refresh – use a Conditional Split with a short delay block instead of a segment-based audience filter. This gives you full control over when the segment check runs, regardless of segment size or refresh speed.
Profile-based filters (Country, Tags, Custom Properties) are evaluated in real time at trigger point and are the simplest option when segment membership is not required.
Segment-based audience filters work reliably for most event-based triggers, but a Conditional Split with a delay is the more robust setup for complex use cases.
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?
For event-based triggers, Omnisend applies a ~15-second wait before evaluating segment membership, which covers most cases. If contacts are still being excluded, the segment may be large or complex, and refreshing may be slower than the wait allows.
For the most reliable setup, use a Conditional Split with a short delay block instead of a segment-based audience filter. This lets you define exactly when the segment check runs, regardless of segment size.
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].