How Instant Manages Links in Flow Emails

Instant automatically generates a unique URL for each shopper at the time their email is sent, and applies it across every element in the email. Including every image, button, product block, and CTA. This happens dynamically per send, so you don't need to configure any links manually.

How the URL is chosen

The link we generate depends on the context of that shopper's journey at send time:

Cart or checkout abandonment — we link directly to the shopper's active checkout so they can pick up exactly where they left off.
Browse abandonment (no cart) — we link to the product page they were viewing.
Other flows (back in stock, price drop, etc.) — we link to the relevant product page.

If a coupon is configured in Instant, we go one step further: when the shopper has an active cart, we automatically build the URL so the coupon is pre-applied when they arrive at checkout. We'll also include mentioning the coupon in subject lines and body copy automatically, which is another benefit of always configuring coupons in Instant.

When to add a manual link override

You don't need to override anything for standard flow emails. The one case where you might is if you've added a custom image or custom CTA block and want it to link somewhere specific. For example, a best-sellers section or about us within your email template. You can set a manual URL on that individual element in the block settings.

When you do this, only that specific element uses the custom URL. Everything else in the email continues to use the automatically generated link.

Tip: If you're manually editing a URL, don't add UTM parameters. Instant appends these automatically to every link we generate. Adding your own can cause conflicts.

How to check if coupons are auto-appending to links

If you're including a coupon in your flow but haven't set one up in Instant, shoppers will see the code in the email but will need to apply it manually at checkout. To enable automatic coupon application at checkout:

Go to Coupons in your Instant dashboard.
Select Use an existing coupon and choose the coupon you've already created in Shopify.
Choose whether to use the same code for all shoppers, or generate unique codes per send.

Once connected, Instant will automatically pre-apply the coupon to every checkout URL we generate for that flow.

FAQs

Does Instant automatically add UTM tracking to links?

Yes. UTM parameters are appended to every link we generate. You don't need to add them yourself. Read more about UTM tracking with Instant AI →

Why might my UTM data look incomplete in Google Analytics, Triple Whale, or Shopify?

By default, Instant links shoppers directly to checkout for cart and checkout abandonment flows. Shopify can strip UTM parameters from checkout URLs during its redirect, which means external analytics tools may not record those clicks. If UTM-based attribution matters for your reporting, there's a setting to link to your storefront instead — this preserves UTMs at the cost of one extra step to checkout. Contact your CSM or help@instant.one to explore this. Read more →

How can I see which URL was included in a specific shopper's email?

You can preview exactly what was sent to any shopper, including the links used. In your Instant dashboard, open the relevant flow and click the Activity tab to see a live feed of sent emails. Click on any email in the list to open a preview of what that shopper received. From there, hover over any element in the email: image, button, CTA, and the URL generated for that send will appear in your browser's status bar at the bottom of the screen.

What happens to a link if a coupon expires?

Shopify handles coupon validation. If a shopper clicks a pre-applied coupon link after the code has expired, Shopify will redirect them to checkout without the discount applied.