Rules let you show different content to different shoppers within a single campaign. Segmentation in campaigns matters, but you shouldn’t have to build 3-4 versions of the same campaign just to vary the messaging slightly. Rules change that.

Instead of duplicating a campaign for each cohort, keep one campaign and add Rules wherever you want the content to change. You control which blocks appear based on filters like shopper location, purchase history, cart activity, or Shopify tags. In campaigns, Rules work by adding a new conditional block into the email, and the block only appears for shoppers who meet the condition.

What filters are available in Rules

When you create a Rule, you set the condition using a filter. The available filters are:

  • Location — Target shoppers based on their country.
  • Purchased — Filter based on purchase history, including specific products, total spend, or date range.
  • Viewed — Target shoppers who have viewed specific products or collections on your site.
  • Added to Cart — Target shoppers who have added items to their cart.
  • Active on Site — Target shoppers based on recent activity on your site.
  • Email — Filter based on email address information on the profile.
  • Phone — Filter based on phone number information on the profile.
  • Profile Attributes — Filter based on custom attributes stored on a shopper’s profile.
  • Email Activity — Target shoppers who have opened or clicked an Instant email.
  • Shopify Tag — Match shoppers based on their Shopify customer tags.
  • Subscription — Filter based on a shopper’s subscription status (e.g. email or SMS).

Else conditions

You can chain multiple conditions onto a single Rule using else logic. Conditions are evaluated in order: if the first condition is met, that block shows. If not, the next condition is evaluated, and so on. If no conditions are met, nothing shows in that spot.

Adding a Rule block to your campaign

  1. Go to Campaigns in your Instant AI dashboard and open the campaign you want to edit
  2. In the panel on the left, select the Rule block,
  3. Click Select filter in the left panel and choose your filter type
  4. Configure the filter conditions and click Apply
  5. Select a block type to show when the condition is met
  6. To add additional else conditions, click + Add condition
  7. Click Save Changes when done

Deleting Rules

There are three levels of deletion when editing a Rule block:

  • To remove a single block from within a condition, click on the block you want to remove and click the trash icon at the top of the menu
  • To remove a single condition from the chain, click the trash icon next to that condition
  • To remove the Rule block entirely, click the trash icon in the top right of the Rules panel

Previewing Rules

While editing, you can check how your Rules will look using Preview mode.

  1. Toggle Preview on in the top right of the editor
  2. The campaign switches to a compiled read-only view, a green banner appears at the top showing Previewing [campaign name] by default
  3. Click the dropdown on the banner to switch to a specific Rule variation, the banner updates to Previewing rule [rule name] and the email updates to show that rule’s content
  4. Toggle Preview off to return to editing

FAQ

Can I apply a Rule to an existing block in a campaign? No. In campaigns, Rules only work as new conditional blocks you add into the email. Applying a Rule to an existing block is only supported in flows, where blocks can be shared across multiple touchpoints.

Do Rules work on every step of a multistep campaign? Yes. You can add Rule blocks on any step of a multistep campaign, so each touchpoint in the sequence can carry its own conditional content.

What happens if a shopper doesn’t match any condition? Nothing renders in that spot for that shopper. The rest of the campaign sends as normal.

Can I use different filter types in the same Rule? Yes. Each condition in a Rule can use a different filter, so you can chain a Location condition, then a Shopify Tag condition, then an Added to Cart condition in the same block.

Can I schedule a Rule to appear or disappear on a specific date? Date-based Rules are not currently supported in campaigns. Because campaigns are sent at a specific point in time, you control timing through the campaign’s send schedule rather than through a Rule. Scheduled date Rules are available in flows.

For more on using Rules in flows, including how to apply a Rule to an existing block and schedule date-based Rules, see How to manage Rules in your Emails.