Summary
Custom Segments in Wati help you target the right audience without repeating the same work for every campaign. You can group contacts based on specific contact attributes, save those groups, and reuse them anytime. This makes your campaigns faster to set up, more organized, and more effective.
Instructions
Why use custom segments?
Sending the same message to everyone often leads to lower engagement. You may want to target specific groups like:
VIP customers
Webinar attendees
Customers with a specific account status
Manually creating these lists every time can be time-consuming and hard to manage. Custom Segments solve this by letting you create reusable audience groups that you can apply instantly.
How custom segments work
Custom Segments allow you to define audience conditions once and reuse them anytime. You can also choose whether the segment updates automatically or not.
How to create a custom segment
Follow these steps to create a custom segment:
Step 1: Log into your Wati account
Step 2: Select Contacts and go to Segments
Step 3: Click + Add Segment
Step 4: Enter a name for the segment
Step 5: Choose the segment type (Active or Static)
Active segments
Automatically update based on your conditions
Contacts are added or removed as their data changes
Best for ongoing audiences (for example: "New Purchasers")
Static segments
Remain fixed after creation
Do not update automatically
Best for one-time use (for example: "Diwali 2025 Webinar Attendees")
Step 6: Apply filters to define your audience (for example: tier = VIP)
Note: You can preview contacts matching the conditions in real-time by clicking on Preview Contacts button.
Step 7: Click on Create Segment to save the segment
Your segment is now ready to use.
How to use custom segments in campaigns
Once you’ve created segments, follow these steps to use them in campaigns:
Log into your Wati account and go to Campaigns → New Campaign
Select your audience
Choose from your saved custom segments or click on + Create your own segment to create a new segment
How to manage your custom segments
Follow these steps to manage your custom segments:
Go to Contacts
Open the Segments section
From here, you can:
View segment size
See applied conditions
Edit or rename segments
Clone segments
Delete segments
Key things to remember
Smart campaign naming
If you forget to name your campaign, Wati automatically uses the selected segment name. This helps you avoid unclear names like Untitled_Campaign_1.
Large segment notifications
If your segment takes time to process:
You’ll receive an email once it’s ready
The email includes a quick link to launch your campaign
Better campaign tracking
Your campaign history will show which segment was used. This makes it easier to:
Track performance
Compare audience engagement
Identify high-performing segments
Custom Segments help you stay organized, save time, and deliver more relevant messages to your audience - so every campaign reaches the right people.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Custom segments overview
1. What are custom segments in Wati?
Custom segments in Wati are reusable groups of contacts created based on specific contact attributes, allowing businesses to target the right audience without repeating the same setup for every campaign.
2. Why should businesses use custom segments?
Businesses should use custom segments to avoid sending the same message to everyone, improve engagement, and save time by reusing predefined audience groups instead of manually creating lists for every campaign.
3. What types of audiences can be created using custom segments?
Custom segments can be used to group contacts such as VIP customers, webinar attendees, or customers with a specific account status based on defined attributes.
Segment types and behavior
4. What is the difference between active and static segments?
Active segments automatically update based on defined conditions, adding or removing contacts as their data changes, while static segments remain fixed after creation and do not update automatically.
5. When should active segments be used?
Active segments should be used for ongoing audiences where contact data may change over time, such as grouping new purchasers.
6. When should static segments be used?
Static segments should be used for one-time audiences that should not change after creation, such as a specific event attendee list.
Creating and using custom segments
7. How do you create a custom segment in Wati?
To create a custom segment in Wati, go to Contacts → Segments, click + Add Segment, enter a segment name, choose the segment type (active or static), apply filters to define the audience, and click Create Segment to save it.
8. How can custom segments be used in campaigns?
Custom segments can be used in campaigns by going to Campaigns → New Campaign, selecting the audience, and choosing from saved custom segments or creating a new segment.
Managing and optimizing segments
9. How can custom segments be managed in Wati?
Custom segments can be managed from the Contacts → Segments section, where you can view segment size, see applied conditions, edit or rename segments, clone segments, or delete segments.
10. What happens if a campaign is not named in Wati?
If a campaign is not named, Wati automatically uses the selected segment name as the campaign name to avoid unclear naming.