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.
Note:
The custom segment feature is available to customers on the Pro and Business Wati plans.
You can create up to 10 custom segments in your Wati account. If you reach this limit, you can delete any unused segments to create new ones.
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
Prefer a visual walkthrough? Watch our video guide on how to create custom segments in Wati:
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 vs Static segments
When creating a custom segment, you can choose between Active and Static segments depending on how you want the audience to behave.
Active segments
Update automatically based on the conditions you define.
Contacts are automatically added to or removed from the segment as their data and engagement change.
Best suited for ongoing campaigns and automations.
Example: "New Purchasers".
Static segments
Capture a fixed snapshot of contacts when the segment is created.
Membership remains unchanged after the segment is saved.
Do not update automatically, even if customer data changes later.
Best suited for one-time campaigns or events.
Example: "Diwali 2025 Webinar Attendees".
Step 6: Apply filters to define your audience (for example: source = CTWA)
You can create Custom Segments using Contact Attributes or Profile Signals.
Contact attributes are values that you or your integrations add to a contact profile, such as location, plan type, or customer ID.
Profile signals are engagement metrics automatically tracked by Wati based on how contacts interact with your business.
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
Use custom segments in rules
You can use custom segments as a filter when creating rules in Wati. Under the Filters section, select Custom Segments and choose any segment you have created.
This allows you to target a specific audience and send messages only to contacts that belong to the selected custom segment.
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)
Availability
1. Which Wati plans support Custom Segments?
Custom Segments are available to customers on the Pro and Business Wati plans.
2. How many Custom Segments can I create?
You can create up to 10 Custom Segments in your Wati account. If you reach this limit, you can delete unused segments to create new ones.
Custom Segments
3. What are Custom Segments in Wati?
Custom Segments let you group contacts based on specific conditions, save those groups, and reuse them in future campaigns. This helps you target the right audience without recreating the same lists each time.
4. What can I use to create a Custom Segment?
You can create Custom Segments using Contact Attributes or Profile Signals.
Contact Attributes are values that you or your integrations add to a contact profile, such as location, plan type, or customer ID.
Profile Signals are engagement metrics that Wati automatically tracks based on how contacts interact with your business.
5. What is the difference between Active and Static segments?
Active segments update automatically based on the conditions you define. Contacts are added to or removed from the segment as their data or engagement changes, making them suitable for ongoing campaigns and automations.
Static segments capture a snapshot of contacts when the segment is created. The segment does not update automatically after it is saved, making it suitable for one-time campaigns or events.
Using Custom Segments
6. Where can I use Custom Segments?
You can use Custom Segments when creating campaigns by selecting a saved segment as your audience. You can also use Custom Segments as a filter when creating rules in Wati to target messages to contacts that belong to a specific segment.
7. Can I preview the contacts in a Custom Segment before saving it?
Yes. You can click Preview Contacts to see the contacts that currently match the selected segment conditions before saving the segment.
8. How do Custom Segments help with campaign management?
Custom Segments help organize your campaigns by allowing you to reuse saved audiences, automatically use the selected segment name if a campaign is left unnamed, show which segment was used in campaign history, and notify you by email when a large segment has finished processing.
Managing Custom Segments
9. What actions can I perform on an existing Custom Segment?
You can view the segment size, see the applied conditions, edit or rename the segment, clone it, or delete it from the Contacts > Segments section.