How to segment and target visitors in Tidio for personalized messaging

If you want your website chat widget to be more than just a generic “How can I help you?”, you’re in the right place. This guide is for marketers, store owners, and anyone who uses live chat and wants to actually use it—meaning, not just talk to everyone the same way, but to greet different visitors with messages that make sense for them.

We’ll walk through how to segment and target visitors in Tidio for personalized messaging. No fluff, no vague “AI magic”—just what works, what doesn’t, and how to do it without losing your mind in the process.

Why bother with segmentation in Tidio?

Let’s be honest: most chat widgets are just digital wallpaper. You get more value—and more sales, signups, or whatever you care about—when you talk to people based on what they actually do on your site.

With segmentation, you can:

  • Greet first-time vs. returning visitors differently
  • Offer discounts to people who are about to leave
  • Point loyal customers straight to support
  • Nudge folks who’ve hung out on your pricing page for 10 minutes (what are they waiting for?)

Tidio makes this possible, but only if you set it up right.

Step 1: Get to know Tidio’s segmentation basics

Before you start, here’s what “segmentation” really means in Tidio:

  • Segments: Groups of visitors who share certain behaviors or attributes.
  • Targeting rules: Conditions you set (like “visited more than 3 pages” or “came from Facebook ad”).
  • Automations: The actual messages or actions you trigger when someone matches your rules.

Tidio’s segmentation isn’t as deep as a full-blown marketing automation tool, but it covers the most useful cases for most businesses.

What you can segment by in Tidio:

  • Page visited (URL or part of it)
  • Number of visits
  • Time spent on site or specific page
  • Device type (mobile, desktop)
  • Location (country, sometimes city)
  • Referral source (like Google, Facebook, etc.)
  • Custom attributes (if you use Tidio’s API or integrations—advanced, but powerful)

What you can’t do (at least, not easily):

  • Super granular segments (think: “people who read blog post X and bought Y last week”)
  • Cross-device tracking
  • Very advanced behavioral targeting (that’s more for high-end CRMs)

For most small/medium businesses, Tidio’s segmentation is plenty.

Step 2: Map out your segments first (before you touch Tidio)

Don’t just start clicking around in Tidio. Grab a notepad or open a doc and ask:

  • Who are the main “types” of visitors I care about?
  • What do I want to say to each group?
  • What action do I want them to take?

Example segments:

  • New visitors (first visit ever)
  • Returning visitors (been here before, maybe haven’t bought yet)
  • Cart abandoners (added to cart, didn’t check out)
  • High-intent browsers (viewed 3+ product pages, or spent 5+ minutes)
  • Support seekers (clicked “Help” or visited FAQ page)
  • Discount hunters (came from a coupon site)

Pro tip: Start with two or three segments. You can always add more, but juggling 10 at once is a recipe for neglect.

Step 3: Set up your segments and targeting rules in Tidio

Now, open up Tidio and get into the Automation (sometimes called Workflows) section.

1. Create an automation (workflow)

  • Click “Automations” or “Workflows” in your Tidio dashboard.
  • Hit “Create new automation” or “Add workflow.”
  • You’ll see a list of triggers—these are your targeting rules.

2. Choose your trigger(s)

Here’s how to set up the most common segments:

New vs. returning visitors

  • Trigger: “Visitor opens a page”
  • Condition: “Number of visits” (equals 1 for new, greater than 1 for returning)

Cart abandoners

  • Trigger: “Visitor leaves page”
  • Condition: “Visited URL contains /cart” (or your cart page’s path)
  • Optional: Add “Time spent on page” to make sure they were actually considering

High-intent browsers

  • Trigger: “Visitor browses multiple pages”
  • Condition: “Visited more than 3 pages” OR “Spent over 5 minutes on site”

Device or location-based

  • Trigger: “Visitor opens a page”
  • Condition: “Device is Mobile” or “Country is United States” (or whatever matters for your business)

Referral source

  • Trigger: “Visitor opens a page”
  • Condition: “Referral URL contains facebook.com” (for social campaigns)

3. Add your message or action

  • Once your trigger/condition is set, you add the message you want to display.
  • Keep it short, specific, and useful. No one wants to read a paragraph from a robot.

Examples:

  • New visitor: “Hey there! First time here? Let me know if you have any questions.”
  • Cart abandoner: “Forgot something? Here’s a 10% code: DONTGO”
  • Referral: “Welcome, Facebook friend! Have questions? I’m here.”

Pro tip: Test each segment by visiting your site in incognito/private mode, or using a different device. Tidio will only show each automation if the conditions are really met.

Step 4: Use custom attributes for deeper segmentation (optional but powerful)

If you want to go deeper (and don’t mind a little code or using integrations):

  • You can pass custom data to Tidio using their JavaScript API or Shopify/Shopware plugins.
  • This lets you segment by logged-in status, customer tags, order history, or any data you can send.

Examples:

  • Premium customers: Only show certain offers or support options to people with a “VIP” tag.
  • Subscribers: Greet newsletter subscribers differently.
  • Trial users: Nudge free trial users to upgrade on day 6.

How to do it:

  • For most platforms, you or your developer can use window.tidioIdentify to send attributes.

  • Example: javascript window.tidioIdentify({ email: 'user@email.com', customerType: 'VIP' });

  • Then, in Tidio, set up a condition like: “Custom attribute customerType is VIP”.

Warning: This is optional. If you’re not technical, stick to the built-in options—don’t get lost in the weeds.

Step 5: Avoid common mistakes (and don’t overdo it)

A few honest lessons from the trenches:

  • Too many pop-ups = ignored messages. Don’t bombard visitors with 3 different workflows at once. Tidio will try to prevent overlap, but it’s easy to overdo it.
  • Vague messages = no action. “Let us know if you need help!” is basically background noise. Be specific.
  • Segment fatigue is real. If you’re constantly tweaking 15 different segments, you’ll never know what’s actually working.
  • Mobile experience matters. Test your automations on mobile—some messages that look fine on desktop are clunky on a phone.
  • Data is delayed. Sometimes, especially with new automations, there’s a lag before you see results.

What to ignore:

  • Don’t obsess over “AI suggestions” or whatever’s trending this week. Start with real visitor behaviors.
  • Ignore the urge to create a segment for every tiny difference. Focus on what actually drives results (sales, signups, happy customers).

Step 6: Measure, tweak, and keep it simple

Segmentation isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it deal. Every month or so:

  • Check which automations are getting engagement (Tidio shows stats for each one).
  • Kill or adjust messages that aren’t getting clicks or replies.
  • Add new segments only if you see a real need.

If you’re not getting the results you want, make your messages shorter, more specific, or try a new trigger. It’s not magic, it’s just trial and error.

Final thoughts

Personalized chat messages in Tidio are about matching your visitor’s experience to what you know about them. Don’t try to be clever—just be helpful, and start with the basics. Two or three well-targeted messages will do more for your bottom line than 20 generic ones.

Set up your first couple of segments, keep an eye on the numbers, and don’t be afraid to delete what doesn’t work. The best personalization is simple, direct, and actually useful. If you keep it that way, your visitors (and your sanity) will thank you.