If you’re using Drift, you probably want to do more than just have a chatbot say “Hi!” to everyone. You want to reach the right people with the right message—without driving them nuts. This guide is for marketers, sales folks, or anyone managing a site who wants to cut through the noise and make Drift actually useful for targeted messaging.
Here’s how to segment your site visitors in Drift, send messages that get results, and avoid the traps that make most bots feel like spam.
1. Know What Segmentation in Drift Actually Means
First, a reality check: Drift (see [drift.html]) is great for real-time messaging, but it’s not a full-blown analytics platform. You won’t be building hyper-granular segments like you would in, say, Google Analytics or a dedicated CDP. You’ll be working with what Drift calls targeting conditions—rules based on user data and behavior.
You can segment visitors based on things like: - Page they’re on (URLs, paths) - Referral source (UTM parameters, campaigns) - Known attributes (email, company, if they’re identified) - Location (country, city—if detected) - Device type (mobile vs. desktop) - Custom attributes you pass in via JavaScript
Don’t expect magic. If your visitors are mostly anonymous, you’re limited to what you can infer (like what page they landed on or where they came from).
2. Map Out Who You Actually Want to Target
Before clicking anything in Drift, get clear on your goal. Ask yourself: - Who do I want to reach? (e.g., people on the pricing page, returning customers, folks from specific companies) - What’s the one thing I want them to do? (Book a demo? Download a guide? Just say hi?) - What signals do I have? (Do you actually get UTM tags, or is everyone showing up as “Direct”?)
Pro tip: Don’t try to build segments for every possible visitor. Focus on the 1-3 that matter most for your goals. Over-segmentation leads to confusion and a mess of overlapping messages.
3. Set Up Your Visitor Attributes (What Drift Knows About People)
Drift’s power comes from what it knows—or what you tell it. Here’s what you can work with:
a) Default Drift attributes
- Location: Based on IP (iffy for accuracy)
- Device: Mobile, desktop, tablet
- Browser & OS
- Returning/new user: Based on cookies
- Page path & URL
b) UTM Parameters and Referrals
If you’re running campaigns, make sure your UTM tags are set up right. Drift can read these directly.
c) Identified Users (via Email, CRM, etc.)
If a user has chatted before or you’re pushing data from your CRM (with Drift’s integrations), you can segment by: - Email address - Company domain - Custom fields (like account status, plan type, etc.)
d) Custom Attributes (via Drift JS API)
If your dev team is handy, you can push all sorts of data into Drift—like plan tier, logged-in status, or customer ID. This unlocks real segmentation, but it requires some setup.
What’s not worth it? - Relying on location data for anything critical—VPNs and mobile networks make this unreliable. - Building segments off browser or OS unless you have a clear reason.
4. Build Your Targeted Segments in Drift
Here’s how you actually create segments in Drift:
a) Go to Playbooks (Where Targeted Messaging Happens)
- In Drift, “Playbooks” are where you set up automated messages and bots.
- Each Playbook can have its own targeting rules.
b) Add Targeting Conditions
When setting up a Playbook: 1. Choose your audience: You’ll see a targeting section. 2. Add conditions: You’ll get options like: - “Page URL contains /pricing” - “UTM campaign equals spring_sale” - “Email ends with @bigcompany.com” - “Custom attribute: plan_level is ‘pro’”
You can combine these with AND/OR logic, but don’t get carried away. Keep it simple, or you’ll end up with conflicting messages.
c) Exclude the Wrong Folks
Don’t forget to exclude people who shouldn’t see your message. For example: - Exclude users who’ve already booked a demo. - Exclude existing customers from seeing a “Sign up now” bot.
Pro tip: Always set up exclusions. Otherwise, you’ll end up with annoyed customers or prospects seeing the wrong stuff.
5. Create Messages That Actually Feel Targeted
A segment isn’t useful if your message still sounds generic. For each segment: - Be specific. Reference the page, campaign, or attribute that got them there. - Be brief. No long-winded intros. - Offer value. Instead of “How can I help?” say “Questions about pricing? I’m here.” - Don’t over-automate. If you’re trying to fake a human with a bot, people can tell.
What works: - “Hey, saw you’re checking out our pricing. Want a quick comparison chart?” - “Welcome back! Want to pick up where we left off?”
What doesn’t: - “Hi! Can I help you today?” (This is every chatbot ever.) - “Hello valued customer!” (If you don’t know them, don’t pretend.)
6. Test, Watch, and Adjust (Because No Segment is Perfect)
Don’t believe the hype: your first setup probably won’t be perfect. Here’s how to keep things on track:
- Preview your Playbooks. Drift lets you test them. Use this.
- Watch for overlaps. If two bots fire on the same page, it’s confusing. Check your targeting logic.
- Monitor conversion rates. Look at Drift’s reporting. If a message isn’t working, kill it or tweak it.
- Talk to your sales/support team. They’ll hear feedback before you do.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over tiny tweaks to targeting rules if you’re not getting traffic or conversions. Focus on big patterns.
7. Advanced Moves (If You Need Them)
If you’ve got the basics down and want to get fancy:
- Integrate with your CRM. Push account data (like customer lifetime value, renewal date) into Drift to segment more smartly.
- Use firmographic data. With Drift’s integrations (like Clearbit), you can target by company size, industry, etc.—but only if you really need to.
- Custom events. If users do something important on your site (like “Added to cart” or “Viewed demo video”), send that event to Drift and trigger tailored messages.
Caution: Every integration adds complexity. Make sure you really need it, or you’ll spend all your time troubleshooting.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Segmentation in Drift is more powerful than most people use, but it’s not mind-reading. Start with a couple of useful segments, write messages that actually relate to the visitor, and resist the urge to overcomplicate things. Watch what works, cut what doesn’t, keep it human, and you’ll get way more value out of Drift—and your visitors won’t hate your bots.
Now, go set up one segment that actually matters. Don’t wait for the “perfect” setup. You can always tweak it later.