# Segments

Combine customer details, events and engagement into audiences that update automatically.

Segments select contacts using rules about who they are and what they do. Build an audience such as customers in Lisbon who purchased in the last 30 days. Contacts enter and leave as their data changes. For a list you maintain yourself, use a [group](/docs/guides/contacts/groups).

## Create a segment

1. Go to **Segments** and choose **New segment**.
2. Enter a **Segment name**.
3. Under **Conditions**, choose whether contacts must match **all** or **any** of them.
4. Choose **Add condition** and set it up (see below). Repeat for each rule.
5. To combine rules, for example "(A or B) and C", choose **Add group** to add a nested set with its own all/any choice.
6. Watch the live match count, which shows how many contacts match your rules right now, before you save.
7. Choose **Save segment**.

You can also choose **Draft with Kiro AI** on the **Segments** page and describe who you want. Or, while building a campaign, choose **Writing rules** on the **Audience** step and save those rules as a segment.

## Kinds of conditions

| Condition | What it checks | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Contact field** | Email, name, phone, time zone, external ID, consent or date added | *Date added is within the last 30 days* |
| **Profile attribute** | Any attribute you store | *loyalty_tier equals gold* |
| **Group membership** | Whether they're in a group | *Not a member of Staff* |
| **Event history** | Things your app or store reported, how often and how recently, with optional property filters | *Order Completed at least once within 30 days* |
| **Email activity** | Whether they were sent, opened or clicked your email, optionally for one campaign | *Did not open an email within 90 days* |
| **Push reachability** | Whether they have a registered device, optionally on one platform | *Has an iOS device* |

Comparisons depend on the type of value: text can **equal**, **start with** or **be one of** a list (contact fields can also **contain** some text); list attributes can **contain** or **not contain** an item; numbers can be **more than**, **at least**, **less than** or **at most**; dates can be **before**, **after** or **within the last** so many days. Any field can be checked for whether it **exists**.

Event history can also check for something that didn't happen next, such as *Added to Cart, not followed by Order Completed within 1 day*. Events come from your app, your store or a connected payment provider. A developer can send them. See the [API quickstart](/docs/api/quickstart).

> **Note:** Contacts in the EEA and the UK aren't tracked for opens and clicks, so email activity rules treat them as never opening. Keep this in mind for "didn't open" segments.

## Start from a preset

**Engaged recently** matches anyone who opened or clicked an email in the last 180 days. It's a good audience while your sending reputation is building, or after a pause.

## How segments stay up to date

- Kirora keeps each saved segment's membership up to date in the background. The **Size** column on the **Segments** page shows the latest count. A new segment shows **Not counted yet** until its first count finishes. To see who matches now, choose **Check matches**.
- When a campaign sends to a segment, the rules are checked again at that moment. Anyone who matches then is included, as long as they have consent and aren't suppressed. A count in the list isn't a promise of who will receive a message.
- A journey can start when someone **enters a segment**. Segment entries are checked about every 15 minutes. People who already match when you save the segment don't count as entering. Only people who start matching after that do.

Matching a segment never gives consent or overrides suppression.

## Edit or delete a segment

Open a segment from the list to change its rules, then choose **Save segment**. Campaigns and journeys that use it pick up the new rules from their next check.

To delete a segment, open it and choose **Delete segment**. You can't delete a segment while a campaign uses it. Change the campaign's audience first.

## Frequently asked questions

### How is a segment different from a group?

A segment is defined by rules and updates itself as contacts change. A [group](/docs/guides/contacts/groups) is a list you keep by hand.

### Does the Size column decide who gets a campaign?

No. The rules are checked again when a campaign sends, and anyone who matches then is included, as long as they have consent and aren't suppressed.

### Does matching a segment give a contact consent?

No. Matching a segment never gives consent or overrides suppression.

### Why didn't contacts who already matched enter my journey?

A journey started by **Enters a segment** only takes people who start matching after you save the segment. People who already match don't count as entering.

## Next steps

- [Create a campaign](/docs/guides/campaigns/create-a-campaign) — send to a segment once
- [Journeys](/docs/guides/journeys/how-journeys-work) — start a journey when someone enters a segment
- [Groups](/docs/guides/contacts/groups) — keep a list by hand instead