Same-session audiences allow Hightouch to evaluate audience membership using live user behavior during the current session -- typically in less than one second.
Overview
Same-session audiences let you evaluate whether a user qualifies for an audience while they’re actively using your product or website—usually in less than one second.
Instead of waiting for scheduled updates, you can respond immediately to what someone is doing right now.
Think of it like this:
- Instead of asking “Who qualified for this audience today?”
- You’re asking “Does this user qualify right now?”
This shift makes it possible to react in the moment—while the user is still engaged.
For example, you can respond when someone:
- views your pricing page multiple times
- searches for a product during their visit
- starts checkout but doesn’t finish
- meets a condition based on both their past behavior and current activity
Same-session audiences still use traits and models defined in your schema setup, but do not run new SQL queries each time an event occurs.
Why use same-session audiences?
Many campaigns depend on recent user behavior.
If your audiences only update every few hours (or once a day), you can miss the moment when a user is most engaged—or send messages that are already outdated.
Same-session audiences allow you to react while a user is still active.
This enables you to:
- Personalize website or app experiences in real time
- Stop showing promotions as soon as someone converts
- Trigger follow-ups based on recent actions
- Avoid sending irrelevant or mistimed messages
For example, if a user completes a purchase, they can be removed from a promotional audience within seconds--not hours later.
When to use same-session audiences
Use same-session audiences when timing matters—especially during an active session.
| Scenario | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Daily or hourly campaign refresh | Batch audience |
| Event-triggered campaign messaging | Event streaming |
| Personalization during the same session | Same-session audiences |
Common use cases
- Stop sending messages immediately after a user converts
- Show recommendations based on what someone is browsing right now
- Trigger a push notification when a user abandons checkout
- Adapt the experience based on in-session behavior
If your campaign doesn't require immediate updates, a scheduled audience refresh may be simpler and more cost-effective.
How same-session audiences work
Same-session audiences combine two types of information:
- What the user is doing right now (live events like page views or searches)
- What you already know about them (customer data from your warehouse)
When something happens—like a page view or search—Hightouch quickly checks:
- “Based on this action, does this user now qualify for this audience?”
Here’s what happens step by step:
-
The user takes an action
For example, they view a pricing page or search for a product. -
Hightouch checks your audience rules
It evaluates whether that action meets the conditions you’ve defined. -
Customer context is included
If your audience includes traits likeplan_typeorregion, those are considered too. -
Audience membership updates immediately
If the user qualifies, they enter the audience.
If they no longer qualify, they exit.
This all happens in about a second, so your campaigns and experiences can respond right away. In other words, you move from asking "Who qualified earlier today?" to "What should we do for this user right now?"
See Same-session audience architecture and data handling → for a deeper dive.
How this differs from batch audiences
Batch audiences are updated on a schedule (for example, every few hours or once a day).
Same-session audiences update continuously, as users interact with your product.
| Batch audiences | Same-session audiences | |
|---|---|---|
| When they update | On a schedule | Continuously, in real time |
| Best for | Broad campaign targeting | In-session personalization |
| Speed | Minutes to hours | Less than a second |