Crushing Audience Targeting in Braze: Segments vs. Segment Extensions

When it comes to reaching the right users in Braze, two tools often come up: segments and segment extensions. They sound similar, but they’re built for very different types of targeting. Knowing when to use each can take your campaigns from “pretty good” to truly strategic.

Let’s break it down with a few real-world use cases.

🎥 Watch the Video

Before we dive in, check out this video that walks you through segments and segment extensions in action:

What Segments Do Best

At their core, segments let you group users based on recent attributes, behaviors, or events. Think of them as your go-to for quick, real-time targeting.

• Purchase behavior (last 30 days): Need to reach everyone who bought a specific product recently? A segment has you covered.

• Message interaction: Want to retarget users who opened an email or clicked an SMS? Segments make this easy.

• Always up to date: As soon as a user meets the criteria, they’re added to the segment automatically.

Best for: Recent behaviors, fast updates, common channels like email and SMS.

When Segment Extensions Step In

Sometimes, you need more than just the last 30 days of activity. That’s where segment extensions shine. They’re built for complex queries, historical depth, and external data sources.

• Deeper purchase analysis: Instead of “purchased once in the last month,” you might want “purchased twice in the last two years.” Extensions let you look back up to 730 days.

• Richer engagement insights: Need to see who engaged with a specific in-app message, content card, or promo across channels? Extensions give you that extra precision.

• External data power: By connecting to sources like your CRM or Snowflake, extensions let you combine Braze data with the rest of your customer view.

• Scheduled updates: Unlike segments, which refresh instantly, extensions update on a set schedule -making them ideal for strategic campaigns where timing isn’t down-to-the-minute.

Best for: Historical lookbacks, cross-channel engagement, external data integrations, advanced filtering.

Quick Recap

• Segments → Quick, real-time targeting. Perfect for recent purchases, message opens, and time-sensitive campaigns.

• Segment Extensions → Advanced, scheduled queries. Ideal for longer timeframes, multi-channel behavior, and blending Braze with outside data.

When you know which tool to use - and when - you can create smarter, sharper campaigns that meet your audience right where they are.