Skip to main content
Trackly SMS supports sophisticated audience segmentation with nested AND/OR logic. This guide explains how to combine conditions effectively.

​
Logic Basics

​
AND (All Must Match)

When conditions are combined with AND, a contact must satisfy every condition: 
last_clicked_at within 7 days
AND send_count gt 3
AND custom_fields.state eq "California"
A contact must have:
  • Clicked in the last 7 days, AND
  • Received more than 3 messages, AND
  • Have custom_fields.state equal to “California”
Result: Only contacts meeting ALL criteria are included.

​
OR (Any Can Match)

When conditions are combined with OR, a contact must satisfy at least one condition: 
custom_fields.state eq "California"
OR custom_fields.state eq "Texas"
OR custom_fields.state eq "Florida"
A contact with custom_fields.state matching California, Texas, OR Florida is included. Result: Contacts meeting ANY criterion are included.

​
Condition Groups

​
Creating Groups

Groups let you combine AND and OR logic. Each group is evaluated first, then groups are combined. Structure: 
Group 1 (AND):
  - Condition A
  - Condition B

[AND/OR]

Group 2 (AND):
  - Condition C
  - Condition D

​
Example: Engaged OR New

Target engaged contacts OR brand new signups: 
Group 1 (AND):
  - last_clicked_at within 7 days
  - click_count gt 2

OR

Group 2 (AND):
  - signup_date within 3 days
  - send_count eq 0
Matches:
  • Recent multi-clickers (engaged users)
  • Brand new signups who haven’t been messaged

​
Common Patterns

​
Geographic Targeting

Target multiple states or regions: 
custom_fields.state eq "California"
OR custom_fields.state eq "Texas"
OR custom_fields.state eq "Florida"
OR custom_fields.state eq "New York"
For many values, consider using the in operator (e.g., custom_fields.state in ["CA", "TX", "FL", "NY"]) or creating a custom field like custom_fields.region eq "West" instead of listing states individually.

​
Engagement Tiers

Target by engagement level: 
last_clicked_at within 7 days
AND click_count gt 5

​
Revenue-Based Segments

revenue_total gt 100

​
Re-Engagement

Target lapsed contacts who were once active: 
Group 1 (AND):
  - last_sent_at within 60 days
  - last_clicked_at not_within 30 days

AND

Group 2 (OR):
  - click_count gt 5
  - has_revenue eq true
Matches: Contacts who:
  • Have been messaged recently
  • Haven’t clicked in a month
  • BUT previously showed strong engagement

​
Exclusion Logic

Exclude certain contacts using NOT conditions: 
signup_date within 30 days
AND active eq true
AND last_sent_at not_within 24 hours
Matches: New signups who are active (not unsubscribed) and haven’t been messaged today.

​
Advanced: Nested Groups

For complex logic, nest groups within groups: 
Group A (AND):
  |-- Group 1 (OR):
  |     - custom_fields.state eq "CA"
  |     - custom_fields.state eq "TX"
  |
  |-- AND
  |
  |-- Group 2 (AND):
        - last_clicked_at within 14 days
        - click_count gt 1
Matches: Contacts in CA or TX who clicked recently AND clicked more than once.
Deeply nested groups (groups within groups) are supported in the data model but are not currently exposed in the UI. The UI supports one level of group nesting.

​
Evaluation Order

Conditions are evaluated in this order:
  1. Individual conditions within groups
  2. Groups combined (AND/OR between groups)
  3. Final audience membership
Example: 
(A AND B) OR (C AND D)
  1. Evaluate A AND B → Result 1
  2. Evaluate C AND D → Result 2
  3. Result 1 OR Result 2 → Final audience

​
Debugging Audiences

​
Audience Too Small

If your audience is smaller than expected:
  • Check that conditions aren’t too restrictive
  • Try removing conditions one at a time
  • Preview to see what’s filtering contacts out
  • Verify the field has data (e.g., custom_fields.state may be blank)

​
Audience Too Large

If your audience is larger than expected:
  • You may have OR where you meant AND
  • Check group logic (groups OR’d together include more)
  • Add additional qualifying conditions

​
Preview Tool

Always use the preview before sending:
  1. Click Preview in the audience builder
  2. Review the sample contacts
  3. Check if they match your intent
  4. Adjust conditions if needed

​
Performance Tips

Fields like last_clicked_at, send_count, and signup_date are stored on ListContact and are indexed for fast queries. Custom fields may be slower on large lists.Cross-collection lookups are slowest: Timezone, carrier, and DNC conditions require a $lookup join to the Contact collection, which is significantly slower than ListContact-only conditions. Use these sparingly in complex audiences.
Simple audiences with 2-3 conditions evaluate faster than deeply nested logic.
For audiences used frequently, the cached size updates periodically. Don’t refresh constantly.

​
Next Steps

Dynamic vs Static

Choose the right audience type

Campaign Targeting

Use audiences in campaigns