# Braze > Rewrite the rules of customer engagement with AI > From cross-channel messaging and journey orchestration to Al-powered decisioning and optimization, Braze is a customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging.™ # Pages - [Braze Learning Resource](https://www.braze.com/braze-learning-resource) - [Home](https://www.braze.com/) - [Value of Braze](https://www.braze.com/value-of-braze) - [The Braze Platform](https://www.braze.com/product) - [Get Started](https://www.braze.com/get-started) - [About](https://www.braze.com/company) - [Partners](https://www.braze.com/partners) ## Product - [Trust at Braze](https://www.braze.com/product/trust) - [BrazeAI™ Agents](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents) - [LINE](https://www.braze.com/product/line) - [Product Overview](https://www.braze.com/product/overview) - [In-app Messaging Platform (SEO)](https://www.braze.com/product/mobile-app-messaging/in-app-messaging-platform) - [BrazeAI™ Decisioning Studio](https://www.braze.com/product/brazeai-decisioning-studio) - [Creative Studio](https://www.braze.com/product/creative-studio) - [BrazeAI™](https://www.braze.com/product/brazeai) - [Omnichannel Marketing Platform (SEO)](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging/omnichannel-marketing-platform) - [WhatsApp](https://www.braze.com/product/whatsapp) - [Braze Content Cards](https://www.braze.com/product/content-cards) - [Braze Email](https://www.braze.com/product/email) - [Braze SMS](https://www.braze.com/product/sms) - [Feature Flags](https://www.braze.com/product/feature-flags) - [Reporting & Analytics](https://www.braze.com/product/reporting-analytics) - [Journey Orchestration](https://www.braze.com/product/journey-orchestration) - [Mobile App Messaging](https://www.braze.com/product/mobile-app-messaging) - [Web Messaging](https://www.braze.com/product/web-messaging) - [Media Audience Sync](https://www.braze.com/product/audience-sync) - [Cross-channel Messaging](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging) - [Braze Data Platform](https://www.braze.com/product/braze-data-platform) ## Industries - [Gaming & Gambling](https://www.braze.com/solutions/gaming) - [Restaurants](https://www.braze.com/solutions/qsr) - [Luxury](https://www.braze.com/solutions/luxury) - [Sports](https://www.braze.com/solutions/sports) - [Media & Entertainment](https://www.braze.com/solutions/media-entertainment) - [Financial Services](https://www.braze.com/solutions/financial-services) - [Travel & Hospitality](https://www.braze.com/solutions/travel-hospitality) - [On-Demand](https://www.braze.com/solutions/on-demand) ## Use Cases - [Boost Productivity](https://www.braze.com/solutions/boost-productivity) - [Optimize Onboarding](https://www.braze.com/solutions/optimize-onboarding) - [Increase Engagement](https://www.braze.com/solutions/increase-engagement) - [Reduce Churn](https://www.braze.com/solutions/reduce-churn) - [Improve Acquisition](https://www.braze.com/solutions/improve-acquisition) ## Personas - [Braze For Startups](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups) ## Blog Posts - [Braze Learning Supports Laid-Off Community With Free Certifications](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-learning-supports-laid-off-community-with-free-certifications) - [Braze vs Salesforce: Which customer engagement platform is right for your business?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-salesforce-comparison) - [Braze vs Adobe: Which customer engagement platform is right for your brand?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-adobe-comparison) ## Frequently Asked Questions [What are BrazeAI™ Agents?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): BrazeAI™ Agents are autonomous AI assistants built into the Braze platform that help marketers work faster and smarter. They are highly configurable and can be deployed across the Braze platform, using your data and real-time context to automate tasks, personalize campaigns at scale, and help improve results across channels like email, push, in-app, and more. [What types of agents does Braze offer?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): Braze offers three complementary types of agents. Pre-built agents are ready to use for common marketing tasks like content optimization and campaign QA. Custom agents are created in the BrazeAI Agent Console™, and let you design task-specific, LLM-powered assistants that plug in directly in your Braze workflows. AI decisioning agents, available through BrazeAI Decisioning Studio™, make decisions at the individual customer level to optimize any business KPI. These agents can personalize channel, offer, message, creative, timing, frequency and more. They autonomously experiment and continuously learn from every customer interaction. [How does the BrazeAI Agent Console™ work?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): The Agent Console is an intuitive dashboard where marketers can create and manage custom agents without coding. You define the task, choose an AI model, and provide instructions (in the form of a prompt) for the agent. Agents are then invoked in either catalogs or canvases, to enrich data or personalize experiences, respectively. Currently, we are seeing customers use BrazeAI™ Agents to score leads, translate and localize content, and adapt communications based on customer behavior, and we are excited to see how else you put BrazeAI™ Agents to work for you! [How are custom agents different from conventional marketing automation?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): While traditional marketing automation runs on fixed rules and workflows defined in advance, custom agents bring AI models directly into Braze to generate outputs and route customers dynamically through canvases. Instead of just following if/then logic, agents can enrich data, personalize content, and adapt to customer behavior in real time, giving marketers more flexibility and intelligence than conventional automation alone. [What are common use cases for BrazeAI™ Agents?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): Brands can use BrazeAI™ Agents to tackle a range of marketing challenges, from driving conversions with personalized recommendations to reducing churn through timely offers, while also improving efficiency with tasks like scaling localization, enriching customer profiles, and automating campaign QA checks. Because agents can be shaped to fit each brand’s needs, they make it possible to scale everyday tasks and complex personalization in ways never before possible with Braze. [Which AI models power BrazeAI™ Agents?](https://www.braze.com/product/ai-agents): BrazeAI™ Agents support leading large language models from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini, giving marketers flexibility to choose their preferred LLM. AI decisioning agents rely on reinforcement learning, a type of AI best-fit for marketing personalization that optimizes customer and business value. With the Braze Model Context Protocol (MCP), you can also securely connect external AI tools to your Braze data for more advanced use cases. [What learning and development benefit opportunities does Braze offer to employees?](https://www.braze.com/company/careers/how-we-hire): We have many different learning and development initiatives and programs in place to ensure that employees can boost their skills and advance their careers, including our global learning stipend—check out the benefits section below for more details. [Does Braze use AI in the recruitment process?](https://www.braze.com/company/careers/how-we-hire): At Braze, we’re committed to a fair and transparent candidate experience. To help our recruitment teams focus on what matters most — the person behind each application — we use AI-assisted tools at certain stages of our recruitment process. This includes using AI to analyze the experience, skills and qualifications in your application materials to help with screening and prioritizing candidates. Such screening may amount to a form of solely automated decision-making. We also use AI for administrative support, like scheduling and recording interviews and summarizing interview notes. Our recruiting teams remain responsible for all hiring decisions and are involved throughout the process. Depending on where you are located, you may have the right to request further information about how AI is used in our recruitment process, to opt out of AI-assisted review, to request a manual review of any decision made or to contest a decision. Please contact us at talentdata.privacy@braze.com for any requests or questions. [How do I know if a Braze recruiter is real?](https://www.braze.com/company/careers/how-we-hire): Braze is aware of fraudulent recruitment activity in which bad actors may impersonate Braze recruiters and employees to deceive job seekers. These schemes are designed to obtain personal information or money, and are not affiliated with Braze in any way. BRAZE WILL NEVER Initiate contact via WhatsApp, Telegram, text message, or unsolicited phone calls as part of a recruiting process. Request payment, gift cards, banking details, or sensitive personal information (e.g. Social Security numbers or government IDs) during the interview process. Only once you receive and accept a job offer, you'll get requests for ID and personal details. For certain roles, you may be asked to verify your identity during the interview process, but that will specifically be requested through our Applicant Tracking System, Greenhouse. Ask you to purchase equipment or make any upfront payments. Contact you from a personal email address — all legitimate Braze recruiter communications come from a @braze.com email address. Use Crypto Currency to transact in forms of payment or purchases KNOWN FRAUD TACTICS Fake LinkedIn profiles WhatsApp outreach Telegram outreach Unsolicited texts & calls Fake Braze Website While you'll find our roles posted on many platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, etc.), you'll always be able to verify the legitimacy of Braze roles on our official careers website. If you believe you have been targeted by recruitment fraud, please report it to talentfraud@braze.com. [Who is Braze built for?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Braze supports companies at every stage of growth including startups launching their first engagement programs, to scaling companies meeting expansive growth, to large global enterprises looking for the leading customer engagement platform. [What will my contract with Braze look like?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Your Braze contract will be comprised of a Platform Edition tailored to your business needs, Monthly Active Users and Profiles, an allotment of Action Credits to power messaging and AI features, and CX Services to support your use of the platform. We also offer a variety of add-on SKUs across our Braze Data Platform and BrazeAITM product suite so you can customize your contract and unlock other valuable features within Braze. [What is a Monthly Active User? What is a Profile? Why are they important?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): A Monthly Active User (MAU) is any unique person who records a session on your Braze-connected app or website during a calendar month. You decide who counts: you can track every visitor if you value anonymous traffic, or limit tracking to only logged-in users. A Profile is the digital record of that person. It stores the user traits and behaviors that allow you to send truly personalized messages. Because your total user base is typically larger than your active monthly audience, every MAU in your plan includes a large allotment of User Profiles. This allows you to store data and re-engage customers with the right message, even if they haven't visited your app or website in a while. [What products and channels does Action Credits give me access to?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Braze Action Credits unlock the flexible use of any of the following features throughout your contract: Email, SMS/MMS, RCS, WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk, Content Cards, Banners, Message Archiving, Audience Sync, Webhooks, and BrazeAI Agent Console™. New and exciting features may be added to Action Credits in the future, giving you instant access to use them upon release. [How do Action Credits work?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Think of Action Credits as a single, flexible currency for your Braze account. Instead of purchasing fixed quantities for individual products, you buy one pool of credits as part of your contract. You can then use those credits across different channels and features based on your engagement strategy. Each action consumes a different number of credits—for example, sending an SMS may cost 1 credit, while a WhatsApp message may cost 5. Because all usage draws from the same pool, you can easily shift spend (e.g., from Email to Agent Console) without needing to contract a new product. Credits give you the flexibility to adapt your strategy as your customer needs change and your business strategy evolves. [How will I be able to track my usage?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Braze has comprehensive reporting and billing dashboards to help you monitor performance throughout your contract. [What kind of support will I get?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Braze offers a variety of Support and Service plans to fit customer needs including 24x7x365 Customer support for the world's leading brands. From initial implementation to long-term strategy, we deliver support and partnership, wherever you need it, when you need it. Check out our Support & Services to learn more: https://www.braze.com/customer-support-services [Does Braze offer a free plan?](https://www.braze.com/pricing): Braze does not offer a free plan at this time. Companies can still explore the platform through trials, startup programs, and other tailored entry plans. Speak to your account manager or contact us for more details. [What is the Braze Creative Studio?](https://www.braze.com/product/creative-studio): The Creative Studio is a built-in hub for creative tools designed to help you move from idea to execution faster. It serves as a single, centralized place for your media library, templates, content blocks, brand guidelines, calendar, and dynamic content feeds. The Creative Studio is designed to be flexible, so you can pull in creative assets and content from a wide variety of sources and only use the specific features you need. [How do the Figma and Canva integrations work?](https://www.braze.com/product/creative-studio): These integrations bridge the gap between design and delivery by connecting your creative tools directly to Braze. With the Figma integration, you can send designs to your Braze Media Library in minutes. The Canva integration lets you sync finished visuals and full emails to your Media Library in seconds. Both integrations ensure your marketing team is always working with the latest approved assets—no manual downloads, re-uploads, or developer tickets required. [How does the Creative Studio speed up creative execution?](https://www.braze.com/product/creative-studio): The Creative Studio eliminates the "asset wrangling" bottleneck by streamlining the path from design to deployment. Instead of manual handoffs, a designer can update a banner in Figma or Canva and sync it directly to the Media Library, ensuring the latest creative is ready for use without any reworks. Marketing managers can then make quick brand updates to cross-channel templates and content blocks simultaneously, accelerating production for the entire team. The Creative Studio also provides a single place to manage connected content, catalogs, and promotion codes, ensuring that enriching campaigns with dynamic content is seamless and accurate. [What resources and experts does Braze have to help brands with creativity?](https://www.braze.com/product/creative-studio): At 427° Celsius, metals melt and transform. At Braze, our Innovation Lab is where data and creativity combine to forge something extraordinary. In 2023, we launched the 427° Innovation Lab, a dedicated space where data and creativity collide to forge truly extraordinary brand moments. To inspire your next big move, we offer a curated library of creative case studies, deep-dive blogs, and exclusive playbooks—like our latest guide, Locking in Loyalty. The Lab helps you move beyond basic executions to build ambitious, high-performing experiences that fully leverage the power of the Creative Studio. Visit: https://www.braze.com/427-innovation-lab [What is the Braze Creative Studio?](https://www.braze.com/product/loc-testing-email): The Creative Studio is a built-in hub for creative tools designed to help you move from idea to execution faster. It serves as a single, centralized place for your media library, templates, content blocks, brand guidelines, calendar, and dynamic content feeds. The Creative Studio is designed to be flexible, so you can pull in creative assets and content from a wide variety of sources and only use the specific features you need. [How do the Figma and Canva integrations work?](https://www.braze.com/product/loc-testing-email): These integrations bridge the gap between design and delivery by connecting your creative tools directly to Braze. With the Figma integration, you can send designs to your Braze Media Library in minutes. The Canva integration lets you sync finished visuals and full emails to your Media Library in seconds. Both integrations ensure your marketing team is always working with the latest approved assets—no manual downloads, re-uploads, or developer tickets required. [How does the Creative Studio speed up creative execution?](https://www.braze.com/product/loc-testing-email): The Creative Studio eliminates the "asset wrangling" bottleneck by streamlining the path from design to deployment. Instead of manual handoffs, a designer can update a banner in Figma or Canva and sync it directly to the Media Library, ensuring the latest creative is ready for use without any reworks. Marketing managers can then make quick brand updates to cross-channel templates and content blocks simultaneously, accelerating production for the entire team. The Creative Studio also provides a single place to manage connected content, catalogs, and promotion codes, ensuring that enriching campaigns with dynamic content is seamless and accurate. [What resources and experts does Braze have to help brands with creativity?](https://www.braze.com/product/loc-testing-email): At 427° Celsius, metals melt and transform. At Braze, our Innovation Lab is where data and creativity combine to forge something extraordinary. In 2023, we launched the 427° Innovation Lab, a dedicated space where data and creativity collide to forge truly extraordinary brand moments. To inspire your next big move, we offer a curated library of creative case studies, deep-dive blogs, and exclusive playbooks—like our latest guide, Locking in Loyalty. The Lab helps you move beyond basic executions to build ambitious, high-performing experiences that fully leverage the power of the Creative Studio. [What makes Braze the best option for startups and small teams?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze works well for startups because it delivers enterprise-level customer engagement in a platform that is easy for small teams to use. Braze lets you launch campaigns fast, personalize with real-time data, and drive ROI without adding complexity, ideal for lean marketing teams moving quickly. [Is Braze affordable for early-stage, VC-backed startups?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze is used by hundreds of startups globally that leverage our friendly pricing model to get started quickly and grow with increasing efficiency over time. Our VC program takes it one step further by offering free access for Startups backed by our partners. Contact us using the form below to learn more! [How does Braze help small businesses drive ROI?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Startups typically see higher ROI with Braze because the platform can increase conversions, retention, and engagement through real-time personalization and AI optimization. It delivers enterprise outcomes in a pricing model that works for growing companies. [Is Braze too complex for an early-stage company?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze is not too complex for early-stage companies; it’s designed to be simple to start and powerful as you scale. Most teams use Braze without engineering support, thanks to intuitive, no-code tools and real-time triggers. [How much technical work is required to get started?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze offers lightweight SDKs, modern APIs, and turnkey integrations, making the setup process simple. Startups can get up and running with a few hours or days of work. [How does Braze support small businesses during onboarding?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze supports small teams with guided onboarding, dedicated experts, and hands-on help to launch quickly. This ensures early-stage companies can move fast, build campaigns confidently, and get value from the platform right away. [How is Braze different from other messaging and customer engagement platforms?](https://www.braze.com/braze-for-startups): Braze excels at speed, real-time personalization, and cross-channel orchestration powered by BrazeAI, making it the best platform for fast growing startups that prioritize rapid execution, high ROI, and an agile marketing stack. Backed by our award-winning Success and Support teams and the Bonfire Community, Braze gives startups the foundation to scale with confidence. [How can Braze help us keep fans engaged during the off season?](https://www.braze.com/solutions/sports): The off-season is where fan loyalty is either quietly built or quietly lost. Braze helps sports organizations run personalized, cross-channel fan journeys year-round: exclusive content drops, player updates, merchandise recommendations, and early ticket access, so the relationship holds whether the season just ended in a championship or a rebuild. The organizations that show up in the quiet months don't have to work as hard to win fans back when the schedule resumes. [What strategic partnership is available to ensure we achieve our measurable customer engagement outcomes?](https://www.braze.com/customer-success): Our Customer Success service provides industry-familiar advisors who support you in defining and delivering against measurable outcomes, offering guidance on "what good looks like" and helping cut down on opportunity costs. [How does Braze ensure the sustained operational security and availability of our customer engagement practice?](https://www.braze.com/customer-success): 24/7/365 support is provided by our award-winning Customer Support team, offering round-the-clock, follow-the-sun assistance to diagnose and resolve problems, supporting you to deliver impactful customer engagement at scale. [What value does Braze provide to ensure seamless integration with our existing tech stack?](https://www.braze.com/customer-success): Our Technical Account Management services deliver proactive technical guidance designed to support you integrating Braze within your broader architecture, unlocking new use cases and maximizing value based on your specific setup. [How does Braze help ensure our messages are successfully delivered as we scale?](https://www.braze.com/customer-success): Through Email Deliverability Services, we provide customized support, strategies, and industry trend guidance to bolster your sending reputation and performance, including strategic insights and critical IP warming initiatives. [How does BrazeAI™ support journey orchestration?](https://www.braze.com/product/journey-orchestration): BrazeAI™ helps marketers move faster and deliver more relevant journeys across the customer lifecycle. Our AI features handle the heavy lifting—predictive segmentation, personalized content creation, and AI decisioning—so you can optimize message timing, offers, channels, frequency, and more at a 1:1 level. [Can you experiment with customer journeys in Braze?](https://www.braze.com/product/journey-orchestration): Yes, Braze enables flexible A/B/n testing at the journey, path, or message level. Marketers can toggle experiments on and off to compare variants and automatically optimize for the best outcomes using BrazeAI™. [What types of real-time triggers can be used in Braze journeys?](https://www.braze.com/product/journey-orchestration): Journeys are triggered based on customer behaviors (such as purchases or sign-ups), cross-channel interactions, and real-time data updates via API. Braze processes these events with sub-second latency to ensure your engagement hits in the exact moment at scale. [How does Braze ensure consistency across channels?](https://www.braze.com/product/journey-orchestration): Braze maintains cross-channel consistency through a vertically integrated stack that unifies data, segmentation, personalization, and analytics. Because every channel operates from the same real-time foundation, you can eliminate silos and launch new channels faster while ensuring a connected experience for every customer. [How does Braze help consolidate messaging channels?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): Braze eliminates siloed point solutions by centralizing campaign management, reducing redundancy, and unifying workflows for greater efficiency, agility, and cost savings. [What channels can be managed with Braze Cross-Channel Messaging?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): Marketers can run campaigns across email, SMS, mobile push, in-app, WhatsApp, web, and connect owned channels with paid media platforms like Google, Meta, TikTok, and more. [How does Braze optimize channel delivery?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): Braze uses AI and engagement history to deliver messages on the channel where each customer is most likely to respond, improving open rates, conversions, and ROI. [How does Braze help with channel frequency management?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): Braze provides channel frequency capping, allowing marketers to set custom rules that prevent over-messaging and ensure a better customer experience. [Can Braze integrate paid media into cross-channel campaigns?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): Absolutely. Braze dynamically syncs first-party customer data to suppress wasted spend and optimize paid media retargeting, acquisition, and lookalike campaigns. [What role does BrazeAI™ play in cross-channel messaging?](https://www.braze.com/product/cross-channel-messaging): BrazeAI™ assists in creating and personalizing content, generating copy and creative, and determining the best channel and timing for each customer interaction. [How can I reduce churn?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/churn-prevention): Reduce churn by spotting at-risk customers early and intervening with timely, personalized outreach. Track engagement drop-offs and usage decline, segment at-risk users, trigger real-time re-engagement and win-back across channels, deliver value early through onboarding, and keep testing interventions. Prevention works best proactively, across the whole lifecycle, rather than as a last-minute discount. [What is churn prevention?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/churn-prevention): Churn prevention is the practice of identifying customers at risk of leaving and taking targeted, proactive steps to keep them. It relies on early behavioral signals and timely, personalized engagement, rather than reactive win-back campaigns after a customer has already decided to go. [What is the difference between churn prevention and churn prediction?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/churn-prevention): Churn prediction uses data and machine learning to forecast which customers are likely to leave. Churn prevention is what you do about it, covering the strategies and interventions that keep at-risk customers engaged. Prediction supplies the signal, and prevention turns that signal into action. [What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary churn?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/churn-prevention): Voluntary churn is when a customer actively chooses to leave, such as canceling a subscription. Involuntary churn happens passively, usually from failed payments or expired cards. Voluntary churn calls for engagement and value, while involuntary churn is often fixed with payment retries and reminders. [How does personalization reduce churn?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/churn-prevention): Personalization reduces churn by making outreach feel relevant and considered. Tailored content, offers, and timing based on each customer's behavior and stage help people feel understood, so re-engagement reads as helpful rather than intrusive, which makes at-risk customers more likely to stay. [What is an SMS marketing strategy, and why is it important for retention and conversions?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/a-complete-guide-to-sms-marketing): An SMS marketing strategy is a planned approach to reaching opted-in customers via text message with timely, relevant content. It matters for retention and conversions because SMS is a direct, personal channel that garners high open rates, making it one of the most effective ways to re-engage customers and drive purchases at the moments that count. [How can brands build and maintain an SMS subscriber list effectively?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/a-complete-guide-to-sms-marketing): Brands can build an SMS subscriber list effectively by collecting phone numbers at high-intent moments and offering a clear incentive for subscribing. Maintaining the list means regularly removing invalid and deactivated numbers, honoring opt-outs right away, and continually adding new subscribers who are likely to engage on the channel. [How does SMS complement email, push, in-app, and web messaging in a cross-channel strategy?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/a-complete-guide-to-sms-marketing): SMS complements a broader cross-channel strategy by handling the moments that need maximum immediacy and directness, such as time-sensitive offers, transactional updates, and high-priority alerts. Email works for longer-form communication, push for in-app users, and in-app messages for contextual nudges, while SMS reaches customers regardless of whether they have the app open. SMS pairs well with email: email for broader reach to your entire customer base and SMS for more targeted outreach to your high-value customers. [What are best practices for segmenting and personalizing SMS campaigns?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/a-complete-guide-to-sms-marketing): Best practices for segmenting and personalizing SMS campaigns include segmenting your SMS subscriber list by behavior, purchase history, and lifecycle stage, then using dynamic content to make each message specific to the user. AI send-time optimization personalizes delivery further by identifying when each subscriber is most likely to engage, rather than applying a single send time to the whole list. [How can brands measure the impact of SMS marketing campaigns on engagement and revenue?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/a-complete-guide-to-sms-marketing): Brands can measure the impact of SMS marketing campaigns by tracking delivery rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and opt-out rates at the campaign level, then connecting those engagement metrics to broader business outcomes like retention and lifetime value. Cohort analysis comparing SMS-subscribed customers to non-subscribed customers reveals the channel's long-term contribution to revenue. [Why should brands adopt WhatsApp for marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/the-powerful-impact-of-using-whatsapp-for-customer-engagement): Brands should adopt WhatsApp for marketing because it offers direct, personalized, and highly engaging communication with customers on a widely used platform. [How does WhatsApp compare to other marketing channels?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/the-powerful-impact-of-using-whatsapp-for-customer-engagement): WhatsApp stands out from other marketing channels by enabling conversational interactions with high open and response rates. [What benefits does WhatsApp provide as part of a cross-channel strategy?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/the-powerful-impact-of-using-whatsapp-for-customer-engagement): WhatsApp enhances a cross-channel strategy by providing seamless, instant customer engagement that complements email, SMS, and social media touchpoints. [How can rich media and two-way messaging improve performance?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/the-powerful-impact-of-using-whatsapp-for-customer-engagement): Rich media and two-way messaging improve performance by making interactions more interactive, visually appealing, and fostering meaningful customer conversations. [What is WhatsApp marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/whatsapp-marketing): WhatsApp marketing is the practice of reaching customers with personalized, interactive, two-way messages on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Brands use it for promotions, order updates, cart recovery, and support, integrated into cross-channel campaigns, to drive engagement, conversions, and loyalty on a channel billions of people use daily. [How do I measure WhatsApp marketing success?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/whatsapp-marketing): Measure campaign performance with read rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate. Measure the program overall with uplift in sessions, purchases, retention and lifetime value versus other channels. Because WhatsApp is a premium channel, track incremental impact, not just raw sends. [How do I set up a WhatsApp Business Account for marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/whatsapp-marketing): Connect WhatsApp to a customer engagement platform (your Business Solution Provider), create your Meta and WhatsApp Business accounts, verify your business, apply for Official Business Account status, scale your messaging limits, collect opt-ins, and submit message templates for approval before sending campaigns. [Do you need opt-in for WhatsApp marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/whatsapp-marketing): Yes. WhatsApp requires explicit consent before sending marketing messages. Collect opt-ins through your website, landing pages, phone-capture forms, QR codes, and social links, be transparent about what subscribers will receive, and follow regional privacy laws to keep a high-quality sending reputation. [What are the best WhatsApp marketing use cases?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/whatsapp-marketing): High-impact use cases include onboarding and abandoned-registration nudges, abandoned cart recovery, order updates, back-in-stock alerts, loyalty enrollment, upsell and cross-sell, surveys, and win-back campaigns. The strongest programs pair these with other channels and personalize with first-party data. [What is conversational marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/conversational-marketing): Conversational marketing is a customer-centric approach built on real-time, one-to-one, two-way conversations across channels like chat, messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger), SMS, and email. Instead of broadcasting a single message, it engages each customer individually with personalized, context-aware dialogue, increasingly powered by AI so it can happen at scale. [How is conversational marketing different from traditional marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/conversational-marketing): Traditional marketing broadcasts one message to a broad audience. Conversational marketing engages customers individually in real-time, two-way dialogue on their preferred channel, carrying context between interactions. The result feels personal and responsive rather than one-directional, which drives higher engagement and faster paths to purchase. [What channels are used in conversational marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/conversational-marketing): Common channels include website live chat and chatbots, messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, SMS, and increasingly email that supports replies. Strong programs coordinate these channels so a conversation can move between them without the customer having to repeat themselves. [What role do AI agents play in conversational marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/conversational-marketing): AI agents let conversational marketing scale by responding in real time, personalizing replies, and carrying customer context across channels and journey stages. They handle common interactions and hand off to humans for complex or sensitive issues, so brands deliver two-way engagement without one-to-one manual effort. [What are examples of conversational marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/conversational-marketing): Examples include a chatbot recommending products and answering FAQs, a click-to-message ad opening a WhatsApp conversation, personalized SMS order updates that invite replies, and a quiz-style bot that tailors content. The common thread is real-time, personalized, two-way interaction on the customer's channel of choice. [What is customer acquisition?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Customer acquisition is the process of attracting and converting potential customers into paying buyers of a company's products or services. It spans every stage from first awareness to purchase, drawing on marketing, sales, and service. A customer acquisition strategy makes that process structured and repeatable rather than reliant on one-off campaigns. [Why is customer acquisition important?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Customer acquisition is important because it drives the revenue that funds growth, sustains day-to-day operations, and offsets the customers every business loses over time. A steady flow of new customers also signals momentum to investors and partners, making consistent acquisition a mark of a business with staying power. [How do awareness, consideration, and conversion contribute to customer acquisition?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Each stage moves a prospect closer to becoming a customer. In awareness, they discover your brand; in consideration, they weigh it against alternatives; in conversion, they decide to buy. A strong strategy meets prospects at every stage with relevant messaging, guiding them forward without pushing for the sale too early. [How can sales and marketing teams collaborate for better customer acquisition?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Sales and marketing collaborate best when they share one definition of a high-value customer and align on messaging and targeting. That alignment gives prospects a consistent journey from first touch to purchase, cuts wasted effort on poor-fit leads, and typically lifts acquisition rates by focusing both teams on the same goals. [What is the significance of brand awareness in customer acquisition?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Brand awareness sits at the top of the acquisition funnel and shapes everything after it. When people already recognize and trust a brand, they're far more likely to consider it and choose it over alternatives at the conversion stage. Strong awareness makes every later step of acquisition more efficient. [What are some customer acquisition tools businesses should consider?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/customer-acquisition-strategy): Useful customer acquisition tools include CRM systems, email and cross-channel messaging platforms, social media management tools, and analytics software to track and optimize performance. A customer engagement platform like Braze brings channels, first-party data, and journey orchestration together in one place, so acquisition and retention run from a single view of each customer. [What is generative AI for marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/generative-ai-for-marketing): Generative AI for marketing is the use of AI models that create new content, text, images, video, or code, from a prompt to support marketing work. Marketers use it to draft copy, produce creative variants, summarize data, and personalize messaging, with humans guiding strategy, accuracy, and brand voice. [How does generative AI work in marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/generative-ai-for-marketing): Generative AI models learn patterns from large datasets and produce new outputs in response to prompts. In marketing, teams feed brand guidelines, past assets, and customer data, then prompt the model to generate on-brand copy, visuals, or drafts, often layering proprietary data onto a foundation model for relevance. [What are the main use cases for generative AI in marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/generative-ai-for-marketing): Common use cases include content and creative generation, personalization and micro-segmentation, chatbots and customer experience, data analysis and predictive insight, process automation, and idea generation. The highest value comes when generated content connects to how it is selected and delivered to each customer. [What is the difference between generative AI and agentic AI in marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/generative-ai-for-marketing): Generative AI creates content in response to prompts. Agentic AI acts on that content, planning and executing multi-step tasks toward a goal with limited supervision. In marketing they pair well: generative AI fuels creation and insight, while agentic AI and decisioning drive orchestration and delivery. [What are the risks of generative AI in marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/generative-ai-for-marketing): The main risks are hallucinated or inaccurate content, hidden bias, and governance gaps as adoption outpaces oversight. Mitigate them with domain-specific data, mandatory human review and fact-checking, access controls, and a clear governance framework before scaling. [What is martech consolidation?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/martech-consolidation): Martech consolidation is the process of reducing the number of marketing tools in a stack by replacing overlapping point solutions with fewer, more integrated platforms. The goal is to cut cost and complexity, unify customer data, and make teams faster by removing silos and redundant integrations. [How do you decide when to consolidate or replace a tool?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/martech-consolidation): Consolidate or replace a tool when it overlaps with others, holds siloed data, is underused, or carries high integration and maintenance cost relative to its value. Start with a stack audit that maps each tool's purpose, usage, cost, and data flows, then target redundancy first. [What are the signs of martech sprawl?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/martech-consolidation): Signs include overlapping tools doing similar jobs, customer data scattered across disconnected systems, slow campaign execution, heavy engineering time to keep integrations running, low tool adoption, and rising total cost of ownership. When teams stitch tools together to get a single customer view, sprawl is the problem. [What is the difference between build and buy in martech?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/martech-consolidation): Building means developing custom in-house tooling; buying means adopting a vendor platform. Building offers control but consumes R&D budget and ongoing maintenance; buying delivers faster time to value and vendor-maintained capabilities. Most teams consolidating a stack favor buying integrated platforms over maintaining homegrown point solutions. [How does a customer engagement platform reduce martech sprawl?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/martech-consolidation): A customer engagement platform consolidates channels (email, push, SMS, in-app, web), a unified customer profile, and decisioning into one system, replacing several point tools. That reduces integration overhead and data silos, so teams orchestrate cross-channel journeys from one place instead of stitching separate tools together. [What is AI content marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): AI content marketing is the use of artificial intelligence across the content lifecycle, from ideation and drafting to optimization and distribution, to produce and deliver relevant content more efficiently. It typically combines generative writing models, data analysis for topic and performance insight, and workflow automation, with humans guiding strategy and quality. [Will AI replace content marketers?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): No, AI will not replace content marketers. AI handles data analysis, structuring outlines, and drafting, but it lacks the strategy, empathy, and lived experience that build real audience connection. The strongest teams use AI for the repetitive heavy lifting and keep humans in charge of strategy, voice, and final quality. [What can AI do across the content marketing lifecycle?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): Across the content marketing lifecycle, AI supports ideation (topic clustering and gap analysis), drafting (outlines and first drafts), optimization (semantic SEO and competitor gaps), and distribution (repurposing one asset into channel-specific formats). Applied to the right stage, it speeds production while humans handle nuance, accuracy, and brand voice. [What are the risks of AI content marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): The main risks of AI content marketing are over-reliance, producing generic text, brand-voice dilution, hallucinated facts, and missing audience empathy. You can mitigate them with detailed brand-voice constraints, a mandatory human-in-the-loop review, rigorous fact-checking against primary sources, and continuous performance auditing. [What is the difference between generative AI and AI decisioning in content?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): The difference between generative AI and AI decisioning is what each one does with content. Generative AI creates content, such as drafts, variants, and headlines, while AI decisioning chooses which content each person sees and when, based on observed behavior. Content marketing gets the most value when generation supplies the library and decisioning delivers the right piece to each customer across channels. [What are the best AI content marketing tools?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-content-marketing): The best AI content marketing tools depend on the job you need done, so it helps to think in categories rather than a single ranking. A well-rounded stack usually covers generative writing for drafts and variants, data analysis and SEO tools for ideation and optimization, workflow automation for approval and scheduling, and AI decisioning to select and deliver the right content to each customer across channels. [What is Braze Connected Content?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-connected-content): Braze Connected Content is a Liquid-based feature that pulls information from any public or private API into your messages at send time, letting marketers deliver real-time, personalized content without duplicating data into Braze first. It's designed to retrieve content and data from an external source, like a company's back end or a public API, and use that information to dynamically personalize the content of messages, from weather data to product recommendations. [Does Connected Content support authenticated APIs?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-connected-content): Yes. Braze offers multiple authentication options for Connected Content. Beyond static credentials, Braze also supports dynamic Liquid variables within both the headers and body of a Connected Content tag, which means the response from one Connected Content call can feed into a subsequent call. This is what makes OAuth flows practical: a brand can make one Connected Content request to retrieve an access token, cache that token for a configurable period, and then template it into a subsequent Connected Content call to authorize against the API using that retrieved token. [What are Braze CDI Segments?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/introducing-braze-cdi-segments-providing-zero-copy-access-to-your-data-warehouse): Cloud Data Ingestion Segments (CDI Segments) are a Braze feature that gives customers zero-copy access to information and insights held in their own data warehouses, directly from within Braze. Instead of moving warehouse data into Braze first, customers can directly query their data warehouse to create new segments, and add a connected source to the Braze dashboard so those CDI Segments can be used to build and tailor audiences duplicating any of the underlying data into the Braze platform. [What does zero-copy mean?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/introducing-braze-cdi-segments-providing-zero-copy-access-to-your-data-warehouse): Zero-copy means Braze queries the data warehouse directly to build segments rather than copying or replicating the underlying data into Braze first. The data stays in its original location; Braze accesses it in place instead of ingesting a duplicate copy. This matters for a few concrete reasons: Fewer data copies = better privacy posture. Reducing replication supports compliance with data minimization principles and reduces the risk associated with unnecessary duplicate copies. Smaller breach footprint. Storing fewer copies of the data reduces the potential impact of any data breach or leak, since there's less duplicated sensitive information sitting in additional systems. Less architectural complexity. It eliminates the "numerous middleware layers that query and transport data from warehouses to engagement platforms," which otherwise add complexity and can introduce latency. [Which data warehouses are supported?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/introducing-braze-cdi-segments-providing-zero-copy-access-to-your-data-warehouse): CDI Segments currently support four data warehouses: Snowflake Google BigQuery Databricks Amazon Redshift [What are Braze Landing Pages?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-landing-pages-how-to-get-started): Braze Landing Pages are configurable, Braze-hosted web pages built with drag-and-drop layouts, Liquid personalization, and mapped form fields to capture data, update user profiles, and trigger retargeting. Despite the name, they're not just a destination; they play a key role in building a connected, end-to-end customer journey, driving engagement across the full customer lifecycle rather than functioning as an isolated web page. By default they're hosted on a Braze domain, but you can connect a custom domain or subdomain in Workplace Settings for a fully branded URL. [Do you need a developer to build one?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-landing-pages-how-to-get-started): No, the article positions this as a no-code, self-serve process for marketing teams. You build the page in a drag-and-drop editor from the Messaging tab in the Braze dashboard, either from scratch or from a pre-designed template, adding rows, blocks, and form fields, then customizing colors, fonts, and media. Liquid personalization lets you dynamically tailor headlines, greetings, or CTAs based on who's visiting — no separate dev build required. The whole workflow (design → add form fields → preview across mobile/tablet/web → publish) is described as simple to build and easy to customize. [What can landing page forms update in Braze?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-landing-pages-how-to-get-started): When a user submits a form, their information automatically updates the corresponding fields in their Braze user profile and form fields map directly to standard or custom attributes. Supported field types include email and phone number capture, text inputs, dropdowns, and checkboxes. A couple of important mechanics: If sent via a Braze channel (e.g., a link added through "Add Personalization" in a message composer), the page can be personalized with known customer data, and submissions are captured directly into that existing user's profile. If sent via a non-Braze channel (social, a website banner, an in-store QR code), a submission creates a brand-new user profile. Submissions can also immediately trigger retargeting — for example, filtering on the "Submitted Form" event to move someone into a new campaign or journey, such as sending a confirmation text right after an SMS sign-up. You can also track views, clicks, and form submissions to monitor and optimize performance over time. Best practice: Link a confirmation page to any form-based landing page. [What are common landing page use cases?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-landing-pages-how-to-get-started): Common landing page examples include: Growing email opt-ins Building an SMS audience Driving memberships and subscriptions Collecting real-time feedback Spotlighting new products and offers Encouraging app downloads [What is an in-app message?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/in-app-messages-across-platforms): An in-app message (IAM) is a message that appears inside your app or website while someone is actively using it, and it requires no opt-in. Unlike channels that reach people outside the product, an IAM only shows up when someone's already engaged and looking at the screen. [What's the difference between an in-app message vs. a push notification?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/in-app-messages-across-platforms): The distinction it implies comes down to when and where each reaches a user: Push notification — arrives whether or not someone is using the app, showing up on the lock screen or notification center. It requires explicit opt-in (a user has to grant notification permissions), and its job is to pull someone back into the app. In-app message — only appears while someone is actively using the app or website, and needs no opt-in since it's not a system-level notification — it's just part of the in-session experience. Its job is to guide or engage someone who's already there. [Which platforms support IAMs?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/in-app-messages-across-platforms): IAMs now extend across four main platform categories: Smartphones and tablets — notifications delivered when users have a mobile or tablet app open, appearing full-screen or as part of the screen. Websites — the web version, known as in-browser messages, reaches people while they're actively browsing a site on mobile or desktop, and is a great way to capture email addresses to support a cross-channel approach. Smart TVs and OTT devices — including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, LG TV, Samsung Tizen TV, and Apple TV, where platforms like Braze can collect engagement data on content preferences and streaming habits to power personalized on-screen messages. AR, VR, and spatial computing — including Apple Vision Pro and visionOS, where Braze's Swift iOS SDK enables in-app messaging directly within the device. Braze also extends push notifications and Content Cards into this space. [When should you use IAMs?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/in-app-messages-across-platforms): On first open, but only for urgent matters. Only urgent messages, like system updates or password change notices, should be shown when someone first opens the app or site. At personalized, behavior-driven moments otherwise. The best-timed IAMs are personalized and responsive at the device level — for example, timing messages to when a specific user typically engages with a specific platform (mornings on mobile, daytime on web, evenings on a connected TV app). Right after a triggering action. Campaigns can be triggered once a user completes a specific action, like prompting a rating after someone finishes a show, or delivering a reward the moment someone joins a loyalty program. With awareness of the rest of the customer journey. IAMs should be sequenced against other channels so users aren't hit with the same campaign at the same time across channels, or asked for the same feedback (like a satisfaction survey) redundantly on a different device. [How does personalization impact customer loyalty and retention?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/building-long-term-customer-loyalty): Personalization can have a profound impact on behaviors that lead to customer loyalty and retention. McKinsey & Company research has found that personalization leads to higher customer engagement and can boost average revenue by 10-25%. In addition, Braze research cited above finds that personalization capabilities can help brands drive open, click, and conversion rates, which over time can lead to stronger loyalty and retention outcomes. [Why is customer loyalty essential for sustainable brand growth?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/building-long-term-customer-loyalty): Customer loyalty is essential for sustainable brand growth because it helps brands combat the rising costs of acquiring new customers and reap the benefits of retaining customers over time, including increased cost savings, profits, and customer referrals. As discussed earlier, the cost of acquiring new customers has been increasing over the past decade and, on average, brands actually lose $29 per new customer acquired. At the same time, as cited above, customers acquired via referrals are better for business, thanks to the “referral contagion” phenomenon mentioned above, which increases the likelihood that these customers will make more purchases and generate even more referrals, compared with customers acquired via other channels. [What are some proven techniques for retaining modern consumers?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/building-long-term-customer-loyalty): In the Braze guide Retention by Design: Your Anti-Churn Playbook, we reveal five tactics marketers can use to drive stronger retention. Here’s an overview of these powerful techniques: Customer onboarding: Teach new users about the value your brand provides—and encourage deeper engagement sooner, bolstering retention—right from the start with more effective onboarding. Priming for permissions: Get customer opt-ins you need to gather customer data and send customer outreach by clearly explaining the benefits of taking these actions. Asking for customer feedback: Find out and address your customers’ top pain points, interests, wants and needs, and sources of delight. 1:1 personalization: Show customers you know what they care about and give them reasons to keep coming back for more by tying your marketing outreach to their individual user behaviors. Experimentation: Embrace testing and learning to identify opportunities to improve your retention over time. [How can brands customize notification channels to suit user preferences?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Brands that want to send push notifications to Android users are required to create at least one notification channel. Beyond that, companies have the option of creating multiple channels for different purposes. It’s possible to organize messages into channels by almost any criteria. For instance, you could set up one channel for your organization’s transactional push notifications, another for promotional outreach, and a third for activity messages that provide status updates from a user’s social network, such as alerts about the photos their friends are sharing, the comments they’ve added, or the posts they’ve liked. If you wanted, you could create one channel for push notifications that are text only and a second channel for messages that contain images, or you could set up channels associated with multiple email accounts held by a single user or different in-app groups they belong to. After you determine the channels you’d like to set up, you can use a customer engagement platform like Braze to create and manage your Android notification channels or iOS notification groups. [What is Braze Intelligent Channel and is it related to notification channels?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Part of BrazeAI™, Braze Intelligent Channel is an AI-powered tool that helps marketers automatically send customers campaigns via their preferred messaging channels to improve marketing outcomes. It is able to instantly identify which type of communication—whether that’s email, SMS, push notification, or another popular messaging channel—a given user is most likely to engage with and automatically send that type of campaign. Braze Intelligent Channel is completely separate from notification channels, which are categories of push notifications brands can create for users to opt into or out of based on their preferences. [What else can brands do to reduce the odds that users will opt out of push notifications (whether partially or completely)?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Use segmentation and personalization to target push notifications to users based on their interests and behaviors, rather than sending one-size-fits-all messages. Take advantage of a variety of messaging channels (such as email, in-app messages, web push, and more) to reach customers, and use push notifications only when the purpose of a message is a good fit for that type of outreach—for instance, for urgent, timely updates. Create a preference center for your app or website, and use in-app messaging to nudge users to self-determine what messaging channels they want to be reached on as well as what topics or types of messages interest them—instead of waiting for them to opt out of push channels they’re uninterested in. [What are best practices for organizing notifications by priority?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): 1. Understand what importance or priority levels are and how they work: Priority levels, also known as importance levels, are a property of Android notification channels. The priority level you set for your push notifications determines how they’re displayed in users’ notification trays, how fast they’re delivered, whether they’re delivered with a sound or not, and the interruption level of the message. 2. Work with your developer to configure the priority level for each channel you’re setting up in your customer engagement platform. 3. Use the appropriate notification channels priority level based on the type of message you’re sending. [What is the role of notification channels in reducing app uninstalls and opt-out rates and improving user engagement rates?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Push notifications can be a powerful way to reach customers with urgent messages, but too often they’re misused by brands as part of a spray-and-pray approach to customer engagement. This runs the risk of alienating users and potentially driving them to opt out of future push notifications or even uninstall the app in question. Push notification channels reduce that danger. Instead of users choosing to opt out of receiving all push notifications if they’re unhappy with a message they receive, notification channels give them the option to partially opt out instead, allowing you to continue reaching them with push notifications they’re willing to receive. While no brand wants someone to opt out of push notifications even in part, this more granular approach to push notification permissions reduces the chances that customers opt out completely or even uninstall your app in frustration. By allowing customers to self-determine the types of notifications they receive from you, push notification channels make it more likely that your push outreach is relevant and valuable to the people receiving it. That said, while push notification channels are a step forward, brands would be smart to treat this feature as a safety net, not as their primary method of reducing push opt-outs or uninstalls. Marketers should still be taking steps to make their experience of push notifications positive enough that they won’t want to opt out in the first place by using features like segmentation, personalization, Intelligent Timing, and frequency capping. [How do notification channels enhance user control over message types?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Push notification channels make it a lot easier for users to stop receiving messages that they’re not interested in without blocking all notifications from a given app. For example, if a user likes getting breaking news alerts from a media app, but dislikes getting notifications promoting stories that aren’t time sensitive, they could click on one of the latter push notifications, opt out of messages from that channel and get exactly the notifications they want. What are the steps to create effective notification channels for mobile apps? Step 1: Categorize the types of notifications you’re going to send your users and organize them by order of priority. Factors to consider include types of users your brand sends push to, their level of engagement, their specific lifecycle stage, and the goals they’re trying to accomplish with your brand. The more nuanced approach you take, the easier it will be for customers to customize their push experience. At a minimum, brands should split their notification types into two categories: promotional push notifications and transactional push notifications. This way, users can still opt into receiving vital transactional messages, while opting out of less essential marketing campaigns. Step 2: Make sure the notification channels you choose align with your overall messaging strategy. In addition to deciding which notification channels to set up, it’s important to consider your broader customer engagement efforts. Consistency across channels and experiences will help to support strong customer retention and engagement rates. Step 3: Use a customer engagement platform like Braze to set up your notification channels and set the priority level. Next, after setting your strategy for organizing your channels and ensuring this supports your larger customer messaging goals, you can use a customer engagement platform like Braze to create and manage your Android notifications channels or iOS notification groups. You’ll need to work with a developer to configure each channel’s priority level. [Why is audience segmentation important in managing notification channels?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/what-are-notification-channels-anyway): Audience segmentation is an important part of establishing and managing notification channels that helps brands ensure they’re creating options that align to specific groups of customers’ interests, behaviors, and needs. For instance, a travel and hospitality brand may choose to create distinct channels for leisure travelers and business travelers. That way, travelers can opt out of ONLY the channels that aren’t a fit rather than opting out of ALL push notifications altogether. Not doing so could harm engagement rates and the overall health of a brand’s push subscriber list. [What is Apple Mail Privacy Protection?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/2025-ios-changes-email-marketing): Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) is a feature Apple introduced in iOS 15 (2021) that's still active today. When enabled, it pre-loads a message's remote images, including the invisible tracking pixel marketers use to register an "open," through Apple's own proxy servers rather than letting the sender's server load them directly when the user actually opens the email. The practical effect: every email appears "opened" almost immediately after delivery, regardless of whether the person ever looks at it, and the IP address marketers see is Apple's proxy, not the recipient's actual location or device. This means open rates for any meaningful share of Apple Mail users (iPhone, iPad, Mac Mail, iCloud Mail) have been structurally inflated and untrustworthy for several years now. This isn't a new problem, but it compounds with newer inbox changes. [How does iOS 26 categorize email?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/2025-ios-changes-email-marketing): Apple's inbox categorization (introduced in iOS 18.2, carried forward and refined into iOS 26) automatically sorts incoming mail into four buckets: Primary: personal messages and time-sensitive information. Transactions: confirmations, receipts, and shipping notices. Updates: news, newsletters, and social media updates. Promotions: coupons and sales emails. [Are open rates still reliable?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/2025-ios-changes-email-marketing): The net effect is that open rate today conflates at least three different things with no reliable way to separate them out. It's still useful directionally (a sudden open-rate collapse across a whole domain usually does mean something's wrong), but treating it as a precise engagement number, or optimizing subject lines against it, is no longer sound practice. [What should email marketers measure instead of opens?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/2025-ios-changes-email-marketing): The more reliable signals cluster into a few categories: Click-through rate (CTR) and click-to-open rate — clicks require a real human action and aren't spoofed by MPP the way opens are. CTR is the closest like-for-like replacement for engagement tracking. Conversion metrics — completed purchases, sign-ups, form fills, or whatever the email's actual goal was. This ties email performance to business outcomes rather than a proxy signal. Downstream behavior — website visits, app opens, or in-app actions attributed to an email click, which tell you what happened after the click rather than stopping at "did they look at it." List health signals — unsubscribe rate, spam complaint rate, and bounce rate. These are unaffected by MPP and are also exactly what Google and Yahoo's bulk sender rules key off of, so they double as compliance signals. Deliverability and placement metrics — inbox placement rate (did it land in Primary vs. get buried), and read time / scroll depth where your ESP supports it, since these get at actual attention rather than a pixel fetch. [What is email authentication?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/email-authentication-overview): Email authentication is a set of technical standards that let a receiving mail server verify that an email actually comes from the domain it claims to come from, rather than being spoofed by a spammer or phisher. It works by publishing DNS records for your sending domain that mailbox providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) check automatically when your email arrives. Without it, there's no cryptographic or policy-based way for a receiving server to confirm you are who you say you are — which is exactly what spammers exploit. [What is the difference between SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/email-authentication-overview): SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — A DNS record listing which mail servers/IP addresses are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. The receiving server checks the sending IP against this list. It's a simple "yes/no, this server is authorized" check, but it breaks easily when email is forwarded, and it doesn't protect the actual "From" address a recipient sees. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — Adds a digital signature to each outgoing email, generated with a private key and verified by the receiver using a public key published in your DNS. This proves the email's content wasn't altered in transit and that it genuinely originated from your domain. It survives forwarding better than SPF since it's tied to the message itself, not the sending IP. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) — Sits on top of SPF and DKIM. It tells receiving servers what to do if a message fails SPF and/or DKIM checks (quarantine it, reject it, or do nothing), and it requires "alignment" — the domain in SPF/DKIM must match the visible "From" domain. DMARC also gives you reporting, so you get visibility into who's sending email using your domain (including potential spoofers). Think of it this way: SPF and DKIM are two independent ways of proving legitimacy, and DMARC is the policy layer that says how strictly to enforce those checks and tells you what's happening. [Is email authentication required?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/email-authentication-overview): Practically, yes for anyone sending marketing or bulk email today. Gmail and Yahoo enforced bulk sender requirements starting in 2024 that made SPF and DKIM effectively mandatory for anyone sending significant volume, and require DMARC (at minimum a policy of "none") for domains sending 5,000+ messages a day to their users. Without these in place, mail is increasingly likely to be filtered to spam or rejected outright rather than reaching the inbox. It's not a universal legal requirement, but it's become a de facto requirement for deliverability at any real sending volume. [How to check if your domain is authenticated?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/email-authentication-overview): A few practical ways: Send a test email to your own Gmail account, open it, click the three-dot menu → "Show original," and check the headers for SPF: PASS, DKIM: PASS, and DMARC: PASS. Use a DNS lookup tool (like MXToolbox) to check for TXT records: an SPF record starts with v=spf1, a DKIM record lives at a selector-specific subdomain (e.g., default._domainkey.yourdomain.com), and a DMARC record lives at _dmarc.yourdomain.com and starts with v=DMARC1. Check your ESP's dashboard — most platforms (Braze included) show authentication status for your sending domains directly in their settings, since they need these records configured to send on your behalf. [What is a preference center?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/preference-center): A preference center is a page on a brand's app or website where customers control which messages they get (across email, push, SMS, and other channels) instead of facing a single all-or-nothing unsubscribe choice. It lets users tell a brand exactly what channels, topics, and frequency they're willing to receive, which keeps more of them reachable over time. [What should a preference center include?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/preference-center): A preference center should include: Channel choices – options to opt in/out of email, push, SMS, in-app messages, etc. separately Topic or content categories – e.g., promotions vs. product updates vs. account/service notices (in Braze, these map to Subscription Groups) Frequency controls – how often a user wants to hear from you Simplicity – the article specifically warns against overwhelming users with too many choices; a handful of clear options works better than an exhaustive list Easy access, not just onboarding – it should be revisitable any time, not a one-time setup step, since periodic check-ins build trust A branded, on-platform look – it's worth customizing the design so it feels like a natural part of your product rather than a bare settings form Genuine follow-through – whatever preferences a user sets need to actually be respected in your sending logic, or the whole exercise is pointless [What is an email preference center vs. an unsubscribe page?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/preference-center): An unsubscribe page is binary: The user leaves your list entirely, and you lose the ability to message them at all. An email preference center gives granular control instead: rather than turning email off completely, a user can narrow down to just the newsletters or categories they care about (e.g., deals but not product announcements). The brand keeps a communication channel open at a lower volume rather than losing it altogether. [How preference centers reduce churn?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/preference-center): By letting users self-select relevant content and frequency from the start, brands avoid the fatigue that drives full opt-outs, protect deliverability, and end up with a smaller but more engaged and durable list of reachable customers, rather than risking losing users altogether. [What is AI email marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-marketing): AI email marketing is the use of AI to write email content and decide when, how, and to whom each message is sent, based on what customers actually do rather than fixed rules. It covers two things: generative AI that creates the content, and AI-driven optimization that handles timing, audience, and message selection per person. [How do you use AI in email marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-marketing): You use AI in email marketing for five main jobs: generating and testing content variants, optimizing send time per individual, segmenting by live behavior, selecting the next best message through decisioning, and protecting deliverability with AI-assisted monitoring. Each one replaces manual setup with a decision pulled from how each customer behaves. [What is the difference between generative AI and AI optimization in email?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-marketing): Generative AI creates the email, drafting subject lines, body copy, and creative variants at volume. AI optimization decides what happens with them, choosing the send time, the audience, and the message each person receives. One produces the range of options. The other selects which option goes to whom. [What can AI do for email marketing that automation cannot?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-marketing): Automation repeats fixed if-then logic a marketer builds once. AI decides from behavior as it happens, so the logic updates itself. It can weigh how each person engaged, choose the message and timing for them individually, and hold a send entirely, rather than treating everyone in a flow the same way. [Which email platforms have the best AI?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-marketing): The best AI depends on what you need. Platforms with built-in AI like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud suit single-channel email. Cross-channel platforms like Iterable, MoEngage, and Braze go further, making AI decisions across email, push, SMS, and more from one customer profile. [What is AI email personalization?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-personalization): AI email personalization uses machine learning to tailor email content, offers, subject lines, and send timing to each recipient based on their behavior and preferences. It goes beyond inserting a name, generating and selecting the most relevant content per person and updating as new data arrives. [How does AI email personalization work?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-personalization): It works in two steps: generative AI creates on-brand content variants (subject lines, copy, recommendations), and decisioning models select which variant, offer, and send time each recipient receives based on observed behavior. Machine learning refines those choices continuously as engagement data accumulates. [How is AI email personalization different from basic personalization?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-personalization): Basic personalization inserts known fields like a first name or last purchase. AI email personalization analyzes behavioral and contextual data to tailor content, timing, and offers to the individual, and adapts automatically over time, making messages far more relevant than static merge tags or segment-level rules. [What data does AI email personalization use?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-personalization): It draws on first-party behavioral data (opens, clicks, purchases, browsing), profile attributes, lifecycle stage, and real-time context like location or time. Unified in one customer profile, this data lets models predict intent and choose the most relevant content and send time for each recipient. [Does AI email personalization replace marketers?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-email-personalization): No. AI handles data analysis, content generation, and per-recipient selection at scale, but marketers set strategy, guardrails, and brand voice and review output for quality. The best results come from AI doing the heavy lifting while humans keep messaging on-brand and on-strategy. [What is eCommerce email marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ecommerce-email-marketing): eCommerce email marketing is the practice of using email to promote products, recover sales, and build loyalty for an online store. It spans the full journey, from welcome and promotional campaigns to abandoned cart recovery, transactional messages, and post-purchase follow-ups, usually automated and personalized to each shopper. [Why is email marketing important for eCommerce?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ecommerce-email-marketing): Email is a direct, owned channel with consistently high ROI that reaches shoppers without algorithm gatekeeping. For eCommerce, it drives acquisition, conversion, and retention, welcoming subscribers, recovering carts, and bringing customers back at a fraction of the cost of acquiring new ones. [What types of eCommerce emails should you send?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ecommerce-email-marketing): A balanced program includes welcome emails, transactional and post-purchase messages, abandoned cart recovery, product recommendations, re-engagement and win-back, loyalty and rewards, and promotional or seasonal campaigns. Mixing automated triggers with scheduled campaigns keeps shoppers engaged across every stage of the journey. [How do abandoned cart emails work?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ecommerce-email-marketing): Abandoned cart emails re-engage shoppers who added items but did not check out, usually as a timed sequence, starting with a reminder, then a follow-up with an incentive, then a final nudge. Because these shoppers already showed intent, the sequence often recovers real revenue with modest discounting. [How does AI improve eCommerce email marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ecommerce-email-marketing): AI improves eCommerce email by personalizing content and product recommendations per shopper, optimizing send time individually, and deciding the next best message based on behavior. It also generates content variants at scale, so campaigns stay relevant and efficient as the subscriber base grows. [What is the difference between Braze and Hightouch?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-hightouch): The difference between Braze and Hightouch is what each one does with your data. Hightouch is a composable CDP that activates warehouse data into other tools, while Braze is a customer engagement platform that unifies data, makes individual-level decisions, and sends messages natively across channels. [Is Hightouch a customer engagement platform?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-hightouch): No, Hightouch is not a customer engagement platform. Hightouch is a composable CDP and data activation layer that syncs warehouse data into downstream tools, including engagement platforms. It builds and activates audiences, but the messaging is sent by the channels and tools it feeds rather than by Hightouch itself. [What is a composable CDP and how does it differ from a customer engagement platform?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-hightouch): A composable CDP activates customer data directly from your data warehouse without storing a separate copy. It differs from a customer engagement platform in its job: a composable CDP organizes and syncs data to other tools, while a customer engagement platform like Braze also makes individual-level decisions and executes the messaging. [Does Braze have a customer data platform?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-hightouch): Yes, Braze includes a data layer through the Braze Data Platform, which ingests and unifies customer data into a single, real-time profile. It differs from a warehouse-native composable CDP because Braze holds that profile in the same platform that handles decisioning and cross-channel execution, though it can also activate data directly from the warehouse. [When should a team choose Hightouch vs Braze?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-vs-hightouch): A team should choose Hightouch when data already lives in a warehouse and the priority is activating it across an existing stack with engineering support. A team should choose Braze when the priority is cross-channel orchestration, individual-level decisioning, and native execution from one marketer-operated platform. Both platforms can work together too. [What AI marketing tools does Braze offer?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-ai-marketing-tools): Braze offers a full suite of AI marketing tools, including BrazeAI Decisioning Studio™ for 1:1 decisioning, BrazeAI™ Agent Console agents for autonomous execution, the Braze Intelligence Suite for timing and channel optimization, the predictive suite for churn and event forecasting, AI Item Recommendations, and AI segmentation. [What AI tools does Braze include for personalization and optimization?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-ai-marketing-tools): For personalization and optimization, Braze includes BrazeAI Decisioning Studio™ for 1:1 decisions, AI Item Recommendations for product and content suggestions, plus the Braze Intelligence Suite, which optimizes send time, channel, and variant selection through Intelligent Timing, Intelligent Channel, and Intelligent Selection. [How does BrazeAI Decisioning Studio™ use reinforcement learning to optimize business KPIs?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-ai-marketing-tools): BrazeAI Decisioning Studio™ uses reinforcement learning to optimize business KPIs by making a 1:1 decision for each customer across message, channel, creative, timing, and offer. Contextual bandits balance trying new approaches with using what works, and the model learns continuously from every interaction to keep improving toward your defined goal. [How do BrazeAI™ Agents automate marketing campaigns?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-ai-marketing-tools): BrazeAI™ Agents automate marketing campaigns by handling multi-step workflows on their own, for example campaign briefing, segment building, content drafting, and approval routing, all based on goals you define. Unlike rules-based automation, they make decisions within each task, and many take action directly, sending messages through the activation platform. [Which BrazeAI™ tools help with send time and channel optimization?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/braze-ai-marketing-tools): The BrazeAI™ tools that help with send time and channel optimization are part of the Braze Intelligence Suite. Intelligent Timing delivers each message at the optimal moment per individual, and Intelligent Channel predicts and routes to the channel each user is most likely to engage with. [What is AI personalized content?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-personalized-content): AI personalized content is content created and chosen by AI so each customer receives the message most likely to work for them. AI generates the variants, the subject lines, copy, images, and offers, and a decisioning layer selects which version each individual sees based on their behavior. [How does AI create personalized content at scale?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-personalized-content): AI creates personalized content at scale by generating a finite library of on-brand variants, then using decisioning to match the right one to each person. Rather than authoring a unique message per customer, it produces a set of options and selects among them individually, so millions of people can receive relevant content. [What is the difference between generating content and personalizing it?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-personalized-content): Generating content and personalizing it are two separate jobs. Generating content means producing the variants, the copy, images, and offers a campaign can use. Personalizing it means selecting which of those variants each customer sees. Generation gives you the options, and selection decides who gets which one. [How does AI choose which content each customer sees?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-personalized-content): AI chooses which content each customer sees with a decisioning layer built on contextual bandits and reinforcement learning. It reads what it knows about a person, picks the variant most likely to earn a response, then learns from how they react and adjusts its choice as their behavior changes. [Can AI personalize content across channels?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-personalized-content): Yes, AI can personalize content across channels. The same generation and selection logic runs across email, push, SMS, in-app messages, and web, drawing on one customer profile. Dynamic content adapts each variant to the channel's format automatically, so a person receives a consistent, relevant message wherever they are reached. [What are AI-driven marketing strategies?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-driven-marketing-strategies): AI-driven marketing strategies use machine learning, generative AI, and AI agents to decide and carry out marketing actions, what to send, to whom, on which channel, and when, based on observed customer outcomes rather than fixed rules. The strongest ones run across the whole customer lifecycle rather than in isolated tactics. [How do brands use AI to personalize marketing messages at scale?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-driven-marketing-strategies): Brands personalize marketing messages at scale by using generative AI to produce content variants and AI decisioning to choose which variant, channel, and send time each individual customer gets. The system learns from observed engagement and updates continuously, so personalization happens per person rather than per segment. [What is AI decisioning in marketing?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-driven-marketing-strategies): AI decisioning in marketing is the use of reinforcement learning to select the next best action for each individual customer, the message, channel, timing, and offer most likely to drive a result. Unlike fixed rules, it learns from outcomes and adapts continuously, moving from next best action to next best everything. [How does AI improve customer retention?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-driven-marketing-strategies): AI improves customer retention by scoring churn risk from individual behavioral signals and triggering the intervention most likely to re-engage each person before they disengage. It also helps move retention spend away from blanket discounts toward targeted actions, so brands keep customers without giving up margin they didn't need to. [How does AI reduce time-to-market for marketing campaigns?](https://www.braze.com/resources/articles/ai-driven-marketing-strategies): AI reduces time-to-market for marketing campaigns by working from the marketer's goal to assemble the build at once, drafting creative, generating the target audience, running QA, and coordinating launch. Steps that ran in sequence over weeks now happen in parallel, cutting campaign setup from weeks to hours.