User profiles
This feature is available in Accelerator version 26.2.3. Contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) for more information.
Overview​
A user profile is an customer attribute dictionary that defines which customer data fields are available inside journey tiles and message personalization. When a journey evaluates, it joins the user profile data to current journey members so that segment rules and message personalization have access to those attributes.
User profiles source attributes straight from your data warehouse. The query defines which columns are pulled from your warehouse and made available in the journey canvas. You control the query, the data source, and the columns — MessageGears reads the results and makes them available to the tiles that need them.
User profiles are an Accelerator Admin feature. Creating and managing user profiles requires the System Admin role. For information about journey-specific roles, see Journey roles in the User roles documentation.
How user profiles relate to audiences​
User profiles and audiences serve different purposes and contain different data. Understanding the distinction is important for building journeys that evaluate correctly.
An audience defines who enters a journey. It is a query or blueprint that returns a list of Recipient IDs — the set of users who qualify for that journey at evaluation time. The audience determines entry; it does not need to carry attribute data beyond the RecipientId.
A user profile defines what is known about those users once they are inside the journey. It is a separate query that returns attribute data — fields like city, loyalty tier, last purchase date, and channel addresses — keyed on RecipientId. When a user enters the journey, their profile row is joined to their journey record so that segment tiles and message tiles can use those attributes.
This separation means you do not need to return attribute data into every audience query. One user profile can serve multiple journeys, and the attributes it exposes are available consistently across every tile in every journey that uses it.
What a user profile contains​
A user profile must return at minimum a RecipientId column so that MessageGears can join profile rows to journey members. Beyond RecipientId, it must return any columns that you want available in the journey canvas.
Required mapping
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Recipient ID | The unique identifier that links a profile row to a journey member. Must match the RecipientId used in the journey audience. |
Channel identifier mappings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Email address | Used by Email activation tiles to address outbound messages. |
| SMS address | Used by SMS activation tiles to address outbound messages. |
| Mobile User Id(s) | Used by Push activation tiles to identify the target device. Supports per-app configuration when a user has multiple mobile apps. |
What else belongs in user profile
- Attributes used in segment split logic — loyalty tier, subscription status, days since last purchase, or any other value a split tile evaluates
- Personalization attributes used in message templates — first name, account balance, product recommendations, or any dynamic value inserted into message content
What to put where​
Put it in the audience if:
- It determines whether someone should enter the journey at all
- It is re-entry or suppression logic that determines whether repeat runs should include or exclude previously entered contacts
- It is a filter or condition on set membership
- It is evaluated at entry time and does not need to be tracked throughout the journey
Put it in the user profile if:
- It is a channel address needed to route a message
- The journey needs to read this value after a contact has already entered
- It drives a segment split decision within the canvas
- It personalizes a message sent at a messaging tile
Some attributes appear in both places — and that is fine. A loyalty tier might be in both the audience definition (only gold members enter) and in the User Profile (the split tile routes gold vs. platinum members to different paths). That redundancy is intentional: each copy serves a different purpose.
How user profiles are used in journey tiles​
Each tile type uses the user profile differently:
Entry tile — You select which user profile to use when configuring the journey entry. The default user profile is selected automatically if one has been designated. The selected profile applies to all tiles in that journey. A customer entering the journey must have a matching user profile record to enter the flow.
Segment tile — Attributes from the user profile appear in the targeting rule dropdown. You build branching conditions using those attributes — for example, routing users with a loyalty tier of "Gold" down one path and all others down another.
Message tiles — User profile data is joined to the journey members at activation time. Template authors can insert profile attributes using FreeMarker for personalization. Channel identifier fields (Email address, SMS address, Mobile user IDs) are used to send the outbound message.
A centralized warehouse connection​
The audience, user profile, and Managed Data Schema must all use the same database connection. When you select an audience in the journey entry configuration, MessageGears filters available user profiles to those that share the same warehouse connection as that audience.
This constraint exists because journey evaluation requires reading the audience, joining the user profile, and writing state in a single coordinated operation.
Plan your data architecture with this in mind. If your audience data and your user profile attributes live in different warehouses or schemas, you will need to consolidate them into a single connection before using them together in a journey.
Multiple user profiles​
You can create multiple user profiles. Different journeys can use different profiles, which is useful when:
- Different journey types require different attribute sets
- Different brands have distinct data models or warehouse connections
- You want to keep profile queries lean by exposing only the attributes needed for a specific journey type
One user profile can be designated as the default. The default profile is automatically selected when configuring a new journey entry, though it can be changed.
A single warehouse​
Audience data and User profile data, and Managed Data Schema use the same database connection. Accelerator processes journey logic by joining these data sources inside the warehouse, which requires them to be co-located. If your audience uses a Snowflake connection, your User Profile must also point to that same Snowflake connection.
See Journeys prerequisites checklist for the full list of setup requirements.