What is channel affinity?
Channel affinity is Klaviyo’s AI-powered prediction of which marketing channel—email, SMS, or push—is most likely to drive engagement for each customer, based on their historical and real-time behavior. Unlike static rules or intuition, channel affinity adapts dynamically and is stored on every customer profile, making it easier to personalize outreach across the journey.
Klaviyo’s AI-powered channel affinity ranks each customer’s top channels in order of preference. These insights can be used in segments, flows, filters, and conditional splits to drive smarter omnichannel marketing decisions.
Why channel affinity matters
Most brands rely on generic rules or outdated assumptions to choose communication channels, leading to over-messaging, unsubscribes, or missed conversion opportunities. Channel affinity helps brands stop guessing and start building thoughtful journeys that lead with channels where customers are more likely to convert.
Rather than assuming a customer is only an “email” or “SMS” person, Klaviyo understands that shoppers are truly omnichannel, and that successful marketing adapts accordingly.
Benefits of channel affinity for B2C marketers
Channel affinity helps marketers move beyond one-size-fits-all tactics by enabling more personalized, performance-driven strategies across channels. Here are a few specific examples.
- Smarter segmentation: Build high-performing audiences using ranked channel preferences.
- Higher conversions: Lead with channels where each customer is most likely to act.
- Dynamic automation: Use flow filters and conditional splits to route messages to the right place at the right time.
- Reduced fatigue: Avoid spamming customers with the same message across every channel.
- True omnichannel orchestration: Design journeys that adapt based on real-time channel engagement—not rigid rules.
How Klaviyo’s Channel Affinity AI works
Klaviyo’s native AI and machine learning models analyze each customer’s behavior to:
- Predict which channels they’re most likely to engage with.
- Rank those channels in order of preference.
- Surface these insights directly in profiles, segments, and flows.
Channel affinity use cases
A brand running a price drop campaign uses channel affinity to maximize engagement:
- A customer with high SMS engagement receives the offer first via text.If they don’t respond—and email is their second most engaged channel—they get a follow-up email.
- Another customer with strong push engagement gets notified through a mobile alert.
- A VIP who is active on multiple channels receives coordinated messages across SMS, email, and push—without overlap or fatigue.
Most platforms treat channel affinity as a single-channel decision. Klaviyo’s approach is different: it enables brands to start with the most effective channel and layer in others intelligently—delivering results without over-messaging.