How it works
OuterSignal monitors your segments in real time. When a customer enters a segment, the Playbook fires and writes to Shopify automatically. Your team, 3PL, or other Shopify-connected tools then act on that data — no manual work required.
There are three Shopify Playbook actions:
Shopify Tag — adds a tag to a customer record or order
Shopify Metafield — writes structured OuterSignal data to a custom field on the customer record
Shopify Note — writes a free-text note to an order, visible in Shopify admin
Each action requires its own Playbook. You can run multiple Shopify Playbooks simultaneously for the same segment.
Before you start
OuterSignal paid plan with Shopify connected
A saved segment in OuterSignal
If you haven't built your segment yet, head to your Signal Feed, apply your filters, and save. Common starting points: all ⭐ Signal customers, customers matching a specific Signal Criteria, customers above a certain LTV, or customers in a specific persona.
Shopify Tag
Adds a tag to a Shopify customer record or order when a customer enters your segment. Tags help you organize and filter customers in Shopify, instruct your 3PL, or trigger downstream automations.
To set up:
Go to Playbooks → Create Playbook
Select your segment
Choose Shopify Tag as your action
Select your trigger:
On enter — fires once when a customer first matches the segment
Live Sync — fires on every matching order while the customer is in the segment
Select your Target Object — Customer or Order
Enter your tag name — use letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores (max 50 characters). You can also use dynamic variables like os-{{segment_name}} to auto-populate the tag with the segment name
Turn on Run for existing members to apply the tag to customers already in the segment
Click Create Playbook
Customer tag vs. order tag:
Tag the customer when you want the tag to persist across all future orders — good for ongoing VIP status, persona labels, or any classification that doesn't change
Tag the order when you need the tag tied to a specific transaction — for example, to instruct your 3PL to include a gift with a particular order
Common uses:
outersignal-vip on the customer record so your team can filter VIPs in Shopify admin
outersignal-gift on the order so your 3PL adds a free gift at pack time
os-{{segment_name}} on the customer for dynamic tagging across multiple segments
Shopify Metafield
Writes structured OuterSignal data to a custom metafield on the Shopify customer record. Metafields store richer, more structured data than tags — useful for personalizing the storefront, powering loyalty apps, or passing data to other Shopify-connected tools.
To set up:
Go to Playbooks → Create Playbook
Select your segment
Choose Shopify Metafield as your action
The Namespace is pre-set to outersignal — leave this as is
Enter a Key — this is the name of the metafield (e.g. vip_status, persona, social_reach). Max 64 characters
Select a Value from the OuterSignal variable dropdown — this is the OuterSignal data that will be written to the field. The full metafield identifier will be outersignal.your_key
Turn on Run for existing members if applicable
Click Create Playbook
Common uses:
Writing a customer's OuterSignal biography to their Shopify record so it surfaces in your customer experience platform (e.g. Gorgias, Kustomer) — giving your CS team instant context on who they're talking to without leaving their helpdesk
Shopify Note
Writes a free-text note to a Shopify order when a customer enters your segment. Order notes are visible in Shopify admin and to your 3PL — useful for fulfillment instructions, internal flags, or context for your team about why a customer is notable.
To set up:
Go to Playbooks → Create Playbook
Select your segment
Choose Shopify Note as your action
Select your Target Object — Customer or Order
Write your Note Template — free text up to 1,000 characters. Use dynamic variables to include customer-specific data, e.g:
VIP Alert: {{criteria_text}} — please include handwritten note
OuterSignal Signal: {{criteria_text}} as of {{date}}
Turn on Run for existing members if applicable
Click Create Playbook
Common uses:
Instruct your 3PL to add a gift, premium packaging, or handwritten note for VIP orders
Flag orders internally so your CS or fulfillment team knows the customer's context
Log why a customer entered a segment directly on their Shopify record
Example: Full VIP stack using three Playbooks
Here's how a brand might combine all three actions for their top-tier customers:
Segment: Customers with 100K+ social media followers
Playbook 1 — Shopify Tag (Customer)
Tag: outersignal-vip
Trigger: On enter
Purpose: Persistent VIP label on the customer record across all future orders
Playbook 2 — Shopify Metafield (Customer)
Key: social_reach
Value: Social follower count variable
Purpose: Store structured data for use in loyalty apps or storefront personalization
Playbook 3 — Shopify Note (Order)
Note: VIP customer — {{criteria_text}}. Please include a handwritten thank you note and gift.
Trigger: Live Sync
Purpose: 3PL instruction on every order from this customer
Troubleshooting
The tag or metafield isn't appearing in Shopify Confirm your Shopify integration is connected in Settings → Integrations, your Playbook is turned on, and the customer actually meets the segment criteria.
I want the action to fire on every order, not just the first Select Live Sync as your trigger instead of On enter. Live Sync fires on every matching order while the customer remains in the segment.
My note isn't showing on the order Make sure you selected Order as the Target Object in your Shopify Note Playbook. If you selected Customer, the note goes to the customer record, not the order.