Labels & Tags
What it is
Labels, also referred to as Tags, provide a manual categorization system for customer profiles within the BotBat CDP. While segments are dynamic collections that automatically update based on rules and conditions, labels are explicitly assigned to individual profiles by your team members or through automation actions. This distinction makes labels ideal for capturing context that originates outside the platform, such as insights from a sales call, notes from a live event, or classifications imported from an external CRM system.
Each label consists of a name, an optional color for visual identification, and an assignment to a category. Categories group related labels together, making it easy to manage large numbers of tags without clutter. For example, you might have a "Lead Source" category containing labels like "Organic," "Paid Ad," and "Referral," alongside a "Customer Tier" category with labels like "VIP," "Standard," and "At Risk." Labels can be applied to any number of profiles, and each profile can carry multiple labels simultaneously. Once applied, labels become available as filter criteria in the People list, as conditions in the segment query builder, and as targeting criteria in campaign audience selectors.
The Labels management view is the central hub for creating, organizing, and auditing all labels across your workspace. From this view you can see every category, the labels nested within each one, and the count of profiles currently carrying each label. The usage count is particularly valuable for identifying labels that are no longer actively used and may be candidates for cleanup.
When to use
Labels serve a wide variety of operational and strategic purposes. The following table summarizes the most common scenarios and the recommended approach for each.
| Scenario | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Manual customer categorization | Tag customers based on human judgment or offline context that automated rules cannot capture. | A sales rep tags a contact as "Decision Maker" after a discovery call. |
| Bulk tagging from imports | Apply a label to an entire batch of imported contacts to track their origin or campaign association. | Importing a CSV of webinar attendees and tagging them "Webinar Q1 2026." |
| Enriching segment conditions | Combine labels with behavioral or property-based conditions in dynamic segments for precise targeting. | Segment: "VIP" label AND "no engagement in last 30 days." |
| Organizing contacts by team | Give different teams their own label categories so each group can classify contacts relevant to their work. | Marketing uses "Campaign Response" labels; Support uses "Ticket Priority" labels. |
| Tracking campaign participation | Mark customers who participated in a specific promotion so you can exclude them from future sends or measure impact. | Label all respondents of a summer sale as "Summer Sale 2026 Participant." |
| Workflow automation actions | Configure workflows to automatically apply or remove labels when certain triggers fire. | Auto-apply "Churned" label when a subscription cancellation event is received. |
Creating and managing labels
To begin working with labels, navigate to the Customers section in the main sidebar and open the Labels tab. The management view displays all existing categories and labels. You can create a new category by clicking "New Category" and providing a descriptive name. Categories help prevent label sprawl by grouping related tags under a common heading, which is especially important as your team and label count grow over time.
To create a label, click "New Label" within a category or in the uncategorized section. Enter a label name and optionally select a color from the color picker. Colors provide instant visual recognition when labels appear as badges on profile pages and in list views. After saving, the label is immediately available for assignment to profiles. You can rename a label at any time from the actions menu; renaming updates the label across all profiles that carry it. If two labels end up being duplicates, use the "Merge" action to combine them into a single label, transferring all profile associations automatically. Deleting a label removes it from every profile, so always check the usage count before proceeding.
The following table summarizes the key label management actions and their effects.
| Action | Effect | Reversible |
|---|---|---|
| Create label | Adds a new label available for assignment. No profiles are affected until the label is applied. | Yes, by deleting the label. |
| Rename label | Updates the label name across all profiles that carry it. Historical references in audit logs retain the original name. | Yes, by renaming again. |
| Merge labels | Combines two labels into one. All profiles carrying either label now carry the merged label. | No. The source label is permanently removed. |
| Delete label | Removes the label from every profile and from the system entirely. | No. Profiles lose the label permanently. |
| Change color | Updates the badge color for visual identification. No effect on data or targeting. | Yes, by selecting a different color. |
Applying labels to profiles
There are two primary ways to apply labels: individually on a profile detail page, or in bulk from the People list. On the profile detail page, scroll to the Labels section where you will see all labels currently assigned to that profile as colored badges. Click "Add Label" to open a dropdown of available labels, select one or more, and save.
For bulk operations, navigate to the People list, select multiple profiles using the checkboxes, and click the "Label" action in the bulk actions toolbar. Choose the labels you want to apply and confirm. This operation is immediate and affects all selected profiles at once. Because bulk label application cannot be easily undone, always verify the profile count and your filter criteria before confirming. To remove labels, either click the "x" on a label badge on the profile detail page, or select profiles in bulk and use the "Remove Label" action.
Filtering and targeting with labels
Labels become powerful when used for filtering and audience targeting. On the People list, open the filter panel and add a label condition. You can filter by one or more labels to narrow the list to only profiles that carry specific tags. This is useful for quick lookups, ad-hoc reporting, and verifying the results of a recent bulk tagging operation.
In the segment query builder, labels are available as a condition type. You can specify that profiles must have (or must not have) certain labels to match the segment. Combining label conditions with behavioral and property-based conditions gives you fine-grained control over your dynamic audiences. For example, a segment defined as "has label VIP" AND "last purchase date is within the last 90 days" creates a high-value, recently active audience that updates automatically as new data arrives. You can also use the "does not have label" operator to exclude profiles, which is useful for suppression logic in campaigns. Multiple label conditions can be combined with AND/OR operators, giving you the flexibility to build complex audience definitions that mix manual categorization with automated behavioral criteria.
Permissions and access control
Label management is governed by the platform's role-based access control system. Users need the contacts:read permission to view labels on profiles, contacts:write to add or remove labels from profiles, and labels:manage to create, rename, merge, or delete labels and categories. Ensure that only authorized team members have the labels:manage permission to prevent accidental changes to your label taxonomy.
Common pitfalls
Effective label management requires discipline and governance. The table below highlights frequent mistakes and how to avoid them.
| Pitfall | Risk | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Label sprawl | Teams create overlapping labels like "VIP," "vip," and "VIP Customer," causing confusion and inaccurate filtering. | Establish naming conventions (e.g., Title Case, no abbreviations) and audit labels quarterly. |
| Using labels instead of segments | Labels require manual management. If the criteria can be expressed as a rule, the grouping becomes stale quickly. | If the condition is data-driven (e.g., "purchased in last 90 days"), use a segment instead. |
| Stale temporary labels | Labels applied for time-limited purposes (e.g., "Black Friday 2025") remain on profiles indefinitely. | Schedule periodic cleanup reviews and delete labels that have served their purpose. |
| Bulk apply without review | Applying a label to thousands of profiles is immediate and difficult to undo. | Double-check your selection filter and profile count before executing a bulk label operation. |
| Deleting labels used in segments | Segments referencing a deleted label may return unexpected or empty results. | Check the label's usage count and segment references before deleting. |
Use label categories to keep your tag system organized. A category like "Lead Source" with labels "Organic," "Paid," and "Referral" is much easier to manage and filter than a flat list of dozens of uncategorized labels. Periodically review your categories to ensure they still align with your team's workflows.
- Label Management
- Create a Label
- Profile Label Badges
- Bulk Label Actions
- Filter by Label
- Label Segment Conditions