How to create and place Smart Content (Banners, Offers, and Messages)
How to create personalised banners, offers, and messages in the Smart Content menu and display them using the Smart Content block.
Overview
Smart Content lets you show personalised banners, offers, and messages to different visitors based on their behaviour, intent, or segment. It replaces generic sitewide banners with targeted content that adapts to each visitor.
Smart Content is ideal for:
- Showing welcome messages to new visitors
- Showing urgency messages to high intent visitors
- Showing discount offers to abandoned cart visitors
- Showing location based messages
- Showing seasonal or time limited promotions
Each Smart Content item includes a content type, a segment, display rules, a trigger, and a frequency setting.
Smart Content only appears when the Smart Content block is added to your theme.
Smart Content decides what to show and who sees it. The theme block decides where it appears.
Open the Smart Content menu
Smart Content is created only inside the Smart Content menu.
To access it:
- Go to the left navigation
- Click 'Smart Content'
- Review your existing Smart Content items
- Click 'Create Smart Content'
This opens the full Smart Content creation flow.
Select the Visitor Segment
The first step is choosing who should see the content.
Your Smart Content UI shows a segment selector with options such as:
- New visitors
- Returning visitors
- High intent visitors
- Abandoned cart visitors
- Location based segments
- Custom segments you created
Example:
Show a welcome banner only to new visitors.
If you choose no segment, the content is eligible for all visitors, but other rules may still limit visibility.
Choose the Content Type
Next, choose the type of Smart Content you want to create:
- Banner for large promotional visuals
- Offer for discounts or incentives
- Message for short text guidance or urgency
Selecting a type determines which editor you will see later.
Example:
Choose 'Offer' to show a 10 percent discount to returning visitors.
The banner editor includes images and buttons. The message editor is text only. The offer editor includes discount fields.
Set Display rules
Display rules decide where the Smart Content appears.
Rule options include:
- Page type (home, product, collection, cart)
- Specific products or collections
- Cart value thresholds
- Time on site
- Number of visits
- Device type
You can combine multiple rules to target very specific scenarios.
Example:
Show a free shipping message only on the cart page when the cart value is below your free shipping threshold.
If your rules are too narrow, the content may rarely appear. Start broad, then refine.
Set Trigger and Frequency
Triggers decide when the content appears.
- On page load
- After scrolling
- After time on page
- After adding to cart
Frequency decides how often the visitor sees the content:
- Once per session
- Once per day
- Every visit
- Only once
These settings help you avoid overwhelming visitors.
Example:
Show an offer after 10 seconds on a product page, but only once per day.
If frequency is set to once per session, you may not see the content again until you open an incognito window.
Preview AI Targeting
Before creating the content, you can preview how AI will target it.
- A preview showing which visitors qualify
- A message saying 'No Smart Content yet' when nothing has been created
This preview helps you confirm that your segment, rules, and triggers are valid.
Example:
If the preview shows no eligible visitors, your rules may be too restrictive.
The preview is the fastest way to confirm that your targeting logic is correct.
Create the Content (Banner, Offer, or Message)
After confirming targeting, you enter the content editor.
Each type has its own layout:
Banner editor
- Headline
- Subheading
- Body text
- Image or background image
- Button text and link
Offer editor
- Discount code
- Headline
- Body text
- Button text and link
Message editor
- Short text message
- Optional supporting text
Example:
Create a banner with a seasonal image and a button linking to a collection.
Keep banners visual, offers clear, and messages short. Smart Content performs best when simple.
Save, activate, and understand priority
Once your content is ready:
- Click 'Save'
- Toggle the Smart Content to 'Active'
- Confirm it appears in the Smart Content list with the correct status
Smart Content uses priority to decide which item appears when multiple items match the same visitor.
Higher priority items override lower priority ones.
Example:
A high priority offer will override a low priority welcome message if both match the same visitor.
If your content is active but not showing, another item with higher priority may be selected instead.
Place Smart Content using the Smart Content Block
Smart Content will not appear until the correct theme block is added.
To place it:
- Open Shopify admin
- Go to Online Store → Themes
- Click 'Edit theme'
- Select the page template where you want Smart Content to appear
- Add the 'Smart Content' block from the 'Apps' tab
- Position it in the layout
- Save
The block will now display the highest priority Smart Content that matches the visitor.
Example:
Add the block to the homepage to show a welcome banner to new visitors.
If the block is missing or added to the wrong template, Smart Content will never appear.
