Get started with push notification gs-push-notification

On this page: Get started with push notifications in Adobe Journey Optimizer to reach your mobile app users and web visitors through journeys and campaigns.

IMPORTANT
If this is your first time creating an Push Notification, make sure the Push channel has been configured. Learn more.

Push notifications help you reach your mobile app users and web visitors at any time, especially when they are not actively using your app or browsing your website. Push notifications may help you achieve a variety of use cases such as providing updates about your service, ask a user to take action, alert the user to a new deal, etc. Device platforms require opt-in before end-users may receive or view your notifications. User opt-in may be received as early as after the app is launched for the first time post-install, or in a subsequent session or workflow as appropriate.

Journey Optimizer supports push notifications and helps you send highly relevant notifications at industry-leading throughput rates. Push notifications may include personalization and Journey-based context in order to leverage data insights your brand has with Adobe CX Enterprise.

Push notifications can be created:

Use the dedicated tabs to define the push notification settings for iOS, Android, and Web platforms.

NOTE
While Journey Optimizer provides ways of managing opt-out in emails and SMS messages, push notifications do not require any action on your side, as recipients can unsubscribe through their devices themselves. For example, upon downloading or when using your app, they can select to stop notifications. Similarly, they can change the notification settings through the mobile operating system or web browser settings. To verify a profile’s push consent status in the AEP profile viewer, see Check push opt-out status.

Use cases

Push notifications work best when you need to reach users quickly and directly on their device, without relying on them to be inside your app or checking their inbox.

Benefit
Why
Example use cases
Time-sensitive updates
Delivered instantly, even when users are not actively using your app
Flight delay alerts, order status changes, breaking news
Re-engagement
Prompts users to return to your app after a period of inactivity
Cart abandonment reminders, win-back campaigns
Cost reduction vs. SMS
No per-message carrier fees, unlike SMS
High-volume promotional or transactional notifications
Rich, interactive content
Supports images, action buttons, and deep links
Product promotions with tap-to-buy buttons, rich media previews
Device-native capabilities
Leverages OS-level features not available to other channels
Vibration alerts, app icon badges, geofenced location triggers
High opt-in likelihood
Users are prompted to opt in as early as app install or first launch
Onboarding flows, day-one engagement campaigns

When not to use

Push notifications are not the right fit for every message. Consider another channel in the following situations:

  • Your audience has low push opt-in rates or has shown resistance to notifications, since the message may never reach them
  • The message requires long-form content, which email handles better and allows for more detailed formatting
  • The content is sensitive or private and should not be visible on a lock screen, where anyone near the device could see it
  • Most of your users access your service from desktop rather than a mobile app, where push notifications have limited or no reach
AI Knowledge Reference

This section contains structured knowledge intended to support interpretation, retrieval, and question answering related to this topic.

For complete understanding, this information should be combined with the documentation on this page. Neither source is intended to stand alone; the page describes the feature, while this section provides additional context that helps disambiguate terminology, intent, applicability, and constraints.

  • TL;DR: This page introduces push notifications in Journey Optimizer for reaching mobile app users and web visitors through journeys and campaigns, and covers when to use or not use the channel.

Intents:

  • Understand what push notifications enable in Journey Optimizer
  • Decide whether to create a push in a journey or a campaign
  • Define push settings for iOS, Android, and Web platforms
  • Evaluate use cases where push is the right channel and where it is not
  • Understand how push opt-in and opt-out are handled

Glossary:

  • Push notification: A message that reaches mobile app users and web visitors at any time, including when they are not actively using the app or website (product-specific)
  • Opt-in: The consent device platforms require before end-users can receive or view notifications, obtainable as early as first app launch post-install (product-specific)

Guardrails:

  • Before creating a push notification for the first time, the Push channel must be configured.
  • Device platforms require opt-in before end-users may receive or view notifications.
  • Push notifications do not require opt-out management on your side: recipients unsubscribe through their devices, and their notification settings via the mobile OS or web browser.

Terminology:

  • Canonical name: Push notification — Acronym: n/a — variants: push, notification
  • Synonyms: “mobile app users and web visitors” = target recipients of push
  • Do not confuse: creating a push “In a Journey” ≠ creating a push “In a Campaign”

FAQ:

  • Q: Where can push notifications be created? — In a Journey (via a Push activity) or in a Campaign (by selecting Push notification as the action).
  • Q: Which platforms are supported? — iOS, Android, and Web, configured via dedicated tabs.
  • Q: Do I need to manage push opt-out? — No, recipients can unsubscribe through their devices or via mobile OS / browser notification settings.
  • Q: When should I not use push? — When opt-in rates are low, the message needs long-form content, the content is sensitive and should not appear on a lock screen, or most users are on desktop.
  • Q: How do I check a profile’s push consent status? — In the AEP profile viewer, via Check push opt-out status.
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