How surveys work in Customerly and when they stop showing to users

Introduction to surveys in Customerly

Surveys in Customerly are a powerful way to collect feedback, understand user needs, and enhance your customer experience. However, to ensure that surveys are shown consistently and at the right time, it’s important to understand how they are triggered, displayed, and ultimately dismissed. This article covers the full lifecycle of a survey within Customerly, from the backend logic to frontend implementation tips.

How Customerly surveys are triggered

Surveys are evaluated and served by Customerly’s backend. Here’s how it works:
1. Condition evaluation on the backend
The moment a user session begins and Customerly.load() is called, the backend checks if the user matches the survey’s targeting conditions (like user properties, tags, events, or lists).
2. Survey delivery to the frontend
If the conditions are met, the survey is included in the response to the next ping from the client. This makes the survey available for display within the widget.

Important: Since the evaluation happens asynchronously on the backend, relying solely on frontend event triggers to expect an immediate survey display might not always work.

When to call Customerly.update()
If the display of a survey depends on an event triggered in the frontend (for example, a user action like clicking a button or completing a task), then you must explicitly call:

Customerly.update();

Call this a few seconds after the event is triggered. This call allows the backend to re-evaluate the conditions based on the newly triggered event or updated properties, and potentially return the survey during the next ping.

Why the delay?
Some frontend events may not be immediately available in the backend context, so waiting a second or two ensures everything is processed properly before rechecking survey conditions.

When a survey stops being shown

Once a survey is available to a user, it will continue to appear until one of the following conditions is met:
1. The user completes the survey
Upon submission, the survey is considered completed and won’t be shown again.
2. The user discards the survey
If a user closes or dismisses the survey, it will no longer be presented to them in future sessions.
3. The survey is unpublished
When you remove a survey from publication in your Customerly dashboard, it immediately stops being eligible for display—even for users who were previously targeted.

Best practices for consistent survey delivery

To ensure reliable survey experiences:
• Always define clear and trackable conditions for your survey (e.g., specific properties, tags, or events).
• Use Customerly.update() after critical frontend events to prompt the system to re-evaluate survey conditions.
• Test the full flow from triggering the event to verifying survey appearance using real user sessions.
• Monitor survey performance and user responses from the Customerly dashboard to adjust targeting if needed.

Conclusion

Customerly surveys are evaluated in the backend and delivered based on specific conditions. To make sure they appear reliably—especially after frontend-triggered events—using Customerly.update() is essential. Surveys will stop being shown only when they are completed, discarded, or unpublished, giving you control over user experience.

Need help setting up your survey conditions? Reach out to our support team—we’re here to assist!