> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.icustomer.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.icustomer.ai/audience/building-audiences.md). # Building and sharing audiences Cohorts under segments: how audiences are built, shared, and made activation-ready. Audiences are organized simply: two **segments**, B2B and D2C, and under each, **cohorts**, named groups defined by shared traits, scores, or behavior. A cohort is the working unit: what you watch, share, and activate. ## Ways to build * **Ask iHarness.** The fastest path: "accounts that visited pricing in the last 30 days and score Hot." The cohort arrives with its logic attached and stays live as members qualify in and out. * **Hot lists.** Auto-maintained cohorts the system keeps for you, your hottest accounts, your resolved recent visitors, so the obvious lists never need building. * **Import.** Bring a list from CSV, Sheets, or your CRM. Imported records join identity resolution like everything else, so duplicates collapse instead of multiplying. * **From the loop.** Plays produce cohorts too: everyone a play touched, everyone who converted, everyone suppressed. ## Sharing Cohorts are workspace objects: your team sees the same audiences, with the same membership and scores, governed by [roles](/settings/users-and-roles.md). One shared definition beats five private spreadsheets that almost agree. ## Activation-ready means something A cohort can be *activated* when its members carry what the destination needs: the right identifier (email for outbound; hashed identifiers for ad platforms) and the right consent. The platform checks this per destination and reports **matched** counts honestly, what the channel accepted, not what you uploaded. Suppressed records are excluded before anything leaves. ## What you get back A built cohort returns four things: * a **live membership**, resolved through identity so one person is one record, * a **FIRE score** on every member, with the reason attached, * an **activation-readiness read** per destination: matched counts, missing identifiers, consent gaps, * and a **shared workspace object** your whole team sees identically. Audiences do not sit still after building; the system keeps watching them. See [Always-on monitoring](/audience/monitoring.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.icustomer.ai/audience/building-audiences.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.