Visitor Type

The visitor type condition lets you target an experiment specifically at new visitors — people who have never been to your site before — or returning visitors — people who have visited at least once previously. New and returning visitors often behave very differently, and the most effective messaging for each group can be quite different too.

Visitor types

New visitors

A new visitor is someone who has not visited your site before — or more precisely, someone for whom no A vs B visitor cookie exists. This is typically their first session on your site. New visitors have no prior experience with your product, so they are evaluating your brand for the first time.

Returning visitors

A returning visitor is someone who has visited your site at least once before. The A vs B snippet has previously stored a cookie on their browser. Returning visitors are already familiar with your product to some degree — they may have browsed before or be repeat customers.

How detection works

Visitor type is determined by a first-party cookie that A vs B sets in the visitor's browser on their first visit. The cookie is named avsb_visitor and contains a unique visitor ID.

First visit — no cookie exists, so the visitor is classified as new. The snippet sets the cookie for future visits.
Subsequent visits — the cookie exists, so the visitor is classified as returning.

Visitor type detection relies on cookies. If a visitor clears their browser cookies, uses a different browser, switches devices, or browses in private/incognito mode, they will be classified as a new visitor even if they have visited your site before. This is a limitation of cookie-based visitor tracking and is standard across the industry.

Common use cases

Welcome offers for new visitors

Test a first-visit discount banner or a welcome message exclusively for new visitors. Returning visitors — who may have already seen or dismissed the offer — are not enrolled, so they never see the test banner.

Loyalty messaging for returning visitors

Test whether showing a "Welcome back" message or a loyalty-themed hero section improves conversion for returning visitors. New visitors, who have no prior relationship with your brand, are kept in the control so this personalization does not confuse them.

Onboarding flow testing

Run an onboarding flow experiment exclusively for new visitors. Returning visitors who already know your product would find an onboarding flow condescending or confusing — limiting the experiment to new visitors makes the results much more meaningful.

Running parallel experiments

Sometimes you want to run the same experiment concept with different messaging for new and returning visitors. Create two experiments — one targeting new visitors, one targeting returning visitors — and configure each with copy appropriate for that audience. Compare the results separately to understand what works for each group.

Combine visitor type with traffic source for high-precision targeting. "New visitors from paid traffic" is a particularly valuable audience for top-of-funnel experiments — these visitors are seeing your brand for the first time AND came with intent from an ad.