Using the Update Subscription action

The Update Subscription action lets you automatically update a subscriber’s status, custom fields, or tags as they move through an automation.

This action is useful when you want to keep subscriber data up to date without manual work. Common use cases include tracking where subscribers came from, updating custom fields based on behavior, or changing a subscriber’s status after a specific event occurs.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add the Update Subscription action to an automation and how each available option works.

1. Go to Audience > Automations, then either create a new automation or open an existing workflow.
    
2. Locate the step where you want to apply the action. Click the + icon below that step. From the actions menu, select Update Subscription.
   
   
   
3. When added, the Properties panel will open on the left. Any changes you make in the panel are reflected immediately on the action card in the workflow.
   
   
   

The Update Subscription action supports several types of updates. You can use one option or combine multiple options in a single action.

Use Keep or transition subscription status to to control whether a subscriber’s status should remain the same or change.

• Active: Keeps the subscriber active.
• Inactive: Marks the subscriber as inactive.

This can be useful if you want to update status based on engagement, purchases, or other automation triggers.

Use Keep or update custom field(s) to to modify one or more custom fields on a subscriber’s profile.

• Click Add Custom Field to select from your existing custom fields.
• Use the dropdown on the left to choose a field.
• Enter the value you want the field to update to on the right.
• You can update multiple custom fields within the same action.

This is commonly used to track subscriber attributes, lifecycle stages, or automation outcomes.

Use Apply the following subscriber tags to add one or more tags when a subscriber reaches this step.

• Click into the field and search for an existing tag.
• Selected tags will be applied automatically as the subscriber passes through the action.

Tags are helpful for segmentation, reporting, and triggering other automations.

Use Remove the following subscriber tags to remove tags from a subscriber’s profile.

• Click into the field and select the tag you want to remove.
• The tag will be removed as the subscriber passes through this step.

This is useful for cleaning up temporary tags or reflecting changes in subscriber behavior.

Under Conditions, click Add Conditions to set additional rules that must be met for the Update Subscription action to apply.

If the conditions aren’t met, the subscriber will skip this action and continue through the automation.

• The Update Subscription action does not send emails.
• Updates happen automatically as subscribers reach this step.
• Multiple updates (status, fields, and tags) can be combined into a single action.
• This action must be paired with a trigger to be active.