Context

When setting up snippets with variables, you may want to include dynamic content (like company name) in the fallback text. The fallback text is what displays when the variable cannot be resolved.

Answer

Variables cannot be used in fallback text. When a variable cannot be resolved and no fallback is provided, the enrollment will be blocked rather than sending with an unresolved placeholder. Fallback text must be static text only, as it serves as the default content when variables are not available or cannot be resolved. If a snippet includes multiple variables, the fallback text is used if any one of those variables is missing.

Important limitation with boolean variables: Boolean or True/False variables that return False may be treated as empty values, triggering the fallback even though the variable has a value. For example, if you have a research question that returns True/False and the agent returns False, the entire snippet may fall back to the default text despite other variables having valid data.

For example:

• Variable text: {company_name}

• Fallback text: Company (must be static text)

If the system cannot find a value for the {company_name} variable, it will display the static fallback text instead.

Important trigger behavior: If any variable in your snippet is missing or cannot be resolved, the entire snippet will use the fallback text. This applies even when other variables in the same snippet have valid values.

Smart Snippet Example with Multiple Variables

When using fallback text with Smart Snippets that reference multiple variables, the fallback triggers if any single variable is missing:

Write a summary using these research outputs:
- Research output 1: {{AI_RESEARCH_OUTPUT_1}}
- Research output 2: {{AI_RESEARCH_OUTPUT_2}}

Fallback text (static only):

Research summary: No AI Research insights were available for this prospect. Recommend using a general value prop and asking a single qualifying question.

If either {{AI_RESEARCH_OUTPUT_1}} or {{AI_RESEARCH_OUTPUT_2}} is missing, the entire snippet will display the static fallback text instead of attempting to generate a partial summary.

Avoiding Fallback Issues with Boolean Variables

If your snippet unexpectedly falls back despite having research data, check for boolean/True-False variables that might be returning False. Consider these solutions:

1. Option 1: Use text responses instead of boolean

   Change True/False questions to ask for descriptive text responses. For example, instead of "Is the company expanding? (True/False)", use "Describe any expansion news for this company." Text responses are more reliably passed into snippets.

2. Option 2: Add graceful fallback logic in your prompt

   Include instructions in your snippet prompt to handle missing data, such as: "If no signal was found for a given question, skip it and use the next most compelling insight." This allows the snippet to render and handle missing data internally rather than triggering the snippet-level fallback.

Troubleshooting Blocked Enrollments

If contacts in your sequence are blocked due to unresolved variables, you have two options to resolve the issue:

1. Edit the sequence: Remove or replace the variable that cannot be resolved, then contact support to unblock the affected enrollments in bulk.

2. Populate the data: Add the missing variable data to the affected contacts so the variable can resolve correctly.

Note: If you edit a sequence to remove a problematic variable, make sure to check all steps in the sequence, as the variable may appear in multiple emails or steps.