Randomizer Node: Split a Flow Across Random Paths

The Randomizer node forks a flow into several paths and sends each contact down one of them by chance, in the proportions you set. Two people who send you the same word can get two different replies.

Which path someone lands on says nothing about them — it isn’t based on anything you know about the contact, only on the odds you set. That’s what makes it a fair way to compare two versions of a message.

Setup

Add the node → set each variation’s share → wire every variation to its own next step → decide whether the choice sticks to the contact.

A new Randomizer starts with four variations — A, B, C and D at 25% each. Each has a colour, a slider, a percentage box, and its own handle on the right edge of the node, so the flow physically forks four ways on the canvas.

A new Randomizer: four variations, an even split, and a handle per path on the node

Splitting the traffic

Drag a slider or type into the percentage box. + New Variation adds another path; you don’t have to keep all four, and two is the usual shape for an A/B test.

Nothing forces an even split — here 10 / 30 / 60 across three paths

Percentages are odds, not quotas

A 50/50 split doesn’t deal contacts out alternately. Each contact is an independent roll, so across 20 people you might see 13 and 7. The split gets closer to what you set as the numbers grow — which is why an A/B test needs to run for a while before its result means anything.

Sticky, or re-rolled every time

One toggle changes what the node fundamentally does: Pick a random path every time.

Toggle	What a returning contact gets
Off (default)	The variation they were given the first time, on every later trigger
On	A fresh roll each time they trigger the flow — they can land somewhere different

Switched on, the same contact can get a different variation on their next trigger

Which one you want follows from why you’re splitting:

• Leave it off for A/B tests. You’re comparing two versions, and someone who sees both is in neither group. Off also means a contact’s experience stays consistent — they don’t get a different greeting every time they message you.
• Turn it on when the roll is the feature. Rotating offers, a lucky draw, or spreading enquiries across your team all want a fresh result each time.

When the total isn’t 100%

The shares have to add up. Go over or under and the Assigned traffic figure turns red, the node on the canvas says so — Distribution totals 103% — must equal 100% — and a Split evenly link appears in the panel to reset every variation to an equal share.

26 + 77 = 103%. The node flags it, and Split evenly resets the shares

Example: which payment gateway converts better?

Split contacts evenly between two Payment nodes — one charging through Stripe, one through Razorpay — and let them run. The Payment successful counts tell you which checkout your audience actually completes.

A 51 / 49 split sending half the contacts to Stripe and half to Razorpay

Trigger: message contains "buy"
  ↓
Randomizer
  ├── A 51% → Collect payment (Stripe)   → Send link
  └── B 49% → Collect payment (Razorpay) → Send link

Leave the toggle off for this one. A contact who paid through Stripe last week should not be quoted Razorpay today.

Use this for

• A/B testing an opener — two variations, same next step, different wording
• Rotating offers — an uneven split, so a small share gets the better code
• Rolling out a change carefully — 90% down the flow you trust, 10% down the rewrite
• Spreading enquiries across a team — four variations, four handoff messages

Wire every variation

An unwired variation is a dead end, and a silent one: with a four-way split, leaving D unconnected means a quarter of everyone who triggers the flow gets nothing at all and no error anywhere says so. Check each handle has a line leaving it before you publish.

Pro Tip

Make the variations tell themselves apart. Two messages that both open with “Hey!” are impossible to distinguish in Flow analytics a week later, when the per-node Sent and Clicked counts are the whole reason you split the traffic in the first place.