In short
Next best action (NBA) is a decisioning approach that picks the single most useful action to take with a user at a given moment. It weighs options such as a message, offer, reminder or content item against the user's context and the business goal. The choice can come from rules, models or both.
Why it matters for apps
Most users get too many generic messages. NBA replaces a list of campaigns with one ranked choice per user, which can reduce noise and improve relevance.
- Options, not just offers: The best action may be a reminder, an easier goal, a feature tip or doing nothing at all.
- Balance goals: A good NBA setup weighs user value against business value, so it does not push sales to someone close to leaving.
- Needs a catalog: The system can only choose from actions you have built. A small, well-designed set of actions comes first.
- Common mistake: Ignoring contact limits. Without a cap on how often users hear from you, NBA turns into spam.
Industry examples
A language app chooses between a review quiz, a streak reminder or a new lesson based on each learner's recent mistakes (hypothetical).
A banking app chooses between a savings challenge, a card feature tip or no message, based on recent account activity (hypothetical).
Build it with StriveCloud
StriveCloud does not include a next best action engine. Your own rules or model make the decision, using events and stats StriveCloud records and sends out through webhooks. StriveCloud then supplies the actions to choose from, such as challenges, rewards, quizzes, mailing and push notifications, scoped by segment.
Want to try this? Explore the Gamification API
Frequently asked questions
What does next best action mean in marketing?
It means picking the single most relevant action for each customer at a given moment, such as an offer, message or tip, instead of sending every campaign to everyone.
What is the difference between next best action and next best offer?
Next best offer only chooses among commercial offers. Next best action includes non-sales options such as reminders, help content, rewards or sending nothing.
Is next best action always AI-based?
No. Many NBA setups start with ranked business rules. Models are added later to score options when there are many users and many possible actions.