Show up the moment it matters: Customer.io's summer 2026 release 

Your customers aren't sitting still. This summer, Customer.io shipped more than 10 features so you don't either.

What if the moment your customer left a location, closed an app, or booked an appointment was the moment your message landed? That's the idea behind this release, and this replay walks through exactly how it works, feature by feature, inside one live campaign build.

• How a geofence trigger and an LLM action combine to send a personalized SMS the second a customer leaves a real-world location
• How live activities and live updates put real-time status on a customer's lock screen, from iOS to Android, without a single extra push notification
• How native WhatsApp lets you build, edit, and submit templates for Meta approval without leaving Customer.io
• How the new notification inbox keeps messages accessible even after a customer dismisses them
• Where bring your own SMS, tooltips, multiple apps per workspace, dark mode, the omnichannel subscription center, and message frequency caps fit into the release
• Live answers to audience questions on geofencing compliance, live activity requirements, and more

Live activities and live updates Real-time status on the lock screen for iOS and Android, built for delivery tracking, ride status, flight updates, or appointment progress. One notification updates in place instead of a series of separate pushes.

Geofencing Trigger messaging when a customer enters or exits a real-world radius. Each geofence is a center point plus a radius of up to 10 kilometers, grouped into geofence sets you can import via GeoJSON or CSV, or build manually.

Bring your own SMS Connect the SMS vendor that fits your region and compliance needs. Supported vendors at launch include Infobip, Cinch, Bonage, and Twilio.

Native WhatsApp template management Create, edit, and submit WhatsApp templates for Meta approval directly inside Customer.io, with approval status visible in the platform.

Notification inbox Push messages that get dismissed still live in an in-app or web inbox, buildable with a visual editor that inherits your Design Studio global styles.

LLM action upgrades Optimized prompt shortens your prompt for token efficiency without changing its logic. Prebuilt templates and a help me write option make it easier to get started, and knowledge sources let you add file-based context or recent events to sharpen output.

Tooltips Contextual in-app messages anchored to specific UI elements, built through the same in-app message builder, with a live preview to place them exactly where you want.

Multiple apps per workspace Manage push for every app you run, driver and rider, free and premium, from a single workspace instead of maintaining duplicate campaigns.

Dark mode Light, dark, or system matched, so your Customer.io workspace matches how you actually work.

Omnichannel subscription center Channel preferences now sit alongside topic preferences, so customers control exactly how and where they hear from you.

Message frequency caps Named, granular send limits by channel, or shared across channels, so free users, paid users, or VIP segments each get the cap that fits them.

Renamed navigation Campaigns are now automations, and people are now profiles, aligning Customer.io's terminology with how the industry talks about these concepts. Nothing about the underlying functionality changed.

Does bring your own SMS require a new contract with the vendor? No. If you already have a relationship with Infobip, Cinch, Bonage, or Twilio, you can connect that provider to Customer.io without switching your existing setup.

What compliance considerations apply to geofencing? Geofencing runs on-device, so your app needs OS-level location permission, and consent should be collected per your privacy policy and local laws like GDPR and CTPA. On Customer.io's side, geofence enter and exit events don't include device coordinates, only the fact that a fence was crossed, and geofence lookups are stateless.

Do live activities require push notification opt-in? No. Live activities don't require the same permission prompt as push notifications, though they do need location or app permissions to be set to always allow for the full experience.

Can geofences be custom shapes instead of circles? Not yet. Geofences are circles, up to a 10-kilometer radius. For an irregular area, the current workaround is layering multiple circles into one geofence set.

Can LLM actions draft WhatsApp message content? No. WhatsApp requires a pre-approved template structure, so content generated by an LLM action would get rejected by Meta. LLM actions can draft SMS and email content used elsewhere in the same journey.

Will renaming campaigns to automations and people to profiles break existing integrations? No. The renaming is a terminology update only. API calls and integrations continue to work exactly as they did before.

Which features require a specific plan? Geofencing and live activities are available on premium and enterprise plans. Bring your own SMS, the notification inbox, tooltips, the omnichannel subscription center, multiple apps per workspace, dark mode, and the navigation updates are available more broadly. Reach out to your CSM to confirm what's included on your plan.