Use case

How to Analyze Customer Segments Using AI

Compare revenue and product use across explicit customer segments with an AI agent, using the definitions in your Cube model.

  • Set explicit segment rules and a customer population
  • Compare revenue and product use by segment
  • Check counts, denominators, and missing data

What is customer segmentation analysis with AI?

Product, data, and revenue teams use customer segmentation analysis to group a defined population by explicit attributes or behavior, then compare outcomes such as revenue, retention, or product use. Common rules use plan, region, lifecycle stage, or recency, frequency, and monetary-value (RFM) tiers. This example compares plan segments; it does not discover groups through machine learning.

Cube is the semantic layer for AI: an agent can work with the same governed metrics and dimensions as the people reviewing the results. This workflow holds each customer's plan fixed at the start of the period and describes what happened afterward. Segment differences can guide a follow-up question, but they do not explain causes or predict an individual customer's behavior.

Define the population before comparing segments

Use a distinct customer grain, an approved segment rule, and a fixed reporting window. The fictional example assigns plan on April 1 and measures outcomes only for those opening customers.

Fictional inputs for a Q2 2026 customer segment review
MetricIllustrative example
Reporting window2026-04-01 inclusive through 2026-07-01 exclusive, in the model time zone.
Opening population600 eligible customers active on April 1; customers added after that date are excluded.
Segment assignmentStarter, Growth, or Enterprise plan recorded on April 1; keep that assignment for the full quarter.
Revenue per customerStarter: $360,000 Q2 revenue / 300 opening customers = $1,200.
Active customer rateStarter: 135 of 300 opening customers had at least one qualifying session in Q2 = 45.0%.
The Prompt

Copy. Paste. Run your segment analysis.

Connect to Cube via MCP or our CLI, then run this prompt in your preferred agent.

Start with a Cube deployment connected to your data and a model containing the metrics you want to analyze.

01Connect over MCP

Connect over MCP

Connect your agent to your existing Cube deployment and sign in through OAuth.

MCP endpoint
https://cubecloud.dev/mcp
Sign in to Cube

Complete OAuth in your agent to connect your Cube account.

Choose a deployment

Use your default deployment or select another one available to your account.

Read the MCP setup docs
01Connect with CLI

Connect with CLI

Install the Cube CLI and sign in from a terminal-capable agent.

Install the CLI
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cube-js/cube/master/install-cli.sh | sh
Log in (replace TENANT with your account name)
cube login --url https://TENANT.cubecloud.dev
Inspect API operations
cube spec --json
Read the CLI docs

02Run this prompt in your agent

Choose your agent and copy the prompt below.

Prompt for Codex
Use the Cube MCP server connected in Codex and select the intended deployment. Run read-only analytics queries. Analyze customer segments using my connected Cube deployment. Use read-only requests, return aggregated results only, and do not expose customer names, identifiers, or personal data. DEFINITIONSInspect the unique customer grain, opening-population rule, available segment dimensions and their effective dates, approved revenue metric and currency, qualifying product-usage event, and model time zone. Use documented segment rules or existing modeled dimensions. Do not invent a segment definition or create machine-learning clusters. If an input or definition is missing, state the gap. DATE WINDOWUse the most recently completed calendar quarter in the model time zone. Include the quarter's first day and exclude the first day of the next quarter. State the exact start date, exclusive end date, and time zone. If the model time zone is unavailable, say so rather than guessing. POPULATION AND SEGMENTS1. Count distinct eligible customers in the opening population as of the quarter start. Assign each customer using the segment value effective on that date, and hold membership fixed through the period.2. Show unassigned, excluded, and overlapping customers separately. Do not silently drop them or add overlapping segment counts as if they were unique customers. Reconcile segment counts to the eligible total when the definitions allow it. CALCULATIONS1. For each segment, report opening customers and revenue earned during the quarter by those same customers. Calculate revenue per customer as segment revenue divided by distinct opening customers. Exclude customers acquired after the quarter starts from both the segment population and its revenue comparison.2. If the approved usage event exists, calculate active-customer rate as distinct opening customers with at least one such event during the quarter divided by opening customers in that segment. Show the numerator and denominator. Do not substitute sessions, events, or logins for the approved definition.3. If an approved retention metric is requested and available, show its own definition, numerator, and denominator separately from product activity.4. Recalculate overall revenue per customer and active-customer rate from pooled totals. Do not average segment rates or per-customer values. Compare counts alongside percentages and flag small groups or incomplete coverage. MISSING DATA AND OUTPUTKeep missing segment values visible as unassigned, and report missing revenue or usage coverage rather than treating it as zero. Return the date window, metric definitions, a segment table with counts and denominators, reconciled totals, exclusions, and a concise interpretation. Separate observed differences from hypotheses about causes. Recommend checks that could test those hypotheses; do not claim causation or predict future customer behavior from these historical results.

How it works

1

Fix the customer and segment definitions

Confirm the distinct customer key, opening eligibility, segment rule, effective date, reporting time zone, and the quarter window. Keep membership fixed at the start date or explain why the model cannot support that comparison.

2

Compare outcomes with their denominators

Show opening customer counts, revenue per customer, and active-customer rates by segment. Recompute overall values from pooled counts and revenue, and make unassigned or incomplete records visible.

3

Validate the pattern before acting

Check segment size, metric definitions, and reconciliation before choosing a follow-up. A difference in revenue or activity is descriptive; review other factors before proposing an explanation or intervention.

Compare revenue and use across customer segments

This chart uses fictional Q2 2026 values to compare revenue by plan and customers with a qualifying session. Plan membership is fixed on April 1; these figures are illustrative, not customer results or predictions.

Worked example: fictional Q2 2026 outcomes by plan at April 1
Plan at period startOpening customersQ2 revenueRevenue per customerActive in Q2
Starter300$360,000$1,200135 / 300 (45.0%)
Growth200$480,000$2,400130 / 200 (65.0%)
Enterprise100$360,000$3,60080 / 100 (80.0%)
Total600$1,200,000$2,000345 / 600 (57.5%)
  • The 600 opening customers generated $1,200,000 in Q2 revenue, or $2,000 per opening customer. The total is calculated from pooled revenue and customers, not an average of the plan values.
  • Growth accounts for $480,000 / $1,200,000 = 40.0% of revenue and 200 / 600 = 33.3% of the opening population. Its $2,400 per-customer revenue is 20% above the $2,000 overall value.
  • Active-customer rates range from 45.0% in Starter to 80.0% in Enterprise, a difference of 35 percentage points. These fictional rates describe this period; they do not show that plan caused the difference.

All values in this table and image are fictional and hand-calculated for illustration, not executed queries, customer results, a benchmark, or a prediction. Segment differences are descriptive; actual results depend on the customer grain, plan history, revenue definition, usage event, and data coverage in your deployment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Define the customer population, choose documented segment rules, fix the date window, and compare outcomes such as revenue or usage with each numerator and denominator visible. Reconcile segment counts to the overall population and report unassigned customers separately.

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