BetaCreate custom signals

Custom signals allow you to define your own intent triggers in plain language—from hiring updates and RFP postings to product announcements. Specify what matters most to your business, and HubSpot will surface matching companies with every data source clearly cited. You can use custom signals everywhere standard intent signals appear, including segments, workflows, lead scoring, and Prospecting Agent plays.

Understand requirements

Please note the following:

• To create or track custom signals, you need HubSpot Credits.
• To track companies, you need Data Enrichment permissions.
• To create, edit, or delete custom signals, you need Edit access within Buyer Intent permissions.
• The company you want to track doesn’t require a domain, but a domain greatly helps with the accuracy and quality of signals HubSpot detect.

Understand custom signals

A custom signal is a buyer cue you define in plain language. HubSpot agentically researches the public web (e.g., company websites, articles, transcripts, posts, filings) for matches against the companies you're tracking, and emits each match as an event for associated companies.

Each detected signal includes:

• The signal name you defined
• A summary of what was found, including why the signal was triggered
• Full source citations (the URLs that triggered the signal)
• The signal date

Tracking is configured per custom signal. When you create a custom signal, you'll choose which companies it should monitor. This is independent of the companies you're tracking for standard intent signals. HubSpot will backfill matches from the last 90 days for the companies you select.

Create a custom signal

To create a custom signal:

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent directly.
2. Click the Signals tab, then click My signals.
3. Click Create custom signal.
4. Describe the signal in plain language. See examples below:
   • CISO Hire: when a company hires a Chief Information Security Officer with a background in cybersecurity.
   • Agency Growth: when an agency wins a "Large Enterprise" contract with a Fortune 1000 brand.
   • Data Breach: when a company discloses a "third-party data breach" or "supply chain vulnerability" in the news.
   • Missed Targets: When a company announces a "missed earnings" report specifically citing "sales execution" or "long sales cycles" as the cause.
5. HubSpot will validate the prompt and indicate whether it is likely to produce results.
6. After you submit your prompt, HubSpot generates an auto-preview that shows a sample of matches against companies you already track. The auto-preview runs in the background and uses no credits.
   
7. Click Create signal. You'll then be prompted to select which companies this signal should monitor. Learn more about tracking companies for a custom signal.

Please note: HubSpot decides how often to refresh each signal based on the signal type, so you always get fresh, relevant results. Signals refresh at least weekly. That said, HubSpot always executes an initial run for any new company you track for custom signals.

Get portal-specific signal recommendations

If you're not sure what to track, HubSpot can recommend custom signals based on your ICP and your business.

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent directly.
2. Click the Signals tab.
3. Click My signals. HubSpot will surface signal prompt suggestions tailored to your account.
4. Click a recommendation to refine it before creating a custom signal.

Track companies for a custom signal

Each custom signal has its own tracked-company list. After you create a custom signal, HubSpot prompts you to select which companies it should monitor. You can change the tracked-company list for any custom signal at any time.

Choose a source

In the tracking confirmation modal, select a source:

• All companies in CRM: pick some company records or every company record in your CRM for this signal.
• Companies in segments: pick one or more existing company segments. Then, opt to track some companies from those segments, or the entire segment.

Once you select your companies to track, the signal begins scanning and HubSpot backfills matches from the last 90 days for the selected companies.

Track companies for a custom signal from other places in HubSpot

You can also start or stop tracking companies for a custom signal from the same locations you already track from for intent signal tracking:

1. From buyer intent, select companies on the Research or Visitors tab and click Track intent signals.
2. From the Intelligence tab or buyer intent CRM card of a company record, click Track signals on this company.
3. From a company segment or index, use the More dropdown menu and select Activate intent signals or use the row.
4. From a company import, select the Track for intent signals option in the post-import summary.

In any of these flows, the tracking confirmation modal includes a Signals dropdown menu that lists every signal type available for the selected companies. This includes standard signal categories alongside each of your active custom signals. Select which signals (including any custom signals) the companies should be tracked for, then confirm.

View companies with custom signals

You can view custom signals from the Signals tab within buyer intent:

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent directly.
2. To see all detected custom signals across your tracked companies, select one or more of your created custom signals using the Signal type filter in the Signals tab.
3. To view detail for a specific company, click the company name. The signal will appear on the activity timeline of the company record, alongside standard intent signals.
4. To see source citations, click to expand the signal event. Each cited URL is clickable.

Custom signal types and categories

All custom signals appear under the Custom signals category in buyer intent and in downstream apps (workflows, scoring, segments). 

When you use custom signals as workflow triggers or segment filters, they will be available under the Custom signals category alongside their standard counterparts.

Complete actions with custom signals

You can use custom signals everywhere standard intent signals are supported.

Use custom signals in segments

When creating a company segment, select a custom signal under the Event filter category to dynamically include companies that match.

Use custom signals in workflows

You can trigger a workflow when a custom signal fires for a tracked company:

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Automation > Workflows. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Automation > Workflows directly.
2. Click Create workflow, then select From scratch.
3. Choose Company-based.
4. Select the Custom Signals trigger group.
5. Set your desired custom signal(s) as a trigger.
6. Add actions (e.g., assign owner, send notification, enroll in sequence, update properties).

Use custom signals in lead scoring

You can add custom signal events to a score group so that detected signals raise (or lower) a company's score.

2. Open the score group you want to edit.
3. Click + Add criteria, then select Event.
4. Select Custom signals, then choose the specific signal.
5. Assign a point value. Then, click Save.

Manage custom signals

You can manage custom signals by editing or deleting them.

Rename a custom signal

To edit a custom signal:

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent directly.
2. Click the Signals tab, then click My signals.
3. Find the signal, and click Edit.
4. Rename the signal.
5. Click Save.

Delete a custom signal

Deleting a custom signal stops future scans for that signal. Historical signal events of that type that were previously recorded will remain on the activity timelines of company records and within the table on the Signals tab, and can still be referenced in segments, workflows, and lead scoring.

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Buyer Intent directly.
2. Click the Signals tab, then click My signals.
3. Click the edit icon, then click Delete.

Filter records with custom signals

When you're creating filter criteria for workflow triggers or segments, the following event is available for each active custom signal:

• [Custom signal name] detected: the company matched the criteria you defined in the signal prompt.

Each custom signal event includes the following filterable properties:

• Signal date: when the match was detected
• Source URL: the citation(s) that triggered the signal
• Source summary: the text snippet that triggered the signal

Related articles

See related articles below:

• Use intent signals
• Configure buyer intent
• How to Use Buyer Intent Data to Identify Companies Ready to Buy
• Understand HubSpot Credits and Billing
• Use Prospecting Agent