Tracking and Navigating Analytics: Identifying Users, Searching Threads, and Exporting Data

Summary

This combined guide explains how to:

• Access and navigate the Analytics dashboard
• Search within the Threads view to find specific user interactions
• Identify users and inject custom attributes
• Track custom events
• Export search query data (including user metadata) as CSV for deeper analysis

By using these capabilities together, you can precisely locate conversations, understand who is asking questions, and analyze how different segments of users interact with your product.

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Accessing the Analytics Dashboard

1. Log into the Platform.
2. Locate the navigation menu on the left side of the screen.
3. Click on the Analytics tab.
4. The Analytics page will load, defaulting to the Threads view, which shows a list of recent user queries and interactions.

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Searching Within Threads

Use the search bar in the Threads view to quickly find specific conversations, queries, or topics.

1. In Analytics, ensure you are on the Threads tab.
2. Above the list of threads, locate the Search queries... bar.
3. Type a keyword or phrase related to the interaction you want to find (for example, contact support to find queries about contacting support).
4. Press Enter or click the search icon.
5. The list of threads will update to show only those that match your search term, helping you quickly locate the relevant user queries for review.

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Tracking User Data and Events with Brainfish Analytics

Why Use These Methods?

• Identify: Understand who your users are by attaching user-specific information to their profiles.
• Track: See what your users are doing within your app, so you can measure engagement and optimize experiences.

When to Use This

Use this functionality when you want deeper insight into who is asking questions and how different groups of users behave. By identifying users and their attributes (such as subscription tier, team, or role), you can:

• Segment analytics by user characteristics
• Tailor responses and content to specific user groups
• Understand the context of questions (e.g., which page or stage of a flow a user is on)

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Step-by-Step: Implementing Identify and Track

1. Inject the Code Snippet

Start by injecting the provided Brainfish widget/analytics code snippet into your website. This is the foundation for tracking user data.

2. Identify Users

Use the identify method to uniquely identify a user, attach user information, and add relevant properties to their profile.

window.BrainfishAnalytics("identify", {
  userId: user.id,       // Required: A unique identifier for the user (e.g., their database ID).
  email: user.email,     // Optional: The user's email address for additional context.
  phone: user.phone,     // Optional: The user's phone number in E.164 format
  properties: {          // Optional: Custom attributes to enrich the user profile.
    teamId: user.teamId,             // The team or organization the user belongs to.
    subscription: user.subscription, // The user's subscription level or plan.
    isAdmin: user.isAdmin,           // A boolean indicating if the user is an admin.
  },
});

Example:

window.BrainfishAnalytics("identify", {
  userId: "12345",
  email: "john.doe@example.com",
  phone: "+14155552671",
  properties: {
    teamId: "team_67890",
    subscription: "premium",
    isAdmin: true,
  },
});

3. Add Custom Properties

By adding custom attributes inside the properties object of the identify call, you can:

• Differentiate between subscription tiers (e.g., free, premium)
• Distinguish user roles (e.g., admin, member)
• Group by team or organization (e.g., teamId)
• Apply any internal customer tags you use

These properties allow you to categorize users and analyze their behavior based on segments.

4. Track Events

Use the track method to record user interactions, actions, or events within your application.

window.BrainfishAnalytics("track", "event_name", {
  key1: "value1", // Optional: Custom metadata to describe the event.
  key2: "value2",
});

Parameters:

• event_name (Required): The name of the event you want to track (e.g. button_clicked, item_purchased).
• properties (Optional): A dictionary of key-value pairs with extra context about the event.

Example:

window.BrainfishAnalytics("track", "button_clicked", {
  button_name: "Subscribe Now",
  page: "Pricing Page",
});

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Examples and Use Cases

• Personalized Answers: Use subscription level or role to tailor answers to features available to that user.
• Behavioral Analysis: Compare the types of questions admins ask versus standard users.
• Contextual Support: Track events when a user reaches a certain page or step (e.g., billing page), then correlate those events with the questions they ask.

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Viewing and Exporting User Metadata in Analytics

User metadata sent via the identify function is attached to search queries and can be viewed via CSV export from Analytics.

Where Can I View User Metadata?

1. Navigate to Analytics

   1. Log in to the Platform.
   2. Go to Analytics > Performance or Threads.

2. Access Search Queries

   1. Scroll down to the Search Queries table.

3. Export the Data

   1. Click the Export data as CSV button.
   2. The downloaded CSV file will include user metadata attached to each search query.

You can then open this CSV in your preferred analysis tool (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets, BI tools) to filter and segment queries by custom properties such as subscription tier, role, or team.

Note on the User column in CSV exports

In Analytics CSV exports, the User column may be blank or appear to change between repeated exports if a stable user identifier is not provided via custom user attributes. The export prioritizes custom user attributes when available; otherwise it falls back to a best-effort anonymous user ID inferred by matching exported records to analytics events/sessions. This fallback may be unreliable and can lag behind real time, which can lead to gaps or shifting values across exports.

To make the User column consistent, send a stable user identifier as a custom user attribute (for example via identify), confirm it is present for the sessions/events you expect to export, then re-export the CSV.

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Common Questions (FAQs)

**What kind of user characteristics can I track?**You can track attributes such as subscription tier, email, user ID, team ID, role, and any other custom tags relevant to your business.

**How does this help in understanding my users?**It lets you see who is asking which questions and whether certain groups (e.g., premium vs. free users) have different needs, so you can adjust content and product accordingly.

**Where can I see the custom properties and events?**Custom properties and tracked events are surfaced through your analytics dashboard and search query CSV exports, so you can segment and analyze behavior.

**Is there a limit to the number of custom properties I can add?**While flexible, it’s best practice to only send properties that are important to your analysis, to keep data clean and manageable.

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Troubleshooting Tips

User data is not being tracked correctly.

• Confirm that the analytics code snippet is injected correctly.
• Ensure the identify method is called after the user is known (e.g., after login).
• Check that all required fields (like userId) are provided.

Custom properties are not being saved.

• Look for syntax errors or typos in the properties object.
• Ensure string values are properly quoted.
• Verify that your identify calls are executed in the correct environment (e.g., not blocked by ad/script blockers).

By combining navigation, search, identification, tracking, and export capabilities in Analytics, you can efficiently locate specific threads, understand who is behind each query, and run deeper analyses outside the platform.