Branching
What is branching?
Choose Your Own Adventure (CYA), formerly known as Advanced Branching, allows you to turn any Arcade into an interactive, personalized experience. Instead of one linear path, you can create branches using Chapter steps with multiple buttons — each leading to a different section, experience, or action.
It’s perfect for tailoring your demo to different roles, interests, or goals.
What plan is CYA available on?
CYA is available on the Growth Plan and includes a 14-day trial.
Why should I add branching to my Arcades?
CYA helps you:
Deliver a more relevant experience Let viewers self-select what’s most relevant to them — their role, challenge, or interest.
Drive deeper engagement Interaction increases retention. Branching gives your audience agency, boosting engagement.
Showcase product breadth Highlight different features or use cases without overwhelming every viewer with everything.
Get richer insights Track choices to better understand your audience’s preferences and tailor follow-up conversations or content.
How is this better than a regular linear Arcade?
Linear Arcades present the same experience to everyone. CYA lets your viewer choose their own path, meaning every viewer sees the parts of your product that matter most to them.
How do I create a branch?
To create a branch:
Add a Chapter step to your Arcade.
In the Chapter editor, add multiple buttons (up to 4).
For each button, set the destination to a different step (or an external link).
Optionally customize each branch (e.g. update the content for a specific audience).
Can each button go to a different type of content?
Yes. A button can:
Jump to a different step within your Arcade
Link to a form or external survey
Open a scheduling link (e.g. Calendly)
Redirect to another Arcade
Is there a limit to the number of buttons I can add to a Chapter?
Yes — you can add up to 4 buttons on any Chapter step.
Insights & Branching
Why do Insights matter for branching?
When you use branching in your Arcade, you’re not just creating a better viewer experience — you’re also capturing valuable intent data. Each time a viewer clicks a button in a Chapter, they’re telling you:
What they care about
What role or use case are they in
How engaged they are
Where do they drop off
That makes CYA one of the most powerful tools in Arcade for:
Personalizing follow-up (Sales, CS, Marketing)
Qualifying leads based on interest or need
Prioritizing features based on real behavior
Segmenting your audience by persona, use case, or lifecycle stage
What kind of data do I get from branched Arcades?
Arcade’s Insights dashboard includes:
A branch icon next to any Chapter with multiple paths
A breakdown of:
Total views per option
Engagement % for each button
Drop-off rates
At the bottom of the Insights page, you’ll also see:
Branch-specific engagement charts (great for comparing how long users stay engaged in each path)
How can I use branching data to improve my Arcade?
Here are some ideas:
Refine your copy: If users are choosing one path more than others, make sure the others are clear, relevant, or even needed.
A/B test button wording: “Explore Feature A” vs “See How It Works” might lead to different click behavior.
Align follow-ups: If someone clicks Book a demo, sync that with your CRM to trigger personalized outreach.
Inform product or content strategy: If few people explore a certain use case, it might signal lower interest, or that it’s not positioned clearly.
Can I see the drop-off by branch?
Yes — Arcade shows drop-off rates for each button within a Chapter. This lets you pinpoint:
Which options are keeping users engaged
Where they’re bouncing
What paths are worth doubling down on (or removing)
Can I track branches over time?
Insights data is persistent per Arcade and can be reviewed week-to-week or after distribution pushes (e.g., after a campaign launch).
If you want to compare multiple Arcades with branching, we recommend:
Tagging them clearly (e.g. Growth Demo – Role Branching)
Exporting Insights periodically
Reviewing top branches across your Arcades to identify patterns
Use Cases
What are some great use cases for Choose Your Own Adventure?
Use Case 1: Capturing Role Ask the viewer who they are — e.g. Sales, Marketing, Engineering — and show each audience a more tailored walkthrough.
→ Use this when you want to speak differently to different personas.
Use Case 2: Product Feedback Let customers choose to give feedback, schedule a call, or just watch. This works great during beta or when announcing new features.
→ Use this when you're collecting input from users, testers, or early adopters.
Use Case 3: Schedule a Demo At the end of your Arcade, let viewers choose whether to book a call, ask a question, or keep exploring. Great for sales follow-up.
→ Use this to route leads and track intent right from the content.
Best Practices
How do I plan a branching demo?
Start with your goal. Ask yourself:
What action do I want viewers to take?
Who are my core audience segments?
What paths make the experience clearer, not more complicated?
What’s a good way to structure my branches?
Use a base template! Start with 2–3 styled steps (with Pan & Zoom, callouts, etc.) → duplicate → customize content per branch.
How many paths is too many?
If it feels unmanageable to test or track, it's probably too many. Stick to 2–3 clear options per branch and make sure each path is meaningful.
Tips and Technical Details
Can I customize each branch’s design?
Absolutely. You can:
Add callouts or hotspots inside each branch
Use Pan & Zoom
Customize the copy, images, and step types per branch
Just make sure each branch still follows a clean visual style so the experience feels consistent.
Can I change where each button goes later?
Yes. You can edit any Chapter at any time:
Change button destinations
Rename button labels
Reorder or delete buttons
Can I link a Chapter button to a URL?
Yes. Buttons can point to:
Other steps in the same Arcade
External URLs (e.g. your website, scheduling pages, docs)
Can I have multiple Chapters in a row?
Yes, but be thoughtful — each Chapter is a decision point. Too many can slow the viewer down or feel repetitive.
Troubleshooting
My branches are working, but the flow feels off. What should I do?
Watch each path from the viewer’s perspective
Use the Insights page to identify drop-offs
Ask: Does each path add value and help the viewer get somewhere useful?
What’s the fastest way to check that all branches work?
Jot down the buttons for each Chapter
Walk through every combination once
Watch for broken links, copy errors, or repeated content
If there are too many combinations to test, consider simplifying!
Last updated
Was this helpful?