The Engine API is a RESTful API that serves as a direct entry point to Monetate's decision engine and allows clients to use it in any channel: Web (server-side or within the browser), mobile applications, SPA frameworks, and nontraditional implementations such as in-store displays or SMS/text messaging.
Recap of the Monetate Tag and Engine API Integrations
In a traditional Monetate tag-based integration, Monetate is running in the browser and can directly manipulate the site by inserting, editing, or removing content via reusable actions. Monetate can additionally leverage DOM elements (cookies, JavaScript variables, HTML elements) to target and track site-specific segments and events. By implementing the Monetate JavaScript API methods, Monetate additionally collects (and targets against) behavioral data such as products that have been viewed, carted, and purchased.
When using the Engine API, however, there are two primary differences.
You must pass all page- and visitor-level data to Monetate within the request body. This includes the following:
- IP address and latitude and longitude coordinates for geographical targeting
- User agent for technographic targeting
- Additional context such as URL, page type, product IDs and SKUs as they're viewed, carted, or purchased, as necessary
Use custom variables instead of custom targets when using the Engine API.
Monetate doesn't directly drive changes to the requesting application. Instead, the Engine API response contains JSON-formatted data (often configured in advance by the end user) that the requesting application then reacts to. See Available Action Types for more information on the available action templates for Engine API experiences.
The Engine API allows three things to be done with a single call:
- Send contextual information about the current visitor/page.
- Retrieve actions that are supposed to fire in the current context. These actions can be part of any Omnichannel experience in Monetate and can be a mix of personalized content and tests to be activated.
- Send events/metrics to Monetate to measure success.
Bundling all these capabilities into a single endpoint allows all data to be received via a single call and reduces latency when transmitting to Monetate.
FAQ
What is the difference between Omnichannel, Engine API, and Decision API?
Decision API is a legacy name for the Engine API. Omnichannel refers to the type of experience and action being used because they're available in any channel (Web, app, video, SMS, etc.).