Monthly Targeted Users (MTUs) in Guides and Surveys

Monthly Targeted Users (MTUs) are the metric Fullstory uses to measure engagement and adoption of your Guides and Surveys content. Currently, MTUs provide usage visibility only and do not affect billing. Understanding how MTUs are calculated helps you plan your implementation and estimate the quota needed for your organization.

What is a Monthly Targeted User?

A Monthly Targeted User (MTU) is a unique user who has seen or interacted with Guides & Surveys content during a billing cycle. Each unique user counts as one MTU per monthly billing cycle, regardless of how many guides or surveys they see during that cycle.

For example, if a user sees three different guides and completes two surveys during one billing cycle, they count as one MTU for that cycle. If the same user sees content again in the next billing cycle, they count as one MTU for that cycle as well.

How MTUs are calculated

MTUs count the number of unique users served Guides and Surveys content during a billing cycle. The count includes:

• Users who view any guide content (tours, smart tips, checklists, or other in-app guidance).
• Users who see any survey content, regardless of whether they complete it.
• Both identified and anonymous users.

MTU usage is currently visible at the org level only. Umbrella-level visibility across multiple orgs and a historical trend view are not yet available.

Anonymous and identified users

Both anonymous and identified users count toward your MTU quota. This means:

• Users who have not been identified through Fullstory's identify function still count as MTUs if they see a guide or survey.
• Identified users (those associated with a specific user ID) count as MTUs when they see content.

To avoid counting the same person more than once, Fullstory deduplicates users using an identifier hierarchy, checking each of the following in order until a match is found: individualId, userId, deviceId, and visitorId. Because this matching is best-effort, it's possible in rare cases for the same person to be counted more than once—for example, if they're not yet linked across devices or browsers.

Quota reset cycle

MTUs always reset on a monthly cycle, based on an anchor date that's configured for your org or umbrella. The anchor date is the day of the month your MTU quota resets, and it applies regardless of whether you have a monthly or annual contract. This means:

• Your MTU count resets to zero at the start of each monthly cycle, on your org's anchor date.
• A user who sees content in one monthly cycle counts as one MTU for that cycle. If the same user sees content again in the next cycle, they count as one MTU for that cycle as well.
• Reach out to your Fullstory account team if you have questions about your org's MTU quota or anchor date.

For example, if your anchor date is the 21st, your MTU quota resets on the 21st of each month (the 21st of the following month, and so on), regardless of your contract term.

Planning your MTU needs

To estimate your MTU requirements, consider:

• Monthly Active Users (MAU): Start with your total monthly active users as a baseline.
• Target audience: Determine what percentage of your MAU will actually see guides or surveys. For example, you might only target new users for onboarding tours (50% of MAU) or only certain user segments for specific features.
• Use cases: Identify specific scenarios where you'll deploy guides or surveys, such as onboarding, feature adoption, customer support, or feedback collection.

To discuss your specific needs and find the right MTU quota for your organization, reach out to a member of your Fullstory account team.

Viewing MTU usage

If your org has the Guides and Surveys pack enabled and your MTU quota is greater than zero, you can view your current MTU usage under Settings > Account Management > Subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

If a user sees multiple guides in one billing cycle, do they count multiple times?

No. Each unique user counts as one MTU per billing cycle, regardless of how many guides or surveys they see or interact with during that cycle.

Do users who dismiss or skip a guide still count toward MTUs?

Yes. Any user who sees a guide or survey, regardless of whether they interact with it, complete it, or dismiss it, counts as an MTU for that billing cycle.

What happens if I exceed my MTU quota?

Nothing today. MTU quotas are not enforced yet, so your Guides and Surveys content continues to display normally and MTUs keep counting even if you exceed your quota. Enforcement is planned for a future release.

How are MTUs different from Monthly Active Users (MAU)?

Monthly Active Users (MAU) counts all users who visit your application during a period. Monthly Targeted Users (MTUs) count only the users who actually see Guides and Surveys content during your billing cycle. MTUs will typically be lower than MAU because not every visitor will be served Guides and Surveys content.

Do MTUs affect billing today?

No. Currently, the Subscription section in Settings provides usage visibility only and is a prerequisite for future MTU-based billing. No billing changes are in effect yet.

Can I see MTU usage for an umbrella of orgs?

Not yet. Today's visibility is available at the org level only. Umbrella-level visibility across multiple orgs is planned as future work.

Why does my MTU count seem to lag?

MTU counts are not real-time. Because Fullstory resolves user identities as part of the calculation, counts can lag by 3 hours or more before they're reflected in your total.

What if I don't see the MTU usage section in Settings?

This is most likely because your org's MTU quota is set to 0, which is the default. Reach out to your Fullstory account team to have your quota and anchor date configured.