# New/Returning visitors criterion
The New/Returning visitors criterion is a segmentation criterion that enables defining a [segment](/assets-library/creating-and-managing-segments.md).
To learn how to create a segment, please refer to this [article](/web-experimentation-and-personalization/targeting-step/how-to-create-a-segment-who-section.md).
## đź“– Definition:
The New/Returning visitors criterion enables you to segment your audience based on the presence (or absence) of the AB Tasty cookie (for more on this, please refer to our [article](/account/performance-and-security/consent-policy---cookies-storage-and-privacy.md) on AB Tasty cookies).
## 🔎 How Does It Work?
The information comes from a specific `ABTasty` cookie. AB Tasty sets a value for each visitor in a specific variable (key is `ns` for the number of sessions). This variable is incremented each time a visitor is initiating a session when the session’s first page loads. A new visitor is a visitor with an **ns** value of **1**.
[See Consent policy, cookies and storages documentation](/account/performance-and-security/consent-policy---cookies-storage-and-privacy.md)
## ⚙️ Configuration
From a practical standpoint, ever since you placed the AB Tasty tag on your website, AB Tasty has started collecting your visitors’ browsing data (sessions, page views, behavior).\
Each visitor is assigned an AB Tasty cookie with a unique visitor ID (`uid`) when they go to your website and accept cookies. This cookie is valid for 13 months, unless the visitor uses incognito browsing or clears their cookies.
This method, which complies with current regulations (GDPR), enables us to identify first-time visitors (since the AB Tasty tag was placed) and returning visitors, and to create 2 complementary segments to be used for targeting personalization campaigns.
## đź’ˇ Use case
Using the “New visitor” value, you can deliver a welcome message (modal, banner, etc.) which will only be seen by first-time visitors.
{% hint style="warning" %}
**Be careful in the reporting! New and returning visitors are not mutually exclusive.** It's expected that they don't add up to 100% in a campaign's reporting in some cases.\
For example:\
1 - Visitor A comes to the site for the first time, they are part of campaign 1. For this session, Visitor A is considered as a New visitor.\
2 - Visitor A comes back to the site on a new session, they are still part of campaign 1. For this session, Visitor A is considered as a Returning visitor.\
3 - Visitor A is 1 unique visitor when unfiltered. When filtering, Visitor A's sessions will be included in the new visitor AND returning visitor filter.
{% endhint %}
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