How Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) Works with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP)

In the previous lesson, we learned what Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) is.

Now the big question is:

• Where does AJO get customer data from?
• How does it know what a customer is doing in real time?

AEP = Brain (stores customer data)
AJO = Action (uses data to send messages)

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What is Adobe Experience Platform (AEP)?

AEP is a system that collects and organizes customer data from websites, apps, CRM systems, purchases, and more. It creates one unified customer profile.

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How AJO Uses AEP (Step-by-Step)

Step 1️⃣ — Data Enters AEP

Everything starts with customer actions.

Customers do things like:

• Viewing a product
• Signing up on a website
• Making a purchase

This data flows into AEP through:

• Website tracking
• Mobile app tracking
• CRM uploads
• API integrations

AEP stores this as:

• ✔ Profile Data (Name, Email, etc.)
• ✔ Events (Customer actions)

This is where all customer information starts getting collected.

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Step 2️⃣ — AEP Creates a Real-Time Profile

AEP combines all data from different sources and builds a Real-Time Customer Profile.

This profile includes:

• Name
• Email
• Preferences
• Past purchases
• Behavior history

Imagine this like a live customer file that updates instantly whenever the customer does something.

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Step 3️⃣ — AJO Reads the Profile

AJO is directly connected to AEP. That means:

• Whenever a profile updates
• Whenever an event happens

AJO can see it instantly. There is no delay and no manual export needed.

This is what makes AJO a real-time marketing tool.

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Step 4️⃣ — Event Triggers a Journey

Example Scenario:

A customer adds shoes to the cart but doesn’t complete the purchase.

Here’s what happens behind the scenes:

1. Event recorded in AEP → Cart Abandoned
2. AJO detects this event immediately
3. A Journey starts automatically
4. An email reminder is sent

This is called event-based real-time communication.

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Step 5️⃣ — AJO Sends Personalized Message

Since AEP already has full customer data, AJO can personalize messages like:

• Customer name
• Product viewed
• Recommended items
• Location-based offers

So the message is relevant, not generic.

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Data Flow Summary

Customer Action → AEP Collects Data → Profile Updates → AJO Reads Profile → Journey Starts → Message Sent

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Key AEP Terms

Term	Meaning
Schema	Structure of customer data
Dataset	Storage location
Profile	Combined customer identity
Event	Customer action
Identity	How system matches records to one person

You’ll learn these deeper in upcoming lessons.

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Why This Connection is Powerful

When Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) works together with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), marketing becomes smarter, faster, and more relevant.

Together, they can:

• ✅ React instantly to customer actions
• ✅ Use complete customer data from all sources
• ✅ Personalize messages at scale
• ✅ Handle millions of customer profiles
• ✅ Work seamlessly across multiple channels

Without AEP, AJO would not have full customer understanding. AEP provides the data and intelligence, while AJO uses it to deliver real-time, personalized customer journeys.

Final Understanding

If AJO is the messenger, AEP is the memory. AJO talks to customers. AEP remembers everything.

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What’s Next?

Next in this course series: What Are the Core Components of Adobe Journey Optimizer?