In Optimize, you define how optimization behaves by defining different combinations of rules and constraints in an Optimize session. Most of the time, this guide uses rules and constraints interchangeably and generally refers to all rules and constraints within Optimize as "rules." From a strict definition standpoint, rules are requirements that have a single solution—for example, global exclusions using the Interactions Where rule, or a Never A with B rule. For a particular set of offers for an individual, the combination is either allowed or it is not, that is , the rule is either true or it is not. For example, an A not following B rule may state that offer A cannot be given within 30 days of offer B. The customer, Mr. Jones, who is being proposed offer A is either allowed to receive it (because he has not received offer B within the last 30 days) or not (because he has received offer B within the last 30 days). If Mr. Jones has not received either offer A or B in the past, but is being proposed offer A and B, he can receive only one of them in any 30-day window, so any proposed offer combinations must satisfy this condition.

A constraint typically specifies a minimum or maximum threshold that cannot be exceeded, but there are many possible solutions satisfying the constraint where the goal is to pick the solution that maximizes a particular objective function—for example, maximizing the sum of scores. Constraints might limit contacts by the maximum number of calls the sales team can make in a week, or the amount of marketing activity based on the budget, or the pieces of collateral available in inventory.

You can create rules with a single answer, such as "If customerA receives a Platinum credit card offer, customerA cannot receive a Gold offer within the same month." You can also create rules with many possible answers. These rules might limit contacts by the maximum number of calls the sales team can make, or the amount of activity based on the budget, or the pieces of collateral available in inventory. Furthermore, you can define customer preferences such as contact frequency and channel capacity in rules.