Chart Annotations
Pin dated notes to the results chart — like a deploy or a campaign — so you (and anyone you share with) understand the bumps and dips later.
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Chart Annotations
Pin a dated note to your results chart — a deploy, a campaign, a traffic spike — so the bumps and dips in your data come with an explanation instead of a question mark.
Test results are a line on a chart, and lines have surprises in them — a sudden jump one Tuesday, a dip over a weekend. Annotations let you pin a note to the exact date something happened, so when you (or a teammate) look back later, you know whether that wiggle was your test working or just the real world getting in the way.
They're purely notes laid on top of the chart — they never change who sees which version, how conversions are counted, or your score.
Add an annotation
- 1
Open the Chart annotations panel
On the test's results page, find the Chart annotations panel and open it. You'll see any existing notes and an Add annotation button. - 2
Fill in the details
Pick the date it happened, choose a type, and write a short label — that label is what shows on the chart, so keep it punchy. You can add a longer description too, if you want more detail. - 3
Save — and edit anytime
Save, and a coloured line appears on the chart at that date. To change or remove a note later, open the panel again and edit or delete it.
The six types
Deployment
You shipped a code or design change.
Campaign
A marketing push, email, or ad started.
Tracking update
You changed how something is measured.
Traffic spike
An unusual surge of visitors.
Seasonality
A holiday, payday, or seasonal effect.
Note
Anything else worth remembering.
Getting the most from annotations
Annotate as it happens. The moment you launch a campaign or ship a change, drop an annotation. It takes ten seconds now and saves you a confusing detective session later.
Flag bad data days. If tracking broke or a bot wave hit, a Tracking-update or Traffic-spike annotation warns everyone not to trust that day's numbers.
They travel with shared reports. Annotations show up on shared report links too, so external viewers get the same context — though they can't add or change notes. For team discussion rather than dated markers, use comments instead.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to the questions teams ask most about this part of Otter A/B.