---
title: Manage audience roles in Feature Experimentation
slug: feature-experimentation/docs/manage-audience-roles-in-feature-experimentation
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-08-05T20:40:03.000Z
---

- Optimizely Feature Experimentation

You can assign the following audience roles to a collaborator or team:

- **Admin** – Can view and edit the audience, and manage audience permissions for other collaborators.
- **Editor** – Can view and edit the audience and its content.
- **Viewer** – Can view the audience and its content.

## Audience permissions

Your audience role (such as **Viewer** or **Editor**) determines your level of access to it. This role is based on where the audience is used and your permissions for those entities.

- **Unused audience** – If an audience is not used in any flags, the project role determines the audience role. For example, a collaborator with the **Editor** project role is also an **Editor** for an unused audience.
- **Audiences in use** – If an audience is used in a flag, your audience role is the lowest of your roles across the following:
  - The flags where the audience is used.
  - The environments within those flags where the audience is applied.

Feature Experimentation uses the *least* permissive role across flags and environments to ensure that collaborators cannot exceed their intended privileges. This follows the principle of least privilege. For example:

- **Consistent Editor roles** – A collaborator who is an **Editor** for all related flags and environments is also an **Editor** for the audience.
- **Mixed roles** – A collaborator who is an **Editor** for Flag A but a **Viewer** for the Production environment (where the audience is used) is a **Viewer** for the audience.

The following table summarizes permission levels:

| Scenario                       | Project role | Flag role | Environment role | Audience role |
| ------------------------------ | ------------ | --------- | ---------------- | ------------- |
| Audience not used              | Editor       | N/A       | N/A              | Editor        |
| Audience not used              | Viewer       | N/A       | N/A              | Viewer        |
| Consistent **Editor** role     | Editor       | Editor    | Editor           | Editor        |
| Mixed roles, **Viewer** lowest | Editor       | Editor    | Viewer           | Viewer        |

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note**

To create a flag or audience, a collaborator must have **Editor** or above access in at least one environment.

If your project does not use granular permissions, the collaborator must have an **Editor** or above project role.
:::

## Update an audience role

1. Go to **Audiences > Saved**. 

   ![0d48f5f704ec2736aae4cf9e73f618c6f399fbedc1bd28182feaf5ac92b47316-image.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/HEyiawQ8GAHKOT6X5cvei-20260720-145802.png)
2. For the audience you want to update, select **More Options (...) > Manage Permissions**. 

   ![0d48f5f704ec2736aae4cf9e73f618c6f399fbedc1bd28182feaf5ac92b47316-image.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/HEyiawQ8GAHKOT6X5cvei-20260720-145802.png)
3. Select the **Users** or **Teams** tab.
4. (Optional) To filter collaborators or teams, you can enter a name on the **Search for a user** or **Search for a team** field.
5. Click **Edit** for the user or team you want to update.

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note**

You cannot update the audience role permissions for **Administrators** and **Project Owners**.

All other roles display **Check Details** for the **Audience Role** because the audience role is determined based on where the audience is used and the collaborator's permissions for those entities. See the [Audience permissions](docId\:PaHupMVJ7tba5f6nFuwep) section for information.
:::

6. Select the updated **Audience Role**.
7. Click **Save**. 

   ![50cfc7a40625283b39a0a98f22ef755fef2d792ad45faa6fa140072ff900aa35-image.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/poD6W_bPjEiZeK0tmXoIn-20260720-145803.png)