Contact matching
Recognise existing contacts using email, mobile and account identities within your website.
What it is
Contact matching helps INSIDE recognise an existing customer when identifying information arrives. It checks email addresses, mobile numbers and account identities within the same website. A match can associate a visitor with an existing contact or require an operator to review competing contacts.
Who uses it and why
- Operators see saved contact information when INSIDE recognises a visitor.
- Developers supply consistent customer identities through the website integration.
- Visitors can provide identifying information through website membership or configured forms.
Where to find it
Matching happens automatically as identifying information is supplied. Operators see the result in Contact Information and the Visitor tab. Salesforce account matching is configured through Settings › General Settings › Salesforce by Powerfront.
How it works
INSIDE compares the supplied identities with saved contact values for the current website. Both primary and alternate identifying values can contribute to a match. A customer's name and ordinary phone field are profile details, not matching identities.
Whether INSIDE links automatically depends on the origin of the information, verification and any existing association or conflict. An email matching one contact and a mobile matching another can produce a conflict. A match is therefore not a guarantee that two contacts will merge.
With Merge Visitors with same Salesforce Account enabled, a supplied account identity takes precedence over email and mobile matching. When no account is supplied in this mode, contacts already identified by an account are excluded from the email or mobile candidates.
Configure it
Keep identifying information consistent in your website integration and pre-chat forms. Ask Powerfront to configure Merge Visitors with same Salesforce Account if your Salesforce set-up needs account-based grouping. The standard setting is off.
There is no separate operator switch for the trust and verification rules applied to each submission.
Settings
| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merge Visitors with same Salesforce Account | Settings › General Settings › Salesforce | website | Off | Powerfront | Give a supplied Salesforce account identity precedence when matching visitors to contacts. |
Limits and good to know
- Matching stays within a website; it does not provide an account-wide customer directory across websites.
- Contacts recorded as deleted for privacy purposes are excluded.
- A shared email address or mobile number can produce competing candidates. Confirm the person before merging contacts.
- Changing a customer's identity during a session has additional safeguards to avoid reusing the previous person's details.
- Mobile and ordinary phone fields serve different purposes. Put a matching mobile number in the mobile field.
Depends on and works with
+8 more · used by
- Store customer matches and ordersEnhances
The visitor's linked contact supplies eligible identity information for panel matching.
- Sales attribution to conversations and operatorsEnhances
Contact matching can extend candidate conversations to linked visitor identities.
- Customer contact detailsEnhances
Identity matching finds an existing contact for supplied details.
- Visitor data mapping for customer identityEnhances
Supplied identities are checked against existing contacts.
- Contact merge preview and assignmentEnhances
Identity matching identifies contacts that may need review.
- Customer contact identities across channelsEnhances
Contact identities help establish the customer association.
- Salesforce contactsEnhances
Account-based contact matching can group visitors linked to the same Salesforce account.
- Sales attribution and conversion reportsEnhances
Contact identity can contribute to attribution when contact sales attribution is enabled.
View all connections as a list
This feature uses
- Customer contact detailsRequires
Matching associates a visitor with a contact profile.
- Visitor data mapping for customer identityEnhances
Website member information supplies identities and handles replacement customers.
- Contact merge preview and assignmentEnhances
Conflicting matches can be reviewed and resolved by an operator.
- Salesforce connection and operator setupConfigured by
The Salesforce connection can enable account-based matching.
- Customer data deletion and recoveryRelated
Contacts deleted for privacy purposes are excluded from contact matching.
- Pre-chat survey for visitorsEnhances
Pre-chat forms can supply identifying information.
Used by
- Visitor identityRelated
Contact matching associates customer profiles across visits, separately from recognising a returning browser.
- Visitor search and filtersEnhances
Contact matching lets searches group visitor records associated with the same customer.
- Taking and pinning conversationsEnhances
Contact matching supports same-contact assignment behaviour.
- Conversation history and searchEnhances
Linked contact identity can bring together conversations from multiple visitors.
- Pre-chat survey for visitorsEnhances
Submitted contact details can help identify or match a contact.
- Existing answers in Virtual Assistant tasksEnhances
Contact matching can make saved answers available through the matched identity.
- AI resolution and first-contact metricsEnhances
Identified customer records can support looking up earlier conversations.
- Incoming email and ticket repliesRequires
Incoming senders are matched to customer contacts by their email identity.
- Store customer matches and ordersEnhances
The visitor's linked contact supplies eligible identity information for panel matching.
- Sales attribution to conversations and operatorsEnhances
Contact matching can extend candidate conversations to linked visitor identities.
- Customer contact detailsEnhances
Identity matching finds an existing contact for supplied details.
- Visitor data mapping for customer identityEnhances
Supplied identities are checked against existing contacts.
- Contact merge preview and assignmentEnhances
Identity matching identifies contacts that may need review.
- Customer contact identities across channelsEnhances
Contact identities help establish the customer association.
- Salesforce contactsEnhances
Account-based contact matching can group visitors linked to the same Salesforce account.
- Sales attribution and conversion reportsEnhances
Contact identity can contribute to attribution when contact sales attribution is enabled.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why didn't the customer's name find their saved contact automatically?
Names are not identity keys. Supply an email address, mobile number or supported account identity.
Why did INSIDE show a conflict instead of linking automatically?
The information may match several contacts, disagree with the current contact or require review because of how it was supplied. Compare the contacts before taking an action.
Why did email matching change after Salesforce account grouping was enabled?
Account identity takes precedence in that mode. Without an account identity, INSIDE excludes candidates that already have an account value.
Can matching recover a contact deleted for privacy reasons?
No. Those contacts are excluded from identity matching.