Resolve duplicate contacts
When the workspace spots two or more contact records that look like the same person, it groups them so you can decide what to do. This page shows how to merge the records into one, mark a group as not a duplicate, or restore a group you dismissed earlier. Resolving duplicates keeps each person as a single record, so research, plays, and signals all attach to the same contact.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”The Manage duplicates view is available to members with full workspace access. If you have a read-only or restricted seat, the entry button and the page are hidden.
Open the duplicates view
Section titled “Open the duplicates view”- Go to Contacts.
- At the top of the list, select Manage duplicates. The button shows the number of open duplicate groups in parentheses, for example Manage duplicates (12).
You can also reach a single group from a contact’s detail page. When a contact has potential matches, a warning banner reads “N potential duplicates found for this contact.” with a Review link that opens this view filtered to that one group.
Find the group you want to work on
Section titled “Find the group you want to work on”The page is titled Manage Duplicates for Contacts. Each group is a card headed with its size, for example 3 contacts, and lists the matching records in a table. Cards are expanded by default.
Two filters sit at the top:
- Search for contact - type a name to narrow the list.
- Duplicate status - choose To review to see open groups (the default) or Not a duplicate to see groups you previously dismissed.
Choose an action
Section titled “Choose an action”Select the rows you want to act on using the checkboxes, then use one of the buttons above the table:
- Merge - combine the selected records into one. Enabled once you select at least two rows.
- Not a duplicate - mark the selected records as not duplicates so they stop appearing in the open list. Enabled once you select at least one row.
- Restore duplicate - move records you previously dismissed back to the open list. Use this from the Not a duplicate filter. Enabled once you select at least one row.
Merge records
Section titled “Merge records”When you select Merge, a window opens titled Select primary contact to merge into.
- The window lists the selected records in a table. Pick the one row that should remain - this is the contact every other record merges into. The footer shows how many records are selected, for example 3 contacts selected.
- Optionally turn on Also merge their accounts. Use this when the secondary contacts sit on different accounts: those accounts merge into the primary contact’s account in the same step, which is handy for cleaning up records that matched on the same person but had mismatched company domains.
- Read the banner at the top. If your connected CRM cannot merge contacts, the banner warns that the records will be merged in the workspace only and the duplicates may reappear after the next sync. Otherwise it confirms that the secondary records will be deleted in your CRM and that the merge cannot be undone.
- Select Merge to confirm, or Cancel to back out.
Mark a group as not a duplicate
Section titled “Mark a group as not a duplicate”When you select Not a duplicate, a confirmation window titled Remove from duplicates? asks you to confirm how many records you are moving out of the potential-duplicates list. Select Remove to confirm, or Cancel.
Restore a dismissed group
Section titled “Restore a dismissed group”From the Not a duplicate filter, select the rows and choose Restore duplicate. A window titled Restore duplicates confirms the count. Select Restore to move them back to the open list, or Cancel.
What happens next
Section titled “What happens next”After you merge, a confirmation message reports how many records were combined, the window closes, and the group disappears from the open list. The surviving record keeps the data from the group; the others are removed. If you also merged accounts, the secondary accounts fold into the primary contact’s account. When your CRM supports contact merging, the secondary records are deleted there too; when it does not, the merge stays in the workspace and the matches can resurface after the next CRM sync.
After Not a duplicate or Restore duplicate, a confirmation message reports the count and the records move between the To review and Not a duplicate filters accordingly. The warning banner on a contact’s detail page clears once its group is no longer open.