How does Duplicate Rule work in Salesforce?
Duplicate Rules work in tandem with Matching Rules to enforce data quality at the point of entry. A Matching Rule defines the algorithm for comparing field values (exact match, fuzzy match, or a combination) across specified fields. The Duplicate Rule references one or more Matching Rules and specifies the behavior: allow the save with an alert, block the save entirely, or generate a duplicate report. Rules can apply globally or be scoped by Record Type, and actions can differ for creation versus editing.
When a user saves a record and a Duplicate Rule fires, Salesforce displays a list of potential duplicates with a side-by-side comparison. Standard Matching Rules ship for Accounts, Contacts, and Leads (using name, email, phone, and address), but admins can create custom Matching Rules for any object. Duplicate jobs can also be run retroactively to identify existing duplicates in bulk. Clientell AI can analyze your org's data quality, configure optimized duplicate and matching rules, and help remediate existing duplicates through automated merge workflows.