Clean Up Duplicates Automatically with Merge Contact

The Merge Contact action looks for an existing duplicate of the contact in your workflow and combines them, keeping your records tidy.

Settings

• Action Name: defaults to "Merge Contact".
• Match By: Email, Phone Number, or Email and Phone Number (both must be identical).

What happens when it runs

1. The system searches for another contact that matches your chosen criteria.
2. If it finds one, the newer contact is merged into the older one, so the older record survives and history is preserved.
3. If nothing matches, nothing changes and the contact moves to the next step.

Set it up

1. Open Automation > Workflows and add a trigger such as Contact Created or Form Submitted.
2. Click + and add Merge Contact.
3. Choose Match By and save the action.
4. Publish, then review results in the workflow execution logs.

Limitations to plan around

• Goals tied to the old contact ID may not work after the merge.
• Steps waiting for a reply, email event or trigger link click may still be tied to the old contact context.
• Because the surviving record is the older one, place important actions after the merge.

Example

A new form lead arrives with an email that already exists. Merge Contact combines the new record into the original, so conversations and notes stay in one timeline.

Good to know: Put Merge Contact early in the flow, before waits or goals, to avoid those timing issues.