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Default helps with duplicate CRM records at 2 points: its workflows check Salesforce or HubSpot for an existing record before they create one, and its MCP server can list the duplicates already in your CRM. Default does not merge records. When 2 records need to become 1, you merge them in Salesforce or HubSpot. Duplicate handling is part of CRM hygiene. The other part, filling empty fields on existing records, is covered in Backfilling missing CRM fields.

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What Default does with duplicate CRM records

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Check for an existing record with Match Record

The Match Record node searches Salesforce or HubSpot and follows 1 of 2 branches: Match when it finds a record, No Match when it does not. Create records only on the No Match branch, so a lead that the match finds is not created again. Common checks before a create:
  • People in Salesforce. Match a Contact by email first. On its No Match branch, match a Lead by email. Create a Lead only when both find nothing.
  • People in HubSpot. Match a Contact by email, and create on No Match.
  • Companies. Match an Account or Company on its website with the domain matches operator, which compares company domains instead of raw text. https://www.acme.com/pricing and acme.com then count as the same company. See Match an account by company domain.
On the Match branch, later nodes can use the matched record’s ID and fields, for example to update it or to route it to its current owner. See CRM nodes.

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Update on conflict in Salesforce

For Salesforce, Create Record can find and update a record instead of creating a new one. Turn on Update on conflict and choose a Match field, a Salesforce field that identifies the record, for example email. The match field must also have a value in Mapped Fields. On a match, every mapped field is written to the existing record, including the owner if you map it. To give new records an owner without reassigning existing ones, use Match Record instead and set the owner only on the No Match branch. HubSpot’s Create Record has no Update on conflict. Use Match Record first.

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When the CRM rejects a duplicate

Salesforce duplicate rules and unique fields can reject a new record, and so can a HubSpot property that must be unique. When that happens, Create Record does not treat it as a failed run:
  • It creates nothing and writes none of the mapped fields.
  • It logs a warning, either that the record already exists and the workflow continues with it, or that creation was skipped.
  • When the CRM reports which record already exists, Default passes that record to later nodes, so they can still use its ID and fields.
  • It marks the step as errored in the run log, and the rest of the workflow runs.

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Convert a lead into an existing account and contact

The Convert Lead node converts a Salesforce Lead. To avoid creating a second account or contact during conversion, set:
  • Account to merge into (optional): an existing Account ID, usually from a Match Record node.
  • Contact to merge into (optional): an existing Contact ID.
The lead then converts into those records instead of new ones. This is Salesforce lead conversion. It does not merge 2 existing accounts or contacts. If a Salesforce duplicate rule refuses the conversion, the step fails with a message that names the matching record. See Convert lead.

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Check a list against your CRM in Tables

Tables is in beta. It is turned on per workspace. If you do not see Companies and People under Views in the sidebar, contact Default.
The Match to CRM action in Tables looks up each row of a view in Salesforce or HubSpot, for example a list you uploaded as a CSV:
  1. Open the view and select Actions, then Match to CRM.
  2. Choose the CRM, the record type, the CRM field to compare, and Exact match or Contains.
  3. Choose the row field to compare it with, for example the email column.
  4. Select Match, followed by the number of records, for example Match 100 records. Each row then shows Matched with the CRM record ID, or No match.
1 run covers up to 250 records.

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Find existing duplicates with the MCP server

Default’s MCP server has a read-only tool, crm_duplicates_scan, that lists duplicate records already in your CRM. Ask a connected AI client, such as Claude or Cursor, a question like “Scan my CRM for duplicate contacts.” What the scan checks: Each group lists the CRM record IDs, which CRM each record is in, and when Default last saw it. Because Salesforce Contacts and Leads are scanned together, a Lead that duplicates an existing Contact shows up as a group. What to know before you act on the results:
  • Exact matches only. The same person under 2 different emails does not show up.
  • Personal email domains are flagged. Groups on personal email domains, such as gmail.com, are marked, because they often hold junk data.
  • Shared inboxes can appear. Addresses such as info@ or sales@ can group unrelated contacts.
  • Groups can span CRMs. A group can hold a Salesforce record and a HubSpot record. That is useful hygiene signal, but the 2 records cannot be merged with each other.
  • It changes nothing. The scan only reads.
  • It covers the records Default has seen. The scan reads Default’s identity graph, which links CRM record IDs to the emails and domains Default has seen through your CRM connection.
Use identity_resolve to look up everything Default links to 1 email or domain in a group. The scan needs the admin or owner role and belongs to the identity tools, which Default turns on per workspace. See Identity graph.

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Merge duplicates in your CRM

Default does not merge Salesforce or HubSpot records, and no Default workflow node or tool combines 2 records into 1. To clean up duplicates:
  1. List them with crm_duplicates_scan.
  2. Merge each group in Salesforce or HubSpot, using the record IDs from the scan.
  3. Stop new duplicates at the source with Match Record before every Create Record, and with Update on conflict in Salesforce.
Related: Lead enrichment software from Default