When Global Autopilot processes an email, it evaluates the recipient or sender's addresses to determine:
Which NetSuite records the email should be associated with
Whether a new Contact should be created (if Auto-Create Contact is enabled)
This article explains how each email field is handled during synchronization.
How does Global Autopilot match email addresses?
Global Autopilot searches NetSuite for matching records using email addresses in the From, To, and CC fields. Email addresses in BCC are not processed.
For both record matching and the Auto-Create Contact feature,
Global Autopilot prioritizes email addresses in From and To over those in CC.
Matching follows the configured record priority:
Contact → Customer → Vendor
If multiple matching Contacts belong to the same parent company, Global Autopilot creates one email association for that company to avoid duplicate messages on its record.
How does email direction affect recipient priority?
The priority rules depend on whether the email addresses belong to the same customer domain or different customer domains.
Same Customer Domain
Email direction | Record matching and contact creation priority |
Outgoing | Addresses in To take priority over those in CC. |
Incoming | Addresses in From and To, excluding the current recipient, take priority over those in CC. |
Different Customer Domains
Global Autopilot associates the email with each matching record found across customer domains, while applying the parent-company deduplication rule described above.
If no existing record is found and the configured Auto-Create Contact rules trigger contact creation, addresses in From and To take priority over those in CC.
What Happens When Global Autopilot Can't Find a Matching Record?
The administrator’s Auto-Create Contact setting determines what happens:
Option | What Happens |
Ignore the Email | Global Autopilot skips the email. No Contact is created. |
Always Auto-Create (Auto-create contact and sync email) | Create Contacts regardless of match status: up to three per email, one per company. If no domain matches a parent, one standalone Contact is created. |
Only when a matching parent record exists (Auto-create contact and sync email) | Create and link the contact only if a matching parent record exists, up to three per email, one per company. (Customer, Lead, Prospect, Vendor) is found. Skip if no match is found. |
These settings let administrators choose whether capturing new Contacts or requiring an existing parent relationship is more important for their organization.
How Does Global Autopilot Find a Parent for a New Contact?
When Auto-Create Contact is configured to create a Contact, Global Autopilot attempts to identify its parent by comparing the email domain with the Web Address and Email Address fields on eligible NetSuite parent records.
Eligible parent records include:
Customer
Lead
Prospect
Vendor
Example
An email is received from:
Global Autopilot identifies the email domain as:
acme.com
If an eligible NetSuite parent record has acme.com in its Web Address or, for a Customer, its Email field, Global Autopilot can create the Contact under that parent.
The parent company appears with the record name in the app’s Associated Records section.
If no matching parent is found, the result depends on the Auto-Create Contact option selected by the administrator.
ℹ️ Up to three Contacts can be created per email, one for each distinct company. Global Autopilot checks one address per domain, To and From before CC, until three companies have a Contact. For the cap, the scenarios, and the reason for three, see FAQ: Auto-Create Contact Behavior in Global Autopilot.
For more information about company matching, orphan contacts, and other Auto-Create scenarios, see FAQ: Auto-Create Contact Behavior in Global Autopilot.
What Information Is Populated When a Contact Is Created?
ExtendSync creates Contact records through NetSuite's supported web services. During creation, ExtendSync provides the minimum information needed to create the Contact record, allowing the record to be saved without requiring users to complete every mandatory field on the default Contact form.
When a new Contact is created, ExtendSync populates the following fields:
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Company (when a matching company record is found)
Any additional mandatory or optional fields remain blank
Updating an Auto-Created Contact
After a Contact has been created, you can update the remaining details directly from the ExtendSync panel in Outlook.
To edit a Contact:
Hover over the Contact name.
Click the ✏️ Edit icon.
Update the Company or any other required fields.
Click Save Record.
Future emails sent to or received from that email address will use the updated Contact and Company relationship.
💡 Important Considerations
Add the organization’s email domain to the Web Address field on eligible parent records. For Customer records, you can also populate the Email field.
Use Always Auto-Create to capture new Contacts even when Global Autopilot can’t identify a parent.
Use Only When a Matching Parent Record Exists to create Contacts only when they can be associated with an existing parent.
Use Ignore the Email if your organization prefers to manage NetSuite record creation manually.
If multiple parent records use the same domain, NetSuite may return more than one potential match. See FAQ: Auto-Create Contact Behavior in Global Autopilot for details.
Need Help?
If you still need assistance:
💬 Use in-app chat (bottom-right of the support site)
✉️ Email cloudextend-support@celigo.com