The Auto-Create Contact feature determines what happens when Global Autopilot cannot find a matching record for an email address. This FAQ explains the available settings, how parent-company matching works, and how to handle common scenarios.
Global Autopilot is available with ExtendSync Outlook Enterprise.
➡️ For matching order and recipient priority, see How Global Autopilot Matches Email Recipients and Auto-Creates Contacts.
🔵 What are my options when Global Autopilot can't find a matching record?
There are three behavior options to choose from when Global Autopilot can't find a matching record:
Options | What Happens |
Ignore the Email | Global Autopilot skips the email. No Contact is created, and the email is not synced. |
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. |
🔵 How does Auto-Create Contact determine which company a new Contact belongs to?
Global Autopilot compares the email domain with the Web Address and the Email field on eligible parent records in NetSuite.
Eligible parent records include:
Customer
Lead
Prospect
Vendor
When Global Autopilot finds a match, it creates the Contact and associates it with the matching parent record.
Example 1: Match by Web Address
Email address:
jane@acme.comEmail domain:
acme.comNetSuite parent Web Address:
acme.com
Result: Global Autopilot creates the Contact and associates it with the matching parent record.
Example 2: Match by Customer email address
Email address:
jane@acme.comEmail domain:
acme.comNetSuite Customer Web Address: blank
NetSuite Customer Email:
info@acme.com
Result: Global Autopilot can match the Customer by its Email field and associate the Contact with that Customer.
🔵 What happens if the Web Address is blank or doesn't match the email domain?
If neither the Web Address nor the Email field on any eligible record matches the email domain, Global Autopilot cannot identify a parent.
The result depends on the Auto-Create Contact setting:
Auto-Create Setting | Result |
Always Auto-Create | The Contact is created without a parent company, and the email is synced. |
Only When a Matching Parent Record Exists | No Contact is created, and the email is skipped. |
Ignore the Email | No Contact is created, and the email is skipped. |
Example
Email address: leo.brimms@aals.com
Email domain: aals.com
NetSuite company Web Address: academyavenueliquorstore.com
NetSuite parent Email Address:
<blank>Result: No matching parent is found.
Associate a Contact that has no parent
If Global Autopilot created a Contact without a parent, edit the Contact in ExtendSync or directly in NetSuite to associate it with the correct company.
🔵 How many Contacts can Global Autopilot create per email?
Starting with version 5.0.2.1, Global Autopilot can create up to three Contacts per email, one for each distinct company. It checks one address per domain, prioritizing To and From addresses over CC, until it reaches three companies.
The limit supports common multi-company conversations, such as a buyer, implementation partner, and seller, while limiting unnecessary Contact creation and NetSuite API usage.
This can help with:
Channel and partner deals involving a reseller or systems integrator
Deals that include outside legal or procurement advisors
Purchase order conversations involving freight forwarders, 3PLs, or manufacturers
Shared mailbox conversations where a customer copies an IT vendor
How the three-contact limit works with each setting
Only when a matching parent record exists: How the three-contact limit works with each setting.
Always auto-create, and no domain matches a parent: Global Autopilot creates one standalone Contact for the first address in priority order.
Always auto-create, and some domains match a parent: Global Autopilot can create up to three Contacts for distinct domains. It links each Contact to a matching parent when one is found.
🔵 What if multiple companies use the same email domain?
If multiple eligible NetSuite parent records match the same domain, ExtendSync cannot control which matching record NetSuite returns.
This is a NetSuite platform limitation.
For example, if multiple Customer records use acme.com as their Web Address, Global Autopilot cannot reliably determine which Customer should become the Contact's parent.
Recommendation: If your NetSuite environment contains multiple companies that share the same domain, consider disabling Auto-Create Contact and have users create or associate Contacts manually using ExtendSync or NetSuite. This ensures the correct parent relationship is selected.
🔵 How are email addresses prioritized for contact creation?
Global Autopilot prioritizes addresses in From and To over those in CC. Addresses in BCC are not processed.
For addresses within the same customer domain:
Email direction | Priority |
Outgoing | To addresses take priority over CC. |
Incoming | From and To addresses, excluding the current recipient, take priority over CC. |
For different customer domains, the email is associated with matching records across those domains. If contact creation is triggered, From and To addresses take priority over CC.
If multiple matching contacts belong to the same parent company, Global Autopilot creates a single email association to avoid duplicate messages on that company record.
🔵 Which subsidiary is used for a Contact created without a parent?
In NetSuite OneWorld, a Contact created without a parent company is assigned a subsidiary in this order:
The contact is created in the user's own employee subsidiary, when their role has access to it.
Otherwise, it is created in the first subsidiary the role can access.
If the role has no accessible subsidiaries, no contact is created, and a clear error is shown in the Logs view.
Contacts created under a matched parent company inherit that company’s subsidiary. A default subsidiary configured by your administrator continues to apply. Accounts that are not OneWorld are not affected.
Note: If your role has access to all subsidiaries, standalone Contacts that used to land in the root (primary) subsidiary are created in your employee subsidiary.
🔵 How do I know if Auto-Create Contact fails?
If Global Autopilot cannot match a record or fails to create a Contact, the failure appears in the ExtendSync Logs view with the corresponding error.
A red dot on the Notifications icon indicates that failed logs are available.
💡 Best Practices
For more reliable Contact creation and parent matching:
Populate the Web Address or Email field on parent records with information that matches the organization’s email domain. For Customer records, Global Autopilot can check both fields.
Review parent records that share an email domain before enabling Auto-Create Contact.
Use Only When a Matching Parent Record Exists if Contacts must have a parent company.
Use Always Auto-Create if capturing Contacts is more important than requiring an existing parent relationship.
See Also
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