1. Identity resolution

Manage identity rules

Before you begin

  • You must be an Organization Admin or Organization Owner in your Sitecore Cloud Portal organization.

Identity rules define which identifying information is used in the process of identity resolution to recognize and match site visitor identities.

Create an identity rule

You create an identity rule after your organization starts capturing IDENTITY events. Every identity rule you create is added at the bottom of the identity rules list. When multiple identity rules exist, SitecoreAI evaluates them in order, starting with the rule at the top of the list.

Warning

If you want to add more than one identity rule, you must add them in the order you want them prioritized, starting with the identity rule with the highest priority. If you want to change the priority of the identity rules, you must delete the identity rules and add them again in order of priority.

Every time you create a new identity rule, you must contact Sitecore Support by creating a support case. This is to ensure that your changes will have the desired result and that Sitecore Support is aware that they need to reindex the profiles using the new identity rules to avoid the creation of duplicate profiles when site visitors with existing profiles visit your site.

To create an identity rule:

  1. In the navigation menu, click Performance.

  2. In the left-hand pane, select Settings > Identity rules, and then click Create rule.

  3. In the New rule section, complete the following fields:

    • Rule name - enter a descriptive name for the identity rule. For example, Email address.

      Field requirements

      The rule name must be unique within the current SitecoreAI environment.

      The maximum length for the rule name is 100 characters. Alphanumeric characters, spaces, and common punctuation marks are accepted.

    • Identifier - enter the identifier provider you want SitecoreAI to use to identify the visitor. For example, email.

      Field requirements

      The maximum length for the identifier provider is 50 characters. Only alphanumeric characters and underscores are accepted.

      The value you enter must match the identifiers.provider value in the IDENTITY event that your organization sends to SitecoreAI. If the values don't match, SitecoreAI cannot evaluate the identity rule.

  4. Click Save. The identity rule is activated for identity matching. The rule name immediately becomes available to search profiles by in the Profiles user interface. This way, developers can send an IDENTITY event to SitecoreAI and immediately verify that the corresponding profile appears in Profiles.

Delete an identity rule

Danger

If you want to make changes to your organization's identity rules that are already in use, for example to delete a rule or change the priority, you must contact Sitecore Support by creating a support case. This is to ensure that your changes will have the desired result and that Sitecore Support is aware that they need to reindex the profiles using the new identity rules to avoid the creation of duplicate profiles when site visitors with existing profiles visit your site.

The most common scenario for deleting identity rules is when you are creating them for the first time, and you want to reorder them, or if you add one in error. You typically delete identity rules before your organization starts capturing IDENTITY events. You can also delete identity rules after your organization starts capturing IDENTITY events. However, if your organization has personalization configured that uses the current identity rules, deleting the rules affects personalization.

If you delete an identity rule, the corresponding identifying information captured by IDENTITY events, such as email addresses or phone numbers, will continue to be captured as long as you continue capturing IDENTITY events, but the information will no longer be used for identity resolution. Existing profiles and historical data are not deleted.

If you later decide to create the same identity rule again, identifying information captured in the period when the identity rule was deleted will not be used for identity resolution. Only the information captured after the identity rule creation time will be used for identity resolution.

Warning

At least one rule is required in the identity rules list. You can delete a rule only if there are at least two rules in the list.

Identity rule deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

When deleting an identity rule, the remaining identity rules maintain their relative order.

To delete an identity rule:

  1. In the navigation menu, click Performance.

  2. In the left-hand pane, select Settings > Identity rules.

  3. For the identity rule you want to delete, click Delete .

  4. In the Delete identity rule modal, to confirm your choice, enter the identity rule name, and then click Delete.

    The identity rule is deleted and is no longer used for identity resolution.

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