If your automation shows more contacts in it than there should be, you may have added the same contacts to the automation twice. To remove duplicate contacts from an automation, they must be removed and then added again. Follow the steps below to remove duplicate contacts.
It is best practice to prevent duplicates from entering the automation. Learn how to prevent contacts from entering an automation twice. Note that enabling this feature only affects contacts entering the automation after you have updated the settings, and it does not work retroactively.
Remove duplicate contacts in an automation
When you open your automation, you should see a point that indicates the number of contacts currently in the automation. Click on this queue number to see the list of unique contacts. If the number displayed in the automation view is different than your list of unique contacts, this means there are duplicates.
To remove these duplicate contacts, you will need to remove the contacts and then re-add them to the automation action from which they were removed. That way, no contact progress is lost.
Here are the steps:
- Open the automation and scroll to where the duplicate contacts are.
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Click on the contact queue in the automation action.
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You will be redirected to a contact page listing all of the contacts in queue. Click the "Edit All" button on the left to use bulk editing.
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Click “Remove from an automation.” Choose the automation you want to remove contacts from. Click “Remove.” You will notice that action will be queued to the left of the editing options.
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In the same bulk editing window, click “Add a tag.” The example here labels the tag as "Remove Duplicates" but you can name the tag as you prefer. Type in "Remove Duplicates." Click “Add.” This way, the contacts in the automation will receive this tag while also being removed. Both actions will be queued to the left of the Actions bar.
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Click "Apply" and confirm that you want to perform both of these actions.
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Click back to your automation to confirm that your contacts have been removed from the automation.
- Hover over the action you want to add your contact(s) back into, and click the add contacts icon that appears.
- In the “Add contacts directly to this action” modal, click “Use a segment of contacts.”
- In the “Add contacts directly to this action” segment builder, click the "Select a condition" field and select “Contact Details” > “Tag.” Leave the operator as "Exists" and then type your specific tag in the final field.
- Click "Next."
- (Optional) In the “Add contacts to this automation” modal, the two options below are turned on by default. Click the checkbox next to the option to turn them off:
- Do not add contacts who have ever entered this automation
- Do not add contacts who are currently in this automation
- Click “Add contact(s).” The contacts will be added to your automation immediately. The contact(s) will immediately be added to your automation. This action cannot be undone.