> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.kernel.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.kernel.ai/lead-enrichment.md).

# Lead enrichment

Inbound leads come in noisy. People sign up from regional subsidiaries, side brands, parent companies, or personal email accounts. Salesforce auto-links leads to accounts on exact website or domain match, so anything that doesn't line up gets stranded: no account, no owner, no place in account-based reporting.

Kernel solves this with a single shared identifier: the [KERN ID](/concepts/kern-id.md). Every company in our entity graph has one, and we use it as the join key between leads and existing accounts.

### How it works

When a lead arrives, we identify the real company behind it from the lead's website, company name, LinkedIn page, country, and the domain on the email address. We hand back the KERN ID for that company.

If you've also enriched your existing Salesforce Accounts with Kernel, each Account already carries its own KERN ID.

The match becomes KERN ID equals KERN ID: exact, language-independent, and not thrown off by domain mismatches. `jane@acme-uk.com` and an Account whose website is `acme.com` stop mattering as text, because both resolve to the same KERN ID for Acme UK Ltd, and your Salesforce Flow links them.

### Why this beats Salesforce's native matcher

Salesforce compares strings: website to website, domain to email. When those strings disagree, it gives up. Kernel matches on identity. Two records share a KERN ID when they refer to the same real-world company, regardless of brand name, subsidiary domain, or rebranded URL.

We also filter personal email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and similar) before resolution, so a `jane@gmail.com` lead never gets treated as a company.

### What teams do with it

* Auto-link unconverted leads to the right Account in Salesforce, by joining on KERN ID inside their Flow.
* Tie lead-stage activity back to the right Account in account-based reporting.
* Suppress duplicate leads against open opportunities and existing customers before a rep sees them.
* Stop wasting enrichment on generic personal-domain leads.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Example.** A lead arrives from `jane@acme-uk.com`. Kernel identifies Acme UK Ltd and returns its KERN ID. Your Salesforce Account for Acme UK already carries the same KERN ID, because you enriched it with Kernel. Your Flow joins the two on that identifier and links the Lead to the Account. Salesforce's built-in matcher wouldn't, because the domains don't agree.
{% endhint %}

***

#### Two things to know

**Both sides need a KERN ID.** The join works when your existing Salesforce Accounts have also been enriched with Kernel. Without that, the lead has a KERN ID but nothing to join against.

**The match is on exact KERN ID, not across hierarchies.** A lead resolving to "Acme UK Ltd" and an Account resolving to "Acme Inc" (its global parent) carry different KERN IDs and won't auto-match today, even though they belong to the same corporate family. Hierarchy-aware matching is on the roadmap.


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