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KnowledgeBase
Understanding Sharing Rules: When and Why to Use Them
What are Sharing Rules?#
By default, every user in AI Engage CRM sees only the records within their own branch of the role hierarchy. A Sales Manager sees their own contacts and those of their Sales Representatives. Marketing sees only Marketing records. That boundary is intentional — it keeps everyone focused on their own data.
Sharing Rules let you break that boundary in a controlled way. A rule says: "take these records and grant this other group access to them." They extend visibility without changing anyone's role or profile.
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Sharing Rules only add access — they never restrict it. If a user already has access through their role, a sharing rule cannot take that away.
When do you need a Sharing Rule?#
You need a sharing rule whenever one group needs to see another group's records, but they are in separate branches of the role hierarchy. Common scenarios:
- Marketing needs Contact records owned by Sales — to build campaign segments from the full customer base
- Customer Success needs to see Deals closed by Sales — to know what was promised before they take over the account
- A Regional Director sits outside the normal hierarchy — but needs to see records from two separate sales branches
- Support agents need to see each other's contacts — even though they are in different teams
- Finance needs to see all Deals above a certain value — regardless of who owns them
The two types of Sharing Rule#
Owner-Based#
An owner-based rule shares records based on who owns them. You pick a source — a specific user, a role, or a team — and all records owned by that source get shared with the target group.
Example: Share all Contacts owned by the Sales Team with the Marketing Manager role at Read Only access.
Criteria-Based#
A criteria-based rule shares records based on field values — regardless of who owns them. You define up to 5 conditions and any record that matches is shared with the target group.
Example: Share all Deals where Amount is greater than 50,000 with the Finance role at Read Only access.
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If the access you need follows a clear ownership pattern ("Sales Manager's records → Marketing"), use an Owner-Based rule. If it depends on a field value ("Deals > $50,000"), use a Criteria-Based rule.
Access levels#
Every sharing rule grants one of three access levels to the recipient:
Access Level What the recipient can do Read OnlyView the record. Cannot edit or delete. Read / WriteView and edit the record. Cannot delete. Read / Write / DeleteView, edit, and delete the record.⚠️
Access Level works within the recipient's Profile permissions. If their profile does not grant Edit on the module, a Read/Write rule has no effect beyond read access. Profiles set the ceiling — sharing rules work within it.
Allow Superiors#
Each rule has an optional Allow Superiors toggle. When turned on, any user whose role sits higher in the role hierarchy than the "Shared To" target automatically receives the same access — without being listed explicitly.
Example: You share Contacts with the Sales Representative role. If Allow Superiors is on, the Sales Manager (who is above Sales Representative in the hierarchy) also gets access through this rule.
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Allow Superiors is off by default. Turn it on only when you want senior roles to automatically inherit the access this rule grants to their subordinates.
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Ready to create your first rule? See the step-by-step guide: Create Sharing Rules: Control Cross-Team Data Access Step by Step
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