What occurs if two fields are set for coalescing and only one field finds a matching value?

When two fields are designated for coalescing in ServiceNow, the coalescing setting is used to determine how records are merged or updated based on matching values in specified fields. If only one of the coalescing fields finds a matching value, the system does not see a unique match and interprets this as a situation where there’s no definitive expectation to update the existing record. Instead, the process results in the creation of a new record.

In the context of coalescing, the operation performs a search for existing records using the specified fields. If it identifies a match for only one of the coalescing fields, the algorithm does not fulfill the criteria necessary to update the current record (as that would require a unique match for all coalescing fields). As a result, a new record is created instead. This ensures that data integrity is maintained by avoiding conflicts and potential overwriting of data when there is ambiguity in the matching process.

In contrast, if both fields had found a matching value, then an update would typically occur on the existing record. However, since only one field matched, the system defaults to inserting a new record to maintain the separation of data.