Salesforce Certified Pardot Consultant Practice Exam

Do automation rules in Pardot "un-match" prospects when they no longer meet the criteria?

1. Yes, they automatically adjust

2. No, they keep the previous match

3. Only upon manual review

4. They log the change

The correct answer is: No, they keep the previous match

The functionality of automation rules in Pardot is designed to maintain the integrity of the prospect's status even if they subsequently no longer meet the defined criteria. When automation rules are set, they evaluate prospects based on the conditions specified at the time of their matching. If a prospect has matched the criteria initially, they will retain that match indefinitely unless the automation rule itself is modified to remove or add new criteria. This design allows marketers to segment their audience effectively without worrying that changing behaviors or attributes will automatically un-match them. Therefore, even if a prospect's actions or attributes change, the previous match is preserved, allowing businesses to reference historical data and behavior insights. This is particularly important for long-term marketing strategies and relationship building with prospects. For effective automation, it may be necessary to use other features in Pardot, such as completion actions or other rules, to manage updates or changes to prospect statuses, but the automation rules on their own do not automatically revert or update matches based solely on shifting against criteria.