Differences Between Roles and Contacts

Overview

MaiAgent provides two permission setting methods: Contact-based and Role-based, supporting enterprises to precisely control knowledge base access permissions in different scenarios.

Contact

A storage system in MaiAgent that synchronizes user information and creates Contact IDs to identify user conversation information.

To learn more about contact information, please refer to 🌐Contact Introduction and Integration↗

Without Contact name setting: Users default to anonymous

Role

Roles with permissions to edit AI assistant backend settings can be pre-defined within the enterprise, such as customer service representatives, administrative staff, interns, etc. Organizations can pre-establish permissions and reference databases for roles, allowing organization members to directly apply settings based on their needs by selecting roles.

Role user basic information display

I. Permission Method Comparison

AI Assistant embedding screen

Comparison Items	Contact-based	Role-based
🎯 Applicable Scenarios	External users, System integration	Internal users, Organization management
👤 MaiAgent Registration	❌ No registration required	✅ Registration and organization joining required
📋 Creation Method	System automatic or manual creation	Pre-defined role templates
🔄 Update Mechanism	Dynamic user information synchronization	Static role permission settings
🎯 Purpose	Identify user conversation information	Apply default permission settings, manage AI assistant backend permissions
👥 Target Users	External visitors, Members	Internal employees, Organization members
⚙️ Management Method	Managed through API integration	Managed through backend role management
📊 Permission Control	Dynamic control based on Contact ID	Static control based on Role

Typical Application Scenarios

Contact-based Scenarios: Suitable for scenarios requiring clear role division and permission definition

• Corporate Website: Visitors receive different product information based on identity

• Member Center: Access corresponding service content based on membership level

• Customer Service Center: Provide differentiated support based on customer type

Role-based Scenarios

• Internal Operations: Employees handle work based on department roles

• Customer Service Team: Access knowledge base according to responsibilities

• Management Level: Content review and maintenance based on permissions

Comprehensive Usage Strategy

External operations (where user identity clarity is not required) are suitable for Contact-based management

Internal operations (requiring clear permission division / multiple members using same permissions) are suitable for Role-based management

Contact and Role authorization usage recommendations