[GTM glossary](/glossary.md) Enrichment API

Data & Enrichment

# Enrichment API

Also known as: data enrichment API

In short

An enrichment API is an interface that lets software send a partial record, such as an email address or company domain, and receive more fields in response. It allows enrichment to run inside your own product, form, or pipeline.

Compared with a manual CSV upload, an API supports automation and real-time use. Compared with a native integration, it requires engineering work but gives full control over when and how data is requested.

## How a typical call works

* **Request:** Your system sends a key such as email or domain, along with an authentication token.
* **Matching:** The provider looks for the record and decides how confident it is.
* **Response:** Fields come back in a structured format, often JSON, with a status or confidence value.

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## What to check before building

### Inputs and match rate

Find out which keys the API accepts and test with a sample of your own records to see how many come back with data.

### Limits and cost

Check rate limits, pricing per call, and whether you pay for empty results. These shape how you design retries and batching.

### Error handling

Plan for timeouts, partial matches, and no match. Your code should fail safely and not overwrite good data with blanks.

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## Common use cases

* **Form enrichment:** Fill company and title when a visitor submits an email.
* **CRM sync:** Enrich new records as they are created.
* **Product signup:** Route new signups by company size automatically.

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## Example

Say a signup form collects only a work email. Your backend calls an enrichment API with that email, receives company size and industry, and sends enterprise-sized signups to sales while others stay in a self-serve flow.

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## Common mistakes

* **Calling on every event:** Cache results and avoid repeat calls for the same record.
* **Overwriting data blindly:** Use rules for which source wins.
* **Skipping privacy review:** Check what personal data you store. This is general information, not legal advice.

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## Enrichment API FAQs

**What is an enrichment API?**

An enrichment API is an interface that lets software send a partial record, such as an email or domain, and get more data back in response. It lets you enrich records automatically inside your own forms, products, or pipelines.

**How does an enrichment API work?**

Your system sends a request with a key like email or company domain and an authentication token. The provider matches it, and returns structured fields, often as JSON, along with a status or confidence value you can use in your code.

**What is the difference between an enrichment API and a native integration?**

A native integration is prebuilt and configured in a tool without code. An enrichment API needs engineering work, but it gives you control over when data is requested, how errors are handled, and where results are stored.

**What should you test before using an enrichment API?**

Test it on a sample of your own records to measure match rate and accuracy. Also check rate limits, pricing per call, how it handles no match, and how it behaves on timeouts, so your code does not overwrite good data.

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## More related phrases

* [Lead enrichment tools](/glossary/lead-enrichment-tools.md)
* [Native integration](/glossary/native-integration.md)
* [Data pipeline](/glossary/data-pipeline.md)

## Similar phrases

* [Real-time enrichment](/glossary/real-time-enrichment.md)  
Real-time enrichment adds firmographic and contact data to a record the moment it is created or requested, so routing, scoring, and outreach start with complete information.
* [API (API)](/glossary/api.md)  
An API (application programming interface) lets one software system request data or actions from another in a defined format, powering integrations between GTM tools.
* [Custom API integration](/glossary/custom-api-integration.md)  
A custom API integration is a purpose-built connection, coded against two systems’ APIs, that moves data between them according to your own business rules when off-the-shelf connectors fall short.
* [Webhooks](/glossary/webhooks.md)  
Webhooks are automated messages one application sends to another the moment an event happens, letting GTM tools share data in real time without constant polling.
* [Match rate](/glossary/match-rate.md)  
Match rate is the percentage of records you submit to a data tool that it successfully identifies and returns data for, and it is the first number to check when comparing enrichment sources.