---
title: "Linked Defects and Duplicate Detection"
slug: "linked-defects-and-duplicate-detection"
updated: 2026-08-27T10:58:28Z
published: 2026-08-27T10:58:28Z
canonical: "success.panaya.com/linked-defects-and-duplicate-detection"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://success.panaya.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Linked Defects and Duplicate Detection

Linked Defects help teams understand how defects are connected across a project and reduce duplicate investigation effort. You can manually link defects as **Duplicate** or **Related**, or use Panaya's AI-powered duplicate detection to identify defects that may describe the same issue.

Linked defect relationships are bidirectional. When you link one defect to another, the relationship is visible from both defects.

**Good to Know!** Linked defects are informational and do not affect defect status, workflow, hierarchy, or test execution.

## AI-Powered Duplicate Detection

When similar issues are reported more than once, identifying duplicates manually can take time. Panaya's AI-powered duplicate detection analyzes existing project defects and surfaces the most relevant potential matches for review.

1. Select **Detect duplicates** from the Linked defects tab to search for potential duplicate defects.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/f404076c-de23-4609-848e-2dfd4ef701b0/Images/Documentation/image-ESDK3XBK.png)

1. Panaya analyzes existing project defects and presents possible matches in the **Potential duplicates** dialog.

Suggested defects are shown with a similarity level: **High, Medium, or Low**.

Review the suggested defects, select the relevant candidates, and click **Confirm** to link them as duplicates. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/f404076c-de23-4609-848e-2dfd4ef701b0/Images/Documentation/image-667VE4IY.png)

**Good to Know!** AI-generated suggestions are intended to assist defect review. Review each suggestion before confirming that the defects are duplicates.

## Link Defects Manually

Use manual linking when you already know that two defects are connected. You can classify the relationship as **Duplicate** when both defects describe the same issue, or **Related** when the defects are connected but represent different issues.

1. Open the relevant defect and select the **Linked defects** tab![](https://cdn.document360.io/f404076c-de23-4609-848e-2dfd4ef701b0/Images/Documentation/image-NPGTFLTZ.png)
2. Select **Link defects manually** to connect the defect to an existing defect.
3. Select the link type and click OK.
  - **Duplicate** - use when two defects describe the same issue.
  - **Related** - use when defects are connected but represent different issues. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/f404076c-de23-4609-848e-2dfd4ef701b0/Images/Documentation/image-O39LUAPN.png)