docs(clay-ads): add FAQ comparing Enhanced Match vs Hashed Email waterfall

[george-dilthey]

What changed

Added a new FAQ entry to docs/clay-ads.md — "When should I use Enhanced Match vs the Hashed Email for Ads waterfall?" — explaining when to use Audiences Enhanced Match vs the table-based waterfall for hashed email enrichment for ad campaigns.

Why

Intercom conversation #215475750924948: Ashley Viagas (Adverity, Enterprise) asked "what's best practice when it comes to enriching hashed emails? Is it via a clay table or audiences, and why?" Fin didn't respond — the conversation was routed directly to a human (Kashif Jeelani), who gave a substantive answer. clay-ads.md had separate FAQs for how Enhanced Match works and how the Hashed Email for Ads waterfall works, but no FAQ answered the customer's direct question of which approach to use and why. Open PRs #2406 and #2363 also touch clay-ads.md but neither covers this comparison: #2406 adds an intent-based targeting workflow that mentions both options in passing (step 5 of 6) but does not explain when to choose one over the other; #2363 adds a FAQ about sending a workbook people list to ads and does not mention hashed email enrichment at all.

Source link(s)

• Intercom conversation: https://app.intercom.com/a/apps/w28k1kwz/conversations/215475750924948
• Slack thread (human reply): https://clay-hq.slack.com/archives/C0BN1NZAEDS/p1788337685725259?thread_ts=1788336865.598239&cid=C0BN1NZAEDS
• Verifier evidence (all 6 claims PASS):
  • Enhanced Match feature exists in Ads surface: public-actions/apps/ads/actions/smart-match/action-definition.ts:14 — displayName: 'Enhanced Matching'; libs/shared/src/ActionDefinitions.ts:622
  • Up to 3 hashed emails, automatic multi-provider: public-actions/apps/ads/utils/smart-match.ts — selectSmartMatchResult calls providers in parallel via Promise.all, hard cap at 3 via selectDiversifiedCandidates
  • Stores results between syncs: apps/api/v3/ad-audiences/domain/utils.ts:436-458 — buildSkipEnrichmentFormula with skipIfAlreadyEnriched: true; hashed emails stored as hashed_email_1/2/3 Audience fields at libs/api-contract/src/audiences/lib/default-fields.ts:384-386
  • Scales beyond 50k table limit: apps/frontend/src/components/Audiences/AudiencesCommandCenterSidebar/Exports/ExportAudienceToWorkbookModal.tsx:38 — MAX_EXPORT_ROWS = 50_000 is a Clay tables/workbook export limit; Enhanced Match runs within Audiences directly
  • Enhanced Match only accessible within Ads surface: public-actions/apps/ads/actions/smart-match/action-definition.ts:28 — isPublic: false; only invoked by apps/api/v3/ad-audiences/services/bulk-enrichment.service.ts:181
  • Vector and ContactLevel are public table alternatives: public-actions/apps/vector/actions/vector-find-hashed-emails/action-definition.ts and public-actions/apps/contactlevel/actions/contactlevel-find-hashed-emails/action-definition.ts — both isPublic: true

Uncertainties

None. All product-behavior claims verified by the verifier sub-agent (all PASS).

Related observations

• The audiences.md "Enhanced Matching (Beta)" section at line 583 still says "contact your Growth Strategist to enable it for your workspace," but the verifier found the feature is live and in active customer use across Growth and Enterprise plans. The beta framing in that section may be stale — out of scope for this PR.
• Open PRs docs(clay-ads): add intent-based Director+ ad targeting workflow #2406 and docs(clay-ads): add FAQ for sending a Find People workbook list to an ad platform #2363 also touch clay-ads.md on non-overlapping topics (intent-based targeting workflow and workbook→ads export FAQ respectively); reviewer should reconcile at merge time.
• Open PRs docs(clay-ads): add EEA consent, platform fields, delete-recreate behavior, match rate clarification #2251, docs(clay-ads-compliance-best-practices): add exclusion FAQ, hashing FAQ, two best-practice bullets, update subtitle #2289, docs(clay-ads): clarify Enterprise has unlimited active recurring ad syncs #2218, docs(clay-ads): add Audience size glossary entry, update Match rate definition, add match rate vs audience size FAQ #2286, docs(clay-ads): add audience size glossary entry and match rate vs audience size FAQ #2287, docs(clay-ads): explain Ad sync vs Legacy ad sync difference #2256, docs(clay-ads): add FAQ for Meta Custom Audience Terms of Service error #2110 also touch clay-ads.md on distinct topics; reviewer should reconcile at merge time.

Closes DOC-2279

[linear-code]

DOC-2279