An investigator may already exist in your workspace, even if they submit a new application.
The conversion dialog checks possible duplicate records by name, email, or phone. It can show Staff, Vendor, Client Account, and Client Contact matches. Use Open to inspect a candidate record before deciding. A shared name alone does not establish that two records belong to the same person.
Some matches are marked warning only and cannot be linked for the selected conversion type. A client or contact match does not make applicant-to-client conversion available. Applicant conversion supports staff/employee and vendor routes.
Linking associates the application with an existing record; do not assume it resets that person's existing access or replaces every existing profile value. Review the destination after conversion.