In plain language
If a table is a spreadsheet, a record is one row; most automations create, find, or update records.
Example
A new Shopify order creates one order record in Airtable with the customer, items, and total.
Related terms
Field · Deduplication · Source of Truth · CRM
Common misconception
Two records with the same name are not necessarily the same item; matching should rely on a unique ID or a reliable key such as email.
Implementation guidance
Give every record a stable unique ID, store the source system’s ID on synced records, and search before creating to avoid duplicates.