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Overlap detection and supporting existing ideas

When you start writing a new idea, Sparqbox checks the workspace for ideas that look similar. If it finds any, it shows them in a panel below the title field so you can decide whether to keep going or support an existing one.

When the panel appears

Section titled “When the panel appears”

The overlap panel appears when your title reaches three characters. The system waits a fraction of a second after you stop typing, then queries the workspace for similar ideas. Up to five matches are shown.

Each row shows:

  • The reference number, like IDEA-2026-0042.
  • The idea title.
  • A status pill (in_review, scored, approved, and so on).
  • A same category indicator if the existing idea is in the same category you've picked.
  • A similarity indicator.

What you can do

Section titled “What you can do”

The panel is informational; it never blocks you from submitting your own idea. You have two paths:

Keep submitting your own

Section titled “Keep submitting your own”

If your idea is genuinely different, ignore the panel and continue. Submitters often add their own framing or use case that the existing idea didn't cover.

Support an existing idea instead

Section titled “Support an existing idea instead”

If one of the listed ideas is close to yours, you can support it instead of duplicating it.

  1. Click the row of the idea you want to support.
  2. A confirmation dialog opens. You can write an optional support note explaining why you're supporting it, for example "I'm running into the same problem in my team".
  3. Click Support. You're redirected to that idea's detail page.

One support per user per idea. If you've already supported the idea, the button is disabled.

When the panel is empty

Section titled “When the panel is empty”

Sometimes the panel doesn't show anything. The most common reasons:

  • Your title isn't unique enough yet, keep writing, the panel updates as you type.
  • Your workspace is new and there aren't enough ideas to compare against.
  • The system hit a temporary issue running the similarity check.

If the panel is empty, just submit normally. Overlap detection is best-effort; the workflow is never blocked by it.

What "similar" means here

Section titled “What "similar" means here”

The system uses semantic similarity, not keyword matching. Two ideas can be flagged as similar even if they use very different words, as long as the meaning is close. In practice:

  • "Reduce email noise in my team" and "Stop notifying us for every status change" will likely match.
  • "Improve onboarding" and "Add a tutorial to the dashboard" might match.
  • "Reduce email noise" and "Buy a new coffee machine" will not match.

Don't think of it as a duplicate detector. Think of it as a "you might want to look at these first" prompt.

What's next

Section titled “What's next”

Glossary

Glossary defines supporter, reference number, and other terms used here.