Models are the top-level containers you work with in Ontology — the screen where you create, browse, share, and delete every data model in your workspace, and the entry point into each model's own workspace of entities, sources, and golden records.

Overview

Ontology is the platform's master-data-management surface, and models are how it's organized. A model holds the entities you define (for example Customer, Product, or Account), the fields and relationships on those entities, the sources you connect to feed it data, and the quality, matching, and survivorship rules that consolidate incoming records into golden records — single, authoritative versions of each business record. You'll find the models list in the sidebar under AI Ontology & Data › Ontology.

Creating a Model

Select New Model to open the "Get started with a new model" dialog. You'll need to provide a Name (required) and can optionally add a Description to give teammates context on what the model is for, along with the workspace or project it belongs to.

If your workspace doesn't have any models yet, you'll see an empty state instead of a list — Create Your First Model — which walks through what a model gives you (defining structure, standardizing data, and governance) and offers the same New Model button to get started.

Managing the Models List

The models list is searchable and sorted with the newest models first. Selecting any row opens that model's workspace. Each row surfaces the following information:

Two more columns — Created On and Last Updated By — are hidden by defaUlt but can be turned on from the columns menu. Once you show or hide them, your choice is remembered. These same audit columns are available across the other Ontology lists too, including entities, match rules, sources, records, access control, and data sync.

Editing, Sharing, and Deleting a Model

Open a row's action menu to manage an individual model:

• Edit — rename the model or change its description.

• Share — grant other users or groups access to the model.

• Delete — permanently remove the model.

Each action only appears if you hold the matching permission on that specific model, so you may see a different set of actions than a colleague looking at the same list. Deleting a model asks you to confirm first:

"Are you sure you want to delete the model '…'? This action cannot be undone."

Model Workspace Layout

Opening a model takes you into its own workspace, with a left navigation grouped by stage of work. The intended flow runs roughly top to bottom: model the data, sync it in, then review the results.

Permissions and Access

Creating anything inside a model — a source, an entity, a relationship, a field (via Add Field or Import Fields), a match rule, or a data quality rule — requires Edit access to the model itself. If you don't have it, the corresponding New … or Add … button simply won't appear, whether in a screen's header or in its empty state before the first item exists.

This is a separate check from the model-level Edit, Share, and Delete row actions on the models list. Both are gated the same way — each action only shows up if you hold that permission — but the row actions check access to the model as a whole, while actions inside a model's workspace check access to the model you're currently working in.

Notes

• A model with no edits since it was created shows a dash in Last Updated rather than a date — hover it to confirm.

• Column visibility choices (for example showing Created On) are remembered per list and apply consistently across the other Ontology lists.

• Deleting a model cannot be undone, so double-check you have the right row before confirming.

• Missing a New … or Add … button inside a model almost always means you're missing Edit access to that model — check with whoever manages sharing on it.