# Tune Smart Discovery

Turn Deepinfo's smart discovery and smart monitoring rules on or off, exclude seed assets and seed values, choose auto approval, and keep assets out of discovery for good.

Source: https://docs.deepinfo.com/guide/easm/discovery-settings/

Last updated: 2026-09-26

---
Discovery runs rules that look for assets related to yours and puts what they find in the
[Discovery](/guide/easm/discovery/) review list. Deepinfo manages the smart rules, and you can tune them: turn
them on or off, tell them what not to start from, and let them approve what they find. You can also keep
assets out of discovery altogether.

## Before You Start

- **Package:** External Attack Surface Management (EASM).
- **Role:** Admin or Member.
- These settings apply to discovery for your whole organization. To turn discovery on or off for a single
  asset, see [Tag, weight and configure assets](/guide/easm/asset-settings/).

## Where to Find It

**Sidebar:** **EXTERNAL ATTACK SURFACE MANAGEMENT** › **ASSETS** › **DISCOVERY** · **Tab:** **SETTINGS** · [https://platform.deepinfo.com/app/easm/discoveries/settings/smart-discovery](https://platform.deepinfo.com/app/easm/discoveries/settings/smart-discovery)

The **SETTINGS** tab has its own menu on the left:

- **Smart Discovery**: the rules Deepinfo runs for you (this page).
- **Custom Rules**: your own rules; see [Create custom discovery rules](/guide/easm/custom-discovery-rules/).
- **Other Settings**: the **Ignored Assets** list (this page), at
  [https://platform.deepinfo.com/app/easm/discoveries/settings/other-settings](https://platform.deepinfo.com/app/easm/discoveries/settings/other-settings).

## Concepts

- **Smart discovery rules** and **smart monitoring rules** are run and maintained by Deepinfo. Both put the
  assets they find in the Discovery review list. In that list, a bulb icon on a rule badge marks a smart rule.
- **Seed asset:** one of your assets that a rule starts from. An asset is used as a seed when discovery is
  enabled for it.
- **Seed value:** the input a rule started from when it found an asset. On the Discovery list, hover over a rule
  badge to see it.
- **Auto approval:** assets that a rule finds go straight into your inventory, without waiting for your review.

## Read the Smart Discovery Page

![Smart Discovery on the SMART DISCOVERY RULES tab with the tabs, the rules table and one expanded rule, numbered 1 to 3.](/img/guide/easm/discovery-settings-01.png)

1. **Tabs:** **SMART DISCOVERY RULES** and **SMART MONITORING RULES**.
2. **The rules table:**

   | Column | What it shows |
   |---|---|
   | **STATUS** | A switch, and **ACTIVE** when the rule runs |
   | **RULE NAME** | The rule |
   | **DISCOVERED ASSETS** | How many assets the rule has discovered |
   | (chevron) | Expands the rule's settings |

3. **An expanded rule** shows its excluded seed assets and seed values, **Auto Approval** and
   **Global Blacklist**, described below.

When this page was written, the smart rules were:

| Smart discovery rules | Smart monitoring rules |
|---|---|
| Same Whois Registrant Phone Rule | DNS A Records Smart Rule |
| Same DNS A Record (IP Address) Rule | SSL Certificate SANs Smart Rule |
| Same Whois Registrant Organization Rule | HTTP Redirection Follow Smart Rule |
| Subdomain Rule | DNS CNAME Record Smart Rule |
| Same SSL Certificate Rule | IP CIDR Smart Monitoring Rule |
| Same DNS MX Record (Mail Server) Rule | IP DNS PTR Record Smart Rule |
| Same DNS NS Record (Name Server) Rule | |
| Same SSL Subject Organization Rule | |
| Same Whois Name Server Rule | |
| Same Whois Registrant Email Rule | |
| Same Whois Registrant Apex Email Rule | |
| Same Whois Registrant Email (Historical) Rule | |

Deepinfo maintains these rules, so your list can differ.

## Change a Rule's Status

1. Select the rule's **STATUS** switch.
2. A **Confirmation** asks whether you want to activate or inactivate the rule. Select **ACTIVATE** or
   **INACTIVATE**.

The **STATUS** column then shows whether the rule is **ACTIVE** or **INACTIVE**.

## Exclude Seed Assets

If a rule finds unrelated assets because it starts from one of your assets, exclude that asset from the rule.

1. Expand the rule. Its excluded seed assets are listed under **EXCLUED SEED ASSETS** (the label is spelled
   this way on screen).
2. Select **MANAGE EXCLUDED SEED ASSETS**.
3. In **Manage Excluded Seed Assets**, find the asset under **YOUR ASSETS** (use **Search in your assets**) and
   move it to **EXCLUDED SEED ASSETS**. **YOUR ASSETS** lists your whole inventory.
4. Select **SAVE CHANGES** and confirm.

To take an asset off the list, select × on its chip under **EXCLUED SEED ASSETS** and confirm with **REMOVE**.

In this dialog, internationalized names appear in their punycode form (starting with `xn--`), not as they
appear in Inventory.

![The Manage Excluded Seed Assets dialog with the YOUR ASSETS list, the EXCLUDED SEED ASSETS list and SAVE CHANGES.](/img/guide/easm/discovery-settings-02.png)

## Exclude Seed Values

If a rule finds unrelated assets because of one seed value, exclude that value. Smart discovery rules have
this setting; smart monitoring rules do not.

1. Expand the rule and find **EXCLUED SEED VALUES**.
2. Select **+ MANAGE EXCLUDED SEED VALUES**.
3. In **Manage Excluded Seed Values**, enter the values, one per line.
4. Select **SAVE CHANGES**.

To find a seed value, hover over the rule's badge on an asset in the [Discovery](/guide/easm/discovery/) list.

## Approve a Rule's Findings Automatically

1. Expand the rule and select the **Auto Approval** switch. Its description explains that assets in the review
   list that match the rule are approved automatically.
2. The **Confirmation** asks whether you want to enable auto approval for the rule. Select **YES**, or
   **DISCARD** to leave it off.

Turning it off works the same way.

> [!CAUTION]
> Auto-approved assets go into your inventory without a review, and an approval cannot be undone from
> Discovery. To take such an asset out again, remove it; see
> [Remove and restore assets](/guide/easm/remove-and-restore-assets/). To find auto-approved assets, filter
> Inventory by **ASSET META** › **Creation Method**.

## Use the Global Blacklist

Deepinfo's data team maintains a global list of generic values and keeps it up to date. With it, a rule
ignores those values, which reduces false-positive discoveries.

1. Expand the rule and select the **Global Blacklist** switch.
2. Confirm with **YES**, or select **DISCARD**.

## Keep Assets Out of Discovery for Good

The **Ignored Assets** list on **Other Settings** holds domains, subdomains and IP addresses that never appear
in the discovered-asset lists, even when a rule finds them.

1. In the **SETTINGS** tab menu, select **Other Settings**.
2. Under **Ignored Assets**, enter the assets, one per line. Each line must be a domain, a subdomain or a
   public IPv4 address.
3. Select **SAVE CHANGES**. It is available once you have changed the list.

![Other Settings in the Discovery SETTINGS tab with the empty Ignored Assets field and SAVE CHANGES.](/img/guide/easm/discovery-settings-03.png)

## Good to Know

- Rule switches, **Auto Approval** and **Global Blacklist** always ask for confirmation before they change.
- **SAVE CHANGES** stays unavailable until you change something in its dialog or form.
- To dismiss a single candidate rather than keep an asset out for good, you can also ignore it in the Discovery
  list; see [Review discovered assets](/guide/easm/discovery/).

## Do This With the API

- List the smart discovery rules: [Asset Discovery Smart Discovery Rule List](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-smart-discovery-rule-list/)
- Tune a smart discovery rule: [Asset Discovery Smart Discovery Rule Update](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-smart-discovery-rule-update/)
- List the smart monitoring rules: [Asset Discovery Smart Monitoring Rule List](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-smart-monitoring-rule-list/)
- Tune a smart monitoring rule: [Asset Discovery Smart Monitoring Rule Update](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-smart-monitoring-rule-update/)
- Read the Ignored Assets list: [Asset Discovery Settings Detail](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-settings-detail/)
- Replace the Ignored Assets list: [Asset Discovery Settings Update](/reference/easm/asset-discovery-settings-update/)