# External roles, super users and role optimization

*Experience Cloud Consultant Study Guide · Sharing, Visibility, and Licensing · Last updated October 24, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/experience-cloud-consultant/sharing-visibility-and-licensing/external-roles-super-users-and-role-optimization*

How partner and customer account roles are created under the account owner's role, what the number-of-roles setting changes, how account role optimization assigns a shared person role and when it creates account roles, how to stay under the 50,000-role allocation, and how Partner and Portal Super User access differ.

- Certification: Salesforce Experience Cloud Consultant
- Exam section: Sharing, Visibility, and Licensing
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/experience-cloud-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Describe roles for external users.

## What the exam expects

- Describe how partner and customer roles are created for an account and where they sit in the role hierarchy.
- Explain what changing the number of partner or customer roles affects, and what deleting a partner role does.
- Describe account role optimization (ARO): the shared person role, what happens when a second role-based user is activated, and its limits.
- Keep an org under the external role allocation with ARO and role clean-up.
- Choose between Partner Super User access and the Portal Super User permission.

Key terms: **account roles** (the 1-3 roles created per account, User, Manager and Executive); **number of roles** (the Digital Experiences setting for 1-3 customer or partner roles); **shared person role** (one role ARO assigns to the only role-based user on an account); **role-based user** (a Customer Community Plus or Partner Community user, who must hold a role); **super user** (an external user who sees peers' and subordinates' records).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| When account roles are created | First external user enabled on the account; 1-3 per setting | [Roles automatically created for accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005167124&language=en_US&type=1) |
| Number-of-roles change | Doesn't affect existing accounts | [Partner User Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_partner_roles_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Deleting a middle role | Executive renamed to Manager; object ID unchanged | [Partner User Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_partner_roles_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Account owner change | Partner roles move under the new owner's role | [Partner User Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_partner_roles_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| ARO second user | Default number of roles created; all get the lowest role | [Optimize Account Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.networks_partners_optimize_roles.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| ARO setting | Sharing Settings > Minimize the number of roles created | [Optimize Account Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.networks_partners_optimize_roles.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Role allocation | 50,000 roles for role-based external users | [Optimize Account Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.networks_partners_optimize_roles.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| ARO and external account hierarchies | Incompatible | [External Account Hierarchies Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.exp_cloud_setup_ext_acc_hierarchy_settings.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Partner super user scope | Cases, leads, custom objects, opportunities | [Grant Portal Super User Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_customer_super_user_access.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Customer Community Plus super user | Portal Super User permission in a permission set | [Grant Portal Super User Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_customer_super_user_access.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why do partner roles follow the account owner when ownership changes?
- When does ARO stop using the shared person role for an account?
- When a middle partner role is deleted, why does the role above it change its name?
- What must be on before a partner contact can be given super user access, and where is it then granted?

## Sources

- [Partner User Roles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_partner_roles_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Optimize Account Roles to Improve Performance and Scale](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.networks_partners_optimize_roles.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Grant Portal Super User Access to Partner and Customer Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_customer_super_user_access.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Considerations When Creating Partner Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=platform.exp_cloud_partner_create_considerations.htm&type=5)
- [Experience Cloud: Roles automatically created for accounts when enabling external users (customer or partner)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005167124&language=en_US&type=1)
- [Sharing Considerations for Using Account Role Optimization in Experience Cloud Sites](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.networks_partners_optimize_roles_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [External Account Hierarchies Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.exp_cloud_setup_ext_acc_hierarchy_settings.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0)
- [Create Experience Cloud Site Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_create_external_users.htm&language=en_US&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 9 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Experience Cloud Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams