> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://getkontext.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contexts & Actors

> The two dimensions that shape how a Problem should be understood — who encounters it, and in what situation.

## Actors

An **Actor** is whoever — or whatever — encounters a [Problem](/concepts/problems). It could be a person, a role, or even a part of the system like an AI agent or an automated workflow.

The key idea is that different Actors have different perspectives on the same [Problem](/concepts/problems). What frustrates a product manager may not concern the CEO — they operate in the same environment but see the [Problem](/concepts/problems) through a different lens. Actors capture this difference in appetite and perspective.

This is close to the concept of personas, but deliberately broader. Actors aren't marketing segments — they're the entities that hit a wall and can't progress the way they should or could.

**Examples of Actors:**

* Store Manager
* End User
* Founder / CEO
* API Consumer
* Delivery Driver
* AI Agent

Actors are detected automatically from [Feedback](/concepts/feedback) content. You can also define them upfront in the Workbench to guide the analysis pipeline.

## Contexts

A **Context** is the environment or situation in which your [Product](/quickstart#2-create-a-product) is being used. It's the circumstances that change what a [Problem](/concepts/problems) means and what the right solution looks like.

Contexts are deliberately not called "companies" or "segments" because not every product slices its audience that way. For a B2B product, Contexts might be company types — an enterprise team, an early-stage startup, a regulated industry. For a B2C product, Contexts are pure situations — commuting, studying, relaxing at home.

<Tip>
  What matters is the situation, not who you are — that's the Actor's job. Having these as distinct dimensions is precisely what lets you combine them: "Onboarding is confusing" means something very different from an enterprise team with dedicated IT than from a solo founder signing up on their phone — same [Problem](/concepts/problems), different Context, different solution.
</Tip>

**Examples of Contexts:**

* Large enterprise with dedicated IT
* Early-stage startup
* Regulated industry (healthcare, finance)
* Commuting / on the go
* Multi-location retail chain
* First-time trial

Contexts are detected automatically from [Feedback](/concepts/feedback) content. Like Actors, you can define them upfront to guide the analysis pipeline toward the dimensions you care about.

## Why both matter

A [Problem](/concepts/problems) without an Actor or Context is just a data point. A [Problem](/concepts/problems) qualified by *who* encounters it and *in what situation* is something you can act on — because you know what the right solution looks like for that specific combination.

This is what [Contextualizations](/concepts/contextualizations) are: a [Problem](/concepts/problems) viewed through a specific Actor, Context, or both.