Assigning conversations to agents

Assigning conversations to the right person is one of the simplest ways to keep your support queue organized and your response times low. When every conversation has a clear owner, nothing slips through the cracks and customers get faster, more informed replies. Below you'll find step-by-step instructions for both manual and team assignment, along with tips to help you get the most out of this feature.

Manual assignment

Manual assignment lets you hand a specific conversation to an individual agent. Ideal when a request needs particular expertise or follow-up from someone already familiar with the customer.

1. Open the conversation you want to assign.
2. Locate the Assigned Agent dropdown in the conversation details panel.
3. Click the dropdown, then search for the agent by name.
4. Select the agent. The conversation will immediately appear in that agent's personal queue.

The assigned agent will receive a notification so they can pick up the conversation right away.

Team assignment

You can also assign conversations to a team rather than an individual agent. This is useful when you want a group. Such as billing, technical support, or shipping. To collectively own a conversation. Any member of the assigned team can then pick it up or reassign it as needed.

1. Open the conversation.
2. In the conversation details panel, look for the Assigned Team option.
3. Select the appropriate team from the list.

Tip: You can assign both a team and an individual agent to the same conversation. This keeps the conversation visible in the team's queue while giving one agent primary responsibility.

Reassigning or unassigning

Need to change ownership? Simply open the same dropdown and choose a different agent or team. To remove an assignment entirely, clear the current selection. The conversation will return to the unassigned queue, where any available agent can claim it.

Best practices

• Assign early: The sooner a conversation has an owner, the less likely it is to be overlooked.
• Match expertise: Route technical questions to technical agents and order-related queries to your e-commerce team for quicker resolutions.
• Monitor unassigned conversations: Regularly check the unassigned queue to ensure no customer is left waiting.
• Keep teams focused: Create dedicated teams for recurring request types so conversations are organized by topic from the start.

Frequently asked questions

Can an agent assign a conversation to themselves?

Yes. An agent can open any unassigned conversation and select their own name from the Assigned Agent dropdown to claim it.

Will the customer see who is assigned?

No. Assignment is an internal workflow detail. Customers will see the agent's name only when that agent sends a reply, based on your account's display settings.

What happens if the assigned agent is unavailable?

The conversation stays in their queue until it is reassigned. If you notice an agent is offline or on leave, reassign their open conversations to another agent or team to avoid delays.