Setting up notification routing for messaging

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<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you've turned on omnichannel routing, you'll manage notification settings in Admin Center. Omnichannel settings override the settings described in this article. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5866925319962" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Turning on omnichannel routing</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4828787357210" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Managing your omnichannel routing configuration</a> for more information.</div>
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<p class="p">You can specify how agents are notified about incoming web or mobile messaging requests with Chat routing settings. These settings are accessed from the Chat dashboard.</p>
<p class="p">You can also specify how long a messaging conversation can go without input from an end user before it is considered inactive, which can impact <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4776409839770" rel="noopener" target="_blank">agent capacity</a> and ticket status. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7043034053658" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Automatically releasing agent capacity for messaging conversations</a>.</p>
<p class="p">This article includes the following topics:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ybr_34p_f5__ul_hrp_kdb_pmb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_nzf_pdb_pmb">Understanding and configuring basic notification routing options</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_dlr_wt1_q5">Configuring chat limits</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_u3c_rrn_mpb">Understanding Assigned notification routing behavior</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wyd_vy1_q5">Configuring additional settings for Assigned routing</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Understanding and configuring basic notification routing options</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">There are two options for how notifications for incoming web and mobile messaging requests are sent to your agents:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb__ul_cy1_kpp_f5">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Broadcast</strong>: All agents are notified of all incoming requests, and the agent clicks <strong class="ph b">Serve Request</strong> to start serving the request. This is the default setting. It cannot be used for messaging with <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" rel="noopener" target="_blank">omnichannel routing</a>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong>: Online agents are evenly notified of incoming requests, so only one agent is notified of each incoming request at any time.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Requests are added to a queue in chronological order, based on time of ticket creation. Incoming requests received while agents are offline are sent to the Unassigned tickets view or the agent’s Group view. Offline requests can be assigned to agents as part of triaging, or they can be manually picked up by agents themselves.</p>
<p class="p">In the Zendesk Agent Workspace, incoming messaging request notifications appear in the top-right corner of the workspace, in the Accept button.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb__image_mmh_jht_lpb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_social_message_accept_button.png"></p>
<div class="note important">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> Messaging users <em class="ph i">must</em> make sure Chat departments are enabled for notification routing rules to work. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894143898#topic_mfr_wyk_4fb" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Creating and editing a Chat department</a> for information on updating department settings.</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To configure the notification routing method for your account</strong>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb__ol_gnc_v4p_f5">
<li class="li">From the Chat dashboard, select <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the Chat Routing section, select a notification routing method.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb__image_hpv_v3b_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_method.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Configuring notification limits</h2>
<div class="body" id="body_gvj_3y1_q5">
<div class="p">Notification limits allow you to cap the number of notifications assigned or broadcast to each agent, based on an agent's workload. You can adjust these limits to help your agents better manage the volume or complexity of service requests.
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you've turned on omnichannel routing, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4776409839770" rel="noopener" target="_blank">capacity rules</a> override any limits set here for messaging.</div>
</div>
<p class="p">An agent's workload is determined by the number of messaging requests assigned to them. A request is considered active if it has received a response in the past 10 minutes. Admins can modify the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7043034053658" rel="noopener" target="_blank">messaging inactivitiy period</a> as needed.</p>
<div class="p">The way the limit works depends on your routing method:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__ul_mkf_yt1_q5">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Broadcast:</strong> When agents are at the specified limit, they will no longer be notified of incoming requests and will not be able to serve requests through the Serve Request button.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong>: Agents will be routed incoming requests only up to their notification limit.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="p">You can apply these limits at the account or agent level:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__ul_itr_dh4_q5">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Account</strong>: Sets one limit that applies to all agents in your account.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Agent</strong>: Notification limits are configured in each agent's profile. You can specify that only admins can edit agent limits, or allow agents to set their own limits.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Even if all agents are at their limits, visitors can still submit messaging requests, which are then queued until an agent becomes available.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To activate notification limits</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__ol_rkm_f51_q5">
<li class="li">From the Chat dashboard, select <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Next to Chat limit, select <strong class="ph b">On</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Next to Apply to, select <strong class="ph b">Account</strong> or <strong class="ph b">Agent</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">If you selected <strong class="ph b">Account</strong>, enter a value in the Maximum chats field.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__image_ucx_x3b_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/routing_chatlimit_account3.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you selected <strong class="ph b">Agent</strong>, limits are configured in each agent's profile:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__ul_w14_1x1_q5">
<li class="li">With the <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing method, select the <strong class="ph b">Personal Limits</strong> check box that appears for agents to set their own notification limits in their profiles.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__image_hgc_z3b_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_chatlimit_agent_assigned.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you're using the <strong class="ph b">Broadcast</strong> routing method or using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> but don't select the <strong class="ph b">Personal Limits</strong> check box, set a limit for each agent's profile. Select an agent to edit under <strong class="ph b">Manage</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Agents</strong> and enter a value in the Chat limit field.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__image_dh5_kh4_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_chatlimit_editagentprofile.png"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save Changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_u3c_rrn_mpb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Understanding Assigned notification routing behavior</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">When Assigned routing is activated, incoming messaging notifications are routed as follows:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_u3c_rrn_mpb__ul_m3h_rkh_m5b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">First, the incoming request is assigned to the agent currently serving the fewest ongoing conversations.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">If multiple agents are tied for the fewest number of conversations, the incoming request is assigned to the agent with no missed assignments in the last 15 minutes.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">If more than one of the available agents has no missed assignments in the last 15 minutes, or if all agents have a missed assignment in the last 15 minutes, the incoming request is assigned to the agent with the oldest last assignment timestamp.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">If all available agents have not served any requests yet, the incoming request is assigned to an agent at random.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> An agent with an existing incoming chat assignment that has not yet been served will <em class="ph i">not</em> be assigned a second conversation.</div>
</div>
<p class="p">If an agent does not serve an incoming request before it is <a class="xref" href="#topic_fvw_mz1_q5">reassigned</a>, it will not be routed to them again until an attempt has been made to route the request to all other eligible agents. Additionally, enabling <a class="xref" href="#topic_trj_mz1_q5">Hybrid Assignment mode</a> changes assigned notification behavior.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">When all eligible agents are <em class="ph i">offline</em>, notifications are not sent. If incoming requests are later assigned as part of manual request triaging, agents will receive a notification when a request is assigned to them or their group.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wyd_vy1_q5">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Configuring additional settings for Assigned routing</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If you've selected the Assigned routing method, there are additional settings you can configure:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_wyd_vy1_q5__ul_ubm_v3j_dvb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_trj_mz1_q5">Configuring Hybrid Assignment Mode</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fvw_mz1_q5">Configuring reassignment</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_jlj_4z1_q5">Configuring automatic idle settings</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested2" id="topic_trj_mz1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title6">Configuring Hybrid Assignment Mode</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">This setting applies only if notification requests are <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> and limits are activated.</p>
<p class="p">Hybrid Assignment Mode gives agents the option of serving additional requests once they've reached their set limits. Agents will have the option of clicking the Serve Request button to pick up additional requests. If this option isn't enabled, agents can see incoming requests but aren't able to click on the button.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To enable Hybrid Assignment Mode</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_trj_mz1_q5__ol_jnw_g2b_q5">
<li class="li">Go to <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the <strong class="ph b">Hybrid Assignment Mode</strong> section, select the <strong class="ph b">Allow Hybrid Assignment</strong> check box.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_trj_mz1_q5__image_r42_jjb_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_hybridassignmentmode.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save Changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested2" id="topic_fvw_mz1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title7">Configuring reassignment</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">This setting applies only if you're using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing.</p>
<p class="p">With this option enabled, if an agent doesn't respond to an assigned request for a set period of time, another agent is automatically notified of the request. If this option is not enabled, (if <strong class="ph b">Reassignment</strong> is set to <strong class="ph b">Off</strong>), once a notification is assigned to an agent, it is <em class="ph i">not</em> automatically reassigned to another agent.</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> This setting applies only if you're using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing. If you’re using omnichannel routing, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4828787357210" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><u class="ph u">its configuration options</u></a> include reassignment timing and will override anything set here for messaging.</div>
</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To enable reassignment</strong>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_fvw_mz1_q5__ol_ijb_tfb_q5">
<li class="li">Go to <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Next to <strong class="ph b">Reassignment</strong>, select <strong class="ph b">On</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Enter a <strong class="ph b">number of seconds</strong> in the Reassignment timeout window. For example, if you want notifications to be reassigned after 15 seconds with no response, enter 15.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_fvw_mz1_q5__image_rtg_kjb_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_reassignmenttimeout.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save Changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested2" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title8">Configuring automatic idle settings</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">This setting applies only if you're using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing and have enabled <strong class="ph b">Reassignment</strong> above. If you’re using <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><u class="ph u">omnichannel routing</u></a>, automatic idle is not supported.</p>
<p class="p">Activate this setting to automatically set agent's status to Away or Invisible after a specified number of notifications are automatically reassigned. Agents are notified when their status is changed.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5__image_tmb_jl4_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_idle_timeout.png"></p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To activate automatic idle status</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5__ol_nsk_bhb_q5">
<li class="li">Go to <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Next to <strong class="ph b">Automatic Idle</strong>, select <strong class="ph b">On</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Enter a value in the <strong class="ph b">Chats Reassigned</strong> field.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5__image_wg4_ljb_q5" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_automaticidle_chatsreassigned.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Select a status option next to <strong class="ph b">Idle Status</strong>.
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5__image_sxs_q2s_3v" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_automaticidle_status.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save Changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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