Restricting agent ticket access by brand (department spaces)

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<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Restrict agent ticket access by brand using department spaces to enhance data privacy and focus support efforts. Assign agents to specific brands, allowing them to view and manage tickets only within those brands. This segmentation promotes specialized knowledge and control over ticket visibility. Consider workflow impacts when removing access, and remember that admins have access to all brands by default.</p>
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<p class="p">If you support <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829476378" target="_blank">multiple brands</a>, Zendesk allows team members
(agents) to manage tickets associated only with their assigned brands. By assigning
agents to brands, administrators can control which tickets agents can access based on
their brand membership, ensuring focused support, enhancing data privacy, and promoting
specialized product knowledge. Segmenting access to branded tickets this way is called
<em class="ph i">department spaces.</em></p>
<p class="p">If all agents are assigned to all brands, then department spaces is not in use, and brand
does not control agent visibility of tickets. Removing agents from brands removes their
ability to view, search, and access tickets with that brand. </p>
<p class="p">Consider how removing access might impact your workflow. If you don't want to use this
feature, you don't have to take any action because team members are assigned to all
brands by default. You can ensure team members are assigned to all brands by <a class="xref" href="#topic_skc_frx_xbc">viewing their brand memberships</a>.</p>
<p class="p">Watch the video below to learn more about department spaces.</p>
<p class="p"></p>
<div class="non-responsive"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="iframe embed-responsive-item" controls="controls" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MSiw91nWadI" width="640"></iframe></div>

<p class="p">Department spaces: Segment access to tickets by brand or department (3:30)</p>
<p class="p">This article covers the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="zug_brand_ticket_access__ul_aqz_sqx_xbc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ck2_br2_fdc">Limitations</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_eqt_crx_xbc">Understanding brand membership</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_skc_frx_xbc">Viewing team member brand
memberships</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ms4_sky_jfc">Filtering team members by brand</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_p4k_grx_xbc">Adding or removing team members from
brands</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wsw_b3f_rgc">Viewing and updating brand memberships from the agent profile</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_yb2_whp_ngc">Configuring brand membership settings for new team members</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Related articles:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="zug_brand_ticket_access__ul_djy_5qx_xbc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829476378" target="_blank">Setting up multiple brands</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833921306" target="_blank">Multibrand resources</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ck2_br2_fdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Limitations</h2>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ck2_br2_fdc__ul_g14_hdj_qhc">
<li class="li">Restricting agent ticket access by brand (also called department spaces) cannot
be used with the following:<ul class="ul" id="topic_ck2_br2_fdc__ul_uzq_3dj_qhc">
<li class="li">Legacy messaging through Chat</li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833956122#topic_fmk_lmf_mnb" target="_blank">Legacy Talk plans</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Triggers can assign tickets to agents that shouldn't have access to the ticket.
When this occurs, the agent will see a message stating they don't have access to
the ticket. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4603876353818" target="_blank">Why can't I access this ticket?</a> for
more information.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_eqt_crx_xbc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Understanding brand membership</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can assign team members to brands, which sets their brand membership. Team
members can only view, search, and access tickets within their assigned brands.
Assigning a team member to all brands gives them access to tickets across all
brands. If they aren't assigned to any brands, then they won't have access to
tickets. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_bnt_drx_xbc">Considerations</a> for
exceptions.</p>
<p class="p">Initially, new team members are assigned to all brands and, therefore, will have
access to all tickets. Administrators can control which tickets agents can access by
removing them from the brands they shouldn't have access to. Admins are
automatically assigned to all brands and can access all tickets across all brands.
When a new brand is created, all admins are automatically added to it and cannot be
removed. </p>
<p class="p">A team member’s role can further refine their access. For example, a team member’s
role might limit them to only tickets in their groups. </p>
<p class="p">When creating and updating tickets, the <strong class="ph b">Brand</strong> drop-down field in the Agent
Workspace is limited to the brands for which the agent is a member. Agents in <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882" target="_blank">a custom role with permission</a> can assign tickets to any
brand, including brands they don’t belong to. </p>
<div class="note tip" id="topic_eqt_crx_xbc__note_z2h_pwd_tgc">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> When using department spaces to restrict agent
ticket access by brand, it is recommended to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408826557082#topic_vrf_w1v_sgc" target="_blank">require a brand selection before saving
tickets</a> to prevent tickets from being saved without a brand.</div>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_teammember_brand_choose.png" width="400"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_bnt_drx_xbc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Considerations</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_bnt_drx_xbc__ul_yqc_h5x_xbc">
<li class="li">An <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883470106" target="_blank">upgraded agent</a> initially
belongs to no brands and, therefore, will have no access to tickets. You
must <a class="xref" href="#topic_p4k_grx_xbc">add the agent to
brands</a> to give them access to tickets within those
brands.</li>
<li class="li">Team members can be CC’d or added as followers on tickets outside their
brand membership. When this happens, they will only have access to the
specific ticket, not all tickets within that brand.</li>
<li class="li">If an agent in a custom role has permission to manage suspended tickets,
they can manage the suspended tickets in their brands only, plus any
suspended tickets without a brand.</li>
<li class="li">Tickets shared via a direct link are inaccessible if the agent isn’t a
member of the ticket’s brand.</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">Omnichannel routing</a> respects
the brand memberships of your agents. If you’re using this feature,
tickets are only assigned to agents who are members of the ticket's
brand. </li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_skc_frx_xbc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Viewing team member brand memberships</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Brand memberships for all your team members appear on the Team members page. You can
also <a class="xref" href="#topic_ms4_sky_jfc">filter the list of team
members</a> by brand.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To view brand memberships</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_skc_frx_xbc__ul_lnl_1kd_1cc">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Team members</strong>.</span><p class="p">The brand associated with each team member appears in the <strong class="ph b">Brand</strong>
column.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_skc_frx_xbc__image_nbs_4qj_1xb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_teammember_brand_view.png" width="800"></p>
<p class="p">If a team member belongs to multiple brands, click the <strong class="ph b">+more</strong> link to view
additional brand memberships.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_skc_frx_xbc__image_avr_4tc_qgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_teammember_more_brands.png" width="300"></p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ms4_sky_jfc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Filtering team members by brand</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Filtering the team list by brand helps you verify that team members have the
appropriate brand memberships. For example, you might periodically filter for team
members with no brand memberships to ensure that no one's brand membership has been
accidentally removed.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To filter the team list by brand membership</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ms4_sky_jfc__ol_u5z_pqk_1cc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Team members</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Filter</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Brand membership</strong>, select the brands by which you'd like to filter
team members. <p class="p">Selecting multiple brands filters team members who are part of
all the selected brands. To filter team members with no brand memberships,
select <strong class="ph b">No brand</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Apply filters</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Adding or removing a team member from brands</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">When you add team members to brands, they can view, search, and access tickets within
their assigned brands. Removing a team member from brands removes their access to
tickets within that brand.</p>
<p class="p">You cannot remove admins from brands. Admins must be members of all brands.</p>
<div class="note important" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc__note_wj4_skd_1cc">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> If you remove a team member from all
brands, they will have no ticket access.</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add or remove brand memberships</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc__ol_etp_wkd_1cc">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Team members</strong>.</span><p class="p">The team member page opens.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843830938#topic_prc_1qj_35b" target="_blank">Search</a> for the team members you want
to update, then select them in the list.<p class="p">You can select one or many team
members. Admins are members of all brands and will be excluded from any bulk
operations.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc__image_vz1_fry_jfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zug_team_member_select_2.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Manage brand membership</strong>.<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Manage brand membership</strong> link
displays at the bottom of the page after you select team
members.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc__image_a5l_scd_qgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_teammember_brand_manage.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Add to brand</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Remove from brand</strong>, select the brands you'd
like to add or remove the team member.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p4k_grx_xbc__image_xzj_qld_1cc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_teammember_brand_addremove.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wsw_b3f_rgc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title8">Viewing and updating brand memberships from the agent profile</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">To view or update brand memberships for a single agent, you can do so from the
agent's profile.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To view or update brand memberships from an agent's profile</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_wsw_b3f_rgc__ol_l3q_23f_rgc">
<li class="li">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Support</a>, click the <strong class="ph b">Search</strong>
icon (<img class="image" id="topic_wsw_b3f_rgc__image_m3q_23f_rgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/search_icon.png">) in the upper-right of the top toolbar. </li>
<li class="li">Begin typing the agent's name, then select the agent from the drop-down
list.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Brands</strong> menu in the left pane to expand it, then select or
deselect brands for the team member.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_wsw_b3f_rgc__image_n3q_23f_rgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/brands_selection_profile2.png" width="300"></p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title9" class="topic nested1" id="topic_yb2_whp_ngc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title9">Configuring brand membership settings for new team members</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Admins can configure brand assignments for new team members and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883470106" target="_blank">upgraded users</a>, ensuring team members get
relevant brand access from the start. </p>
<p class="p">By default, new team members are assigned to all brands, but this setting can be
changed. For example, you may want team members to have no brand assignments
initially, requiring a manual selection each time.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To configure brand membership settings for new team members</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_yb2_whp_ngc__ol_gxx_13p_ngc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_yb2_whp_ngc__d8e414" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_account_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Account</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Brand management &gt; Brands</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Manage settings</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Choose how new team members get assigned to
brands</strong>.<div class="p">This setting only controls the <em class="ph i">default selection</em> when
adding new team members. You can still change brand assignments when adding
a team member.<ul class="ul" id="topic_yb2_whp_ngc__ul_ykq_k3p_ngc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Manually assign brands</strong>: No brands are pre-selected.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assign new team members to all brands</strong>: All brands (active and
inactive) are pre-selected.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Choose how end users are assigned to brands when
upgraded to team member</strong>. This setting will automatically assign the
upgraded user to brands based on your selection.<ul class="ul" id="topic_yb2_whp_ngc__ul_stn_q3p_ngc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assign to no brands</strong>: The upgraded team member will have no brand
assignments.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assign upgraded team member to previously assigned brands</strong>: The
upgraded team member will be assigned to the brands they were originally
assigned to before they were downgraded to an end user.</li>
<li class="li"><strong class="ph b">Assign new team members to all brands</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
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