Setting up notification routing for live chat

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<div class="body">
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> This article applies to accounts using Zendesk Chat. If you are using messaging, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5020833543450" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Setting up notifcation routing for messaging</a>. If you are using messaging with omnichannel, 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>.</div>
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<p class="p">You can specify how agents are notified about incoming live chat requests with Chat routing settings. These settings are accessed from your Chat dashboard.</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>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_dcs_kh2_gw">Monitoring chat routing data in Analytics</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 chat 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 has to click on <strong class="ph b">Serve Request</strong> to start serving the request. This is the default setting.</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 live chat 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>
<p class="p">If you do not have the Agent Workspace enabled, assigned live chat requests appear at the bottom of the Chat dashboard:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_nzf_pdb_pmb__image_ovf_4tn_sx" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_incoming_assigned.png"></p>
<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 chat limits</h2>
<div class="body" id="body_gvj_3y1_q5">
<p class="p">Chat 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.</p>
<p class="p">An agent's workload is determined by the number of active live chat requests assigned to them. A request is considered active if it has received a response in the past 10 minutes.</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 they will not be able to serve requests through the Serve Request or Accept button.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong>: Agents will be routed incoming requests only up to their chat limit.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="p">You can select from the following two types of notification limits:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dlr_wt1_q5__ul_itr_dh4_q5">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Account</strong>: Set 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>
<div class="p">Chat limit settings have no effect on your widget or its online status. Even if all agents are at their limits, visitors can still submit chat requests, which are then queued until an agent becomes available. Agents can see the increase in the number of queued requests in the Serve Request or Accept button but aren't able to serve them.
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you created <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893917338-Creating-custom-Chat-roles-and-assigning-users" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chat roles</a> that allow agents to <strong class="ph b">Initiate and view chats</strong> in the <strong class="ph b">Proactive Chatting</strong> option, those agents can serve chats over their specified limits. This option allows agents the ability to see visitors and manually select and prioritize certain visitors from the visitor's list.</div>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To enable 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 Limit Type, 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 <strong class="ph b">Maximum chats</strong> 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="500"></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/chat_limits_personal_limits_updated" width="500"></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 chat limit for each agent's profile. Select an agent to edit under <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Agents</strong> and enter a value in the <strong class="ph b">Chat limit</strong> 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/chat_limit_per_agent_updated" width="500"></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, by default chat 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 missed 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 by 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">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>
<p class="p">Additionally, activating skills-based routing, hybrid assignment mode, or chat reassignment can impact assigned notification behavior. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_wyd_vy1_q5">Configuring additional settings for Assigned routing</a> for more information.</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 select the Assigned routing method, there are additional settings you can configure.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested2" id="topic_ftm_csr_d1b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title6">Configuring skills routing</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Skills-based routing is available on Suite Professional and Enterprise plans, as well as Support and Chat Professional (with the Skills-Based Routing add-on) and Enterprise plans.</div>
If you're using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing, you can set up skills routing. For details, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836348058" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Routing chats based on agent skills</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested2" id="topic_trj_mz1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title7">Configuring hybrid assignment mode</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The Hybrid Assignment Mode setting is only available if notification requests are <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> and you have set <a class="xref" href="#topic_dlr_wt1_q5">chat limits</a>.</p>
<p class="p">Hybrid assignment mode gives agents the option of voluntarily serving additional requests after they've reached their set chat limits.</p>
<p class="p">With this setting activated, if an agent reaches their chat limit and a new incoming chat request is not picked up by other available agents, that agent does <em class="ph i">not</em> hear the incoming chat <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821476378#topic_rb2_fs5_bdb" rel="noopener" target="_blank">notification sound</a> and the Serve Request/Accept button does <em class="ph i">not</em> light up.</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-title8" class="topic nested2" id="topic_fvw_mz1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title8">Configuring reassignment</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The Reassignment setting is only available if you're using <strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong> routing.</p>
<p class="p">When this setting is activated, a reassignment timeout period is attached to each incoming chat request. If the agent initially assigned the chat request doesn't respond before the assignment times out, the incoming request will be reassigned to the next available agent based on their capacity and set chat limit. When this option is 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.</p>
<p class="p">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 reasssigned to another agent.</p>
<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-title9" class="topic nested2" id="topic_jlj_4z1_q5">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title9">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.</p>
<p class="p">Enable this setting to automatically set chat agents' 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 enable 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>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title10" class="topic nested1" id="topic_dcs_kh2_gw">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title10">Monitoring live chat routing data in Analytics</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">You can analyze live chat routing data in Analytics with two statistics:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dcs_kh2_gw__ul_a2j_rh2_gw">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Acceptance</strong>: the percentage of assigned chats that were served by agents out of all the chats routed to the agent.
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6009407849754" rel="noopener" target="_blank">auto-accept</a> is turned on, acceptance stats are not displayed.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Capacity (beta)</strong>: The estimated amount of chats that can be served by the account in a given period of time. The capacity is a function of 1) the number of agents logged in, 2) the average chat duration of an account and 3) the chat limit set by the agent.</li>
</ul>
For more details about where to view these stats, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828193562" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Monitoring chat activity with Analytics</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
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