Turning on and setting up omnichannel routing

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Omnichannel routing can be used to route new and open tickets fromemail (including web form, side conversations, and API), calls, and messaging. Depending on your plan, the date your Zendesk account was created, and your routing preferences, there are some considerations and configuration required to begin usingomnichannel routing. This article explains how to activate and start using omnichannel routing.</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="suite_all">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>All Suites</strong>
</td>
<td>Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="support_all">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Support</strong>
</td>
<td>Team, Professional, or Enterprise</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>

<div class="body">

<div class="p">
<div class="note fastpath">
<span class="fastpathtitle">Location: </span> <span class="ph">Admin Center &gt; Objects and rules &gt; Omnichannel routing &gt; Routing configuration</span>
</div>
</div>
<p class="p">Omnichannel routing can be used to route new and open tickets from <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514#topic_psx_hxk_3yb" target="_blank">email (including web form, side conversations, and
API)</a>, calls, and messaging. Depending on your plan, the date your Zendesk
account was created, and your routing preferences, there are some considerations and
configuration required to begin using <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">omnichannel routing</a>. This article explains how to activate
and start using omnichannel routing.</p>
<div class="p">It contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic_eps_25c_yxb__ul_ggd_j5c_yxb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wbv_vbn_jvb">Considerations for using omnichannel routing</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_lzk_btp_m5b">Turning on omnichannel routing and managing your settings</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_asz_ljb_yxb">Requirements for the routing trigger for group-based routing</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wbv_vbn_jvb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Considerations for using omnichannel routing</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">In addition to the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514#topic_zlk_c3p_m5b" target="_blank">omnichannel routing requirements and
limitations</a>, consider the following details about turning on and using
omnichannel routing:</p>
<p class="p">To use omnichannel routing, the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821259930" target="_blank">Agent Workspace</a> must be activated for your account. If
your account has a Chat subscription, native messaging or Sunshine Conversations
must also be activated. </p>
<p class="p">Omnichannel routing works out of the box. That means it can start routing new or
updated calls and messaging conversations as soon as it's turned on, and new or
updated email tickets as soon as the auto-routing tag is added to them or custom
queues are created. To minimize the risk of disruptions, we recommend <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4828787357210#topic_frn_1vc_yxb" target="_blank">creating a plan for your routing
configuration</a> ahead of time. If your Zendesk account was created prior to
December 5, 2024, we also recommend turning on omnichannel routing during off-hours
or your least-busy time of day.</p>
<p class="p">When omnichannel routing is on, the option to activate <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408835750042" target="_blank">focus mode for live channels in the Zendesk Agent
Workspace</a> is hidden. Instead, you must use the focus mode option in your
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4828787357210" target="_blank">omnichannel routing configuration</a>.</p>
<div class="p">Additionally, you should also train your agents and team leads on the omnichannel
routing experience:<ul class="ul" id="topic_wbv_vbn_jvb__ul_a4z_3sv_xxb">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Routing new and updated tickets</strong>: For tickets to be routed by
omnichannel routing, they must be created or updated after omnichannel
routing is turned on or a configuration setting is changed. Don't expect
stale existing tickets to be routed to agents automatically if there is a
lull in new ticket volume. If you need omnichannel routing to route older
tickets to agents, you can update the tickets.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Unified agent statuses</strong>: If your agents are used to the Agent
Workspace without omnichannel routing, make sure they understand what will
change. Specifically, the moment omnichannel routing is turned on, all
agents are set to offline. They're prompted to set a new status and will see
new options in the status picker. The statuses available to them when
omnichannel routing is on are unified agent statuses and apply across email,
messaging, and talk channels. The idle timeout settings can help ensure
agents stop receiving time-sensitive work when they're no longer active, but
it's still best to encourage agents to set themselves to <em class="ph i">Away</em> or
<em class="ph i">Offline</em> any time they step away from their computers. Team leads
should also understand the real-time reporting that is available when the
agents start using unified agent statuses. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5133523363226" target="_blank">About unified agent status</a>.<p class="p">If
you use Zendesk Workforce Management, you can configure WFM to calculate
adherence and track activities based on unified agent statuses instead
of general tasks. <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10114746509978" target="_blank">Synchronizing unified agent status
data with WFM</a> also eliminates the need for agents to update
their availability in two systems. Make sure your agents understand
whether they need to set their status in WFM or if their unified agent
statuses are used.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Omnichannel queue</strong>: Tickets are created for all channels as soon as
they are received. With the standard omnichannel routing configuration, all
tickets go into a single queue. However, it is possible for admins to create
additional custom queues for omnichannel routing. When using custom queues,
the auto-routing tag isn't required and all tickets for email, messaging,
and calls are automatically matched to queues; if an email ticket doesn't
match any custom queues, it falls back to the standard queue. It might help
agents if they <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514#topic_nlb_c3p_m5b" target="_blank">understand omnichannel routing
queues</a> and how tickets are ordered and assigned to agents.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Auto-assignment of work</strong>: Email tickets (including web form, side
conversations, and API) are automatically assigned when they reach the front
of the queue. With the standard omnichannel routing configuration, messaging
and talk tickets are automatically offered to an agent when they reach the
front of the queue, but the agent must accept the conversation or call. If
they don't accept the conversation or call within a specified amount of
time, it is automatically offered to the next agent and so on, in a
round-robin until it is accepted. If you'd like omnichannel routing to
automatically assign messaging conversations, you can turn on auto-accept
for messaging in your routing configuration.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Finally, if you have configured an IVR menu for calls, make sure to remove all
non-primary groups from your IVR menu before turning on omnichannel routing. Failure
to do so can cause confusing routing behavior.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_lzk_btp_m5b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Turning on omnichannel routing and managing your settings</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">Newer accounts have omnichannel routing turned on by default. However, some setup is
still required to ensure it works for all channels. The options available vary by
plan:<ul class="ul" id="topic_lzk_btp_m5b__ul_tn2_zqz_4dc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Team and Growth plans</strong>: Omnichannel routing uses group-based routing.
That means tickets must have a group assigned in order to be routed.
Furthermore, email tickets must also have the auto-routing tag. Ticket
triggers are the best way to ensure all new tickets are assigned a group and
get the auto-routing tag.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Professional and Enterprise plans</strong>: On these plans, you can choose
between using <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6716530152858" target="_blank">custom queues</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6712096584090" target="_blank">group-based routing</a> with the
standard omnichannel routing queue. If you choose to use custom queues, you
must create custom queues with conditions that match most or all of your
tickets. If you choose group-based routing, you must create one or more
ticket triggers to assign a group and add the auto-routing tag to
tickets.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To set up omnichannel routing</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_lzk_btp_m5b__ol_n33_kn2_pdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><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_lzk_btp_m5b__d9e1868" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Omnichannel routing &gt; Routing
configuration</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">On the Routing configuration page, click <strong class="ph b">Turn on omnichannel
routing</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">(Accounts created before December 5, 2024 only) On the Manage settings page,
click <strong class="ph b">Turn on omnichannel routing</strong>.<p class="p">Accounts created on or after
December 5, 2024 have omnichannel routing on by default.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Enter an <strong class="ph b">Auto-routing tag</strong>, which is used to indicate which tickets
originating from email channels are routed by omnichannel routing through the
standard queue.<p class="p">The auto-routing tag is only used in queue-based routing if an
email ticket doesn't match any custom queues, and you still want it to be
routed by omnichannel routing through the standard queue.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">(Recommended for Professional plans and above) <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6716530152858" target="_blank">Create custom queues</a> that match all or
most of your tickets and route them to the proper groups of agents.</li>
<li class="li">(Recommended for all plans relying on group-based routing) <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886797466" target="_blank">Create at least one ticket trigger</a>
that can be used to add a group and the auto-routing tag to email tickets
(including web form, side conversations, and API) you want to route. On
Professional plans and above, you can also configure the triggers to set the
ticket's priority. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_asz_ljb_yxb">Requirements for the routing triggers</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.<p class="p">You can use omnichannel routing as-is at this point, or you
can review and adjust your <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4828787357210" target="_blank">routing configuration</a> to better
meet your needs.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p class="p">If you need to turn off omnichannel routing, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5095079121690" target="_blank">Turning off omnichannel routing</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Requirements for the routing trigger for group-based routing</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">With group-based routing through the standard omnichannel routing queue, tickets must
be assigned to an appropriate group before they can be routed to an agent.
Additionally, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514#topic_psx_hxk_3yb" target="_blank">email tickets</a> must have the auto-routing
tag to be routed and tickets must have skills if you want to route based on that.
You can manually assign the group, skills, and add the routing tag, but <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822236058" target="_blank">triggers</a> provide an automated way to accomplish
this.</p>
<p class="p">If you <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6716530152858" target="_blank">create custom queues</a>, omnichannel routing
automatically routes all email, call, and messaging conversation tickets, regardless
of the presence of the auto-routing tag, and uses the queue's groups rather than the
ticket's assigned group. The ticket's assigned group is ignored. However, tickets
that don't match to any of your custom queues will still require a group assignment,
and email tickets also require the auto-routing tag, before they can be routed by
omnichannel routing through the standard queue.</p>
<div class="p">Triggers that are used for standard omnichannel routing must have the following
parameters:<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_jxn_qr3_kvb">
<li class="li">Conditions that define the tickets you want to route, such as a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824097050" target="_blank">channel</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408888664474" target="_blank">tag</a>. This includes tags added to
calls from an IVR menu. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893545882#topic_i3y_fkz_1cb" target="_blank">Building trigger condition
statements</a>. </li>
<li class="li">Actions to define the routing.<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_xgy_sjb_yxb">
<li class="li">Required actions:<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_lr3_sr3_kvb">
<li class="li">Assign a group (not required if using <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6712096584090" target="_blank">omnichannel routing
queues</a>, but good to have for tickets that don't
match any of your custom queues)</li>
<li class="li">Add the auto-routing tag (email tickets only)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Optional actions for Professional and Enterprise plans:<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_dvc_vjb_yxb">
<li class="li">(Professional and Enterprise plans) Assign a priority</li>
<li class="li">(Professional and Enterprise plans) If you're using skills
with omnichannel routing, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5833458075930" target="_blank">use triggers to add and
update skills on tickets</a> and set each skill's
priority.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893545882#topic_ncz_4kz_1cb" target="_blank">Building trigger action statements</a>.</p>
<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Triggers run only on new or updated tickets. Other tickets won’t be
processed.</div>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">Example of adding the routing tag and groups</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_wxm_tcq_m5b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">You want email tickets that come in from the “Very important bank”
organization to be assigned the routing tag and assigned to the “VIP” group:<ul class="ul" id="topic_asz_ljb_yxb__ul_xxm_tcq_m5b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Create a trigger with the condition <strong class="ph b">Ticket &gt;
Organization</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">is</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Very important
bank</strong>.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Add an action <strong class="ph b">Ticket &gt; Add tags</strong> &gt;
AUTO_ROUTING_TAG.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Add an action <strong class="ph b">Ticket &gt; Group</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">VIP</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<script id="fast-path-script">
//<![CDATA[
const fast_path_style = document.createElement('style');
fast_path_style.innerHTML = `#article-body .fastpath{font-size:.9em;background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 8px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body .fastpath::before{content:none!important}`;
document.head.appendChild(fast_path_style);
//]]>
</script>
</body>