Setting an AI agent as the default responder for a messaging channel (AI agents - Advanced only)


After youcreate an AI agentfor messaging, you can configure which messaging channels it should be the default responder for.


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AI agents - Advanced










This article applies only to customers who
bought AI agents - Advanced before March 10, 2026. Otherwise, see Managing an AI agent's channels.
After you create an AI agent for messaging, you can
configure which messaging channels it should be the default responder for.
This article contains the following topics:

About a messaging channel’s default responder
Setting an AI agent as the default responder for individual channels
Setting an AI agent as the default responder for all channels
Configuring which AI agent responds on specific messaging channels
Prevent an AI agent from responding on any messaging channel

Related article:

Managing AI agents connected to messaging
channels



About a messaging channel’s default responder

First, it’s important to understand that setting an AI agent as the default responder
technically sets all AI agents in the messaging group, as a whole, as the default
responder. If you have more than one AI agent, you need to use routing rules to define which
specific AI agent should respond on each messaging channel.
When you assign the default responder role to an AI agent, it becomes the first
responder in a customer conversation. This means when a customer contacts support
through one of your messaging channels, the AI agent manages the interaction. It
replaces any previously connected AI agent or default response configuration, which
is reverted to Draft mode.
Any time a new channel is added to your instance, the AI agent with the default label is automatically assigned
as the default responder for that channel. If you assign the default label to
another AI agent, that AI agent becomes the responder for any channels using the
default responder.
When using an AI agent as a default responder in conversations, consider the
following:

Only one AI agent can be assigned the default responder role in each instance.
The AI agent with the default responder label can't be deleted until the label
is assigned to another responder.
If you don't want to use an AI agent as the default responder, you can assign
the default responder label to an essential AI agent or a third-party bot.
If you don't have any AI agents connected to your instance, an essential AI
agent is the default responder.




Setting an AI agent as the default responder for individual channels

In Admin Center, you can set an AI agent as the default responder for one or more
messaging channels.


Note: The Conversation control setting must be
set to Release control for per-channel responders to work.

To set an AI agent as the default responder for individual channels


In Admin Center, click
AI in the sidebar, then select AI agents > AI agents.
In the Advanced section, click AI agents - Advanced.

In the Channels section, select the channels you want the AI agent to
be the default responder on.

Click Save.





Setting an AI agent as the default responder for all channels

You can also set an AI agent as the default responder for all messaging channels.
To set an AI agent as the default responder for all channels



In Admin Center, click
AI in the sidebar, then select AI agents > AI agents.

In the Advanced section, click the options menu ( ) to the right of AI agents - Advanced.
Select Set as default for all channels.
AI agents - Advanced is
marked as default, and your AI agents become the default responders for all
configured messaging channels according to the routing rules you
configure.






Configuring which AI agent responds on specific messaging channels


Important: If you created your AI agent from the dashboard,
you should not manually modify its routing rules. Instead, follow the instructions
in Managing an AI agent's channels. If you
don't see a "Manage channels" option for your AI agent, you may safely update its
routing rules.
By default, the first messaging AI agent created in your account is the fallback,
meaning this AI agent in particular is the default responder for any channel where
the AI agents messaging group is set as the default responder.
When you have more than one messaging AI agent, you can use routing rules to
configure which specific AI agent should respond on each messaging channel. A
routing rule is a set of one or more conditions based on the source of the
conversation, user metadata, or conversation metadata.
To configure routing rules for messaging AI agents


In the AI agents workspace, select the AI agent you want to work
with.
Click
Settings in the sidebar, then select CRM integration.
Select the Routing rules tab.

Click Add rule. The Create routing rule panel opens.


In Name, enter a descriptive name for the routing rule.
(Optional) Change the dropdown in Match ALL conditions below to
ANY, depending on the logic of your rule.
Define your first condition:
In Source, select one of the following options:

Source (of the conversation)
User metadata
Conversation metadata


Under Parameter, use the parameter name, operator, and value
fields to define a parameter based on the source you selected above:

If you selected Source above, the available parameters are
Type and Integration ID.
Tip: To find the integration
IDs of any Sunshine Conversations integrations, use the
List
Integrations endpoint of the Sunshine
Conversations API.

Note: If
you have a custom AI agent implementation, the
integration ID can't be passed when the Type parameter
is set to API.

If you selected User metadata or Conversation metadata
above, define a parameter based on the condition you want to
create. For help, see Using parameters in AI
agents.




(Optional) Click the plus (+) icon to insert another condition, and repeat
the step above.
In Assign to, select the specific AI agent that should be the default
responder to the conversation when the conditions listed above are true.
(Optional) If you don't want the rule to be active yet, toggle Rule is
active to off. When you're ready to make the rule active, return
to this screen and toggle this setting on.

Click Create.





Prevent an AI agent from responding on any messaging channel

You can prevent an AI agent from responding to customers on any messaging channel.
You do this by deactivating or deleting any routing rules assigned to it. This
allows you to configure and test the AI agent without making it live to
customers.
To prevent an AI agent from responding on any messaging channel


In the AI agents workspace, select the AI agent you want to work
with.
Click
Settings in the sidebar, then select CRM integration.
Select the Routing rules tab.
In the Assigned to agent column, select a rule that's assigned to the
AI agent you don't want responding to customers. The rule's configuration
appears.

Click the Rule is active toggle to deactivate the
rule. Alternatively, if you no longer need the rule at all, click
Delete and Delete again to delete the rule
entirely.

Click Save.
Repeat the steps above for any other rules assigned to the AI agent.




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