Assigning conversations

Take a conversation yourself

The reply box opens once a conversation is yours. Until then a card sits in its place, says who has the conversation and offers the matching button: Take it when nobody has it, Take over when a teammate has it or it is reserved for one, Take over from and your bot's name while your AI bot answers, and Take it now when it was transferred to you. Every case on the card is explained in Take, take over and transfer conversations.

If two people click at the same moment, the first one gets it and the other sees who took it. Taking a conversation works even when you are at your conversation limit. Write a note on the card opens a private note without taking the conversation.

In the phone app the reply box stays open. Tap Take it on the bar above it (or Take over when a teammate has the conversation), or simply reply: your first reply to a conversation nobody has taken makes it yours. To give a conversation to a teammate in the app, pick them under Assignee in the Details tab. The same limit rules apply as on the web, just without a note.

Give a conversation to a teammate

1. Open the conversation and click Transfer in the header. In a narrow window it sits under More actions.
2. Pick a teammate. The list shows each person's status and how many conversations they hold against their limit.
3. Optional: write a note under Note (optional). It is saved as a private note, and your teammate sees it above their reply box.
4. Click Transfer.

A teammate with room gets the conversation at once. A teammate at their limit shows At limit · next up: the conversation is reserved for them and becomes their next one. If no slot frees up within 15 minutes, the reservation ends, auto assignment hands the conversation to someone else (or it waits in the queue or in Unassigned) and you get a notification. All details are in Take, take over and transfer conversations.

You can also change the owner under Assigned to in the Details tab. The list offers every active teammate in the workspace. The same limit rules apply there, just without a note. While a conversation waits for a teammate who is at their limit, the field shows Unassigned and the line under it reads Reserved for Anna · next up.

Unassign a conversation

Pick Unassigned under Assigned to. If the conversation is open and the inbox assigns automatically, the conversation goes to the next available teammate with room, never back to the person who just gave it up. If the inbox has no automatic assignment, or nobody else is available, it waits in Unassigned where anyone can take it (or in the queue, when a conversation limit is set).

Set a team

Teams need the Business plan or higher, see Teams. Pick a team under Team in the Details tab. The conversation then shows in that team's folder under Teams in the inbox panel. A team and a person can be set at the same time: the team shows where the conversation belongs, the person answers it. When round robin picks an owner for a conversation that has a team, it only picks among that team's members.

Several conversations at once

Select conversations in the list. The Assign to me button is on the bar that appears, Unassign is under More actions. One action covers up to 500 conversations. The other bulk actions are in Filters and saved views. Unlike Unassigned in the Details tab, Unassign in the list does not pass the conversations on to the next teammate.

Hand back

Agents whose role shows only their own conversations have a Hand back button in the conversation header (in a narrow window under More actions). It returns a conversation assigned to them to a reviewer, for example the team lead:

1. Click Hand back. When the role has a default reviewer, the button's label reads Hand back to Anna.
2. Pick who gets it under Hand back to. With a default reviewer, the dialog skips this step.
3. Write what you did under Internal note. The note is required and saved as a private note.
4. Click Hand back.

A reviewer who is at their limit gets the conversation reserved, like with Transfer. Administrators set the default reviewer for a role in Settings > Custom Roles under Default reviewer for handoffs. Custom roles are part of the Enterprise plan, see Custom roles and permissions.

See who has what

• Mine lists your conversations and the ones waiting for you, marked Next up.
• Unassigned lists conversations nobody has taken yet.
• Under Teammates, one folder per person shows the conversations assigned or reserved for them. Everyone except roles limited to their own conversations has this section, see Inbox folders.
• In the list, a conversation waiting for a teammate shows Reserved: Anna.
• Taking, transferring or unassigning in the conversation, and every automatic assignment, writes a line into the conversation that only your team sees, for example "Anna transferred the conversation to Ben" or "Conversation auto-assigned to Ben".

Changing the owner or the team needs the permission Manage conversations (assign, resolve, reopen), which the standard Agent role includes. Without it, the fields in the Details tab stay visible but locked. The owner of a conversation can always pass it on with Transfer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I assign a conversation to myself?

Yes. Click Take it on the card above the reply box, or Take over when a teammate has it. In the list, select conversations and click Assign to me.

Does the customer see who is assigned?

In a live chat, the customer sees "Anna is now in the chat" once Anna takes, opens or answers the conversation. After a transfer they see "Anna is no longer in the chat" if Anna had joined or answered before, and "You'll be connected with the next team member in a moment" until the next person joins. On email and the other channels the customer only sees your replies.

What happens to my conversations when I go Away or Offline?

They stay yours until the customer writes again. If you are Away or Offline at that moment, or Deskwoot has not been open on any of your devices for 5 minutes, the conversation goes to a teammate who is online (or waits until someone can take it), with the private note "Last handled by Anna (offline). Back to round robin." An open conversation whose last message is the customer's does not wait for a new message: it goes on within a minute of you choosing Offline, or once Deskwoot has not been open on any of your devices for 15 minutes (Away alone keeps it until the customer writes). If nobody else could ever take it (for example, you are the only agent, or the only member of the team or inbox that round robin picks from), it stays with you. With Busy and Deskwoot open you keep your conversations and only get nothing new. Transfer or unassign conversations before you leave if someone should pick them up right away. Details are in Auto assignment and round robin.

Why is someone missing from the Assigned to list?

The list offers every active teammate in the workspace. Suspended people, invitations that were never accepted and service accounts do not appear.

What happens when I pick a teammate who is at their limit?

The conversation is reserved for them and becomes their next one, ahead of the queue. If no slot frees up within 15 minutes, the reservation ends, the conversation goes to someone else or waits, and you get a notification.

Can I give several conversations to a teammate at once?

No. The list offers Assign to me and Unassign for a selection. To give conversations to someone else, use Transfer or Assigned to in each conversation.

Where do I see the history of a conversation's owners?

In the conversation itself. Takes, transfers, reservations and automatic assignments each write a line that only your team sees.

Why can't I change Assigned to?

Your role does not include Manage conversations (assign, resolve, reopen). Ask an administrator for a role that includes it.