Assignment methods at a glance
Manual
Tickets remain unassigned until a teammate claims one or a manager assigns it.
Balanced
Each new ticket goes to the available agent with the fewest open tickets.
Round Robin
Each new ticket goes to the available agent who has gone longest without receiving one.
Manual assignment
With manual assignment, new tickets land in the shared inbox and wait for a teammate to pick them up or for a manager to assign them directly. This is the default for all new helpdesk configurations. Best for:- Small teams where agents self-select work
- Specialized tickets that require specific expertise
- Low-volume inboxes that don’t need automation
Balanced assignment
Balanced assignment automatically routes each incoming ticket to the available agent with the lowest number of open tickets. This keeps workloads even across your team, so no single agent gets overwhelmed while others sit idle.How it works
- A new ticket arrives in the helpdesk.
- The system finds all agents whose status is Available.
- If a max ticket limit is configured, agents who have reached that limit are excluded.
- The ticket is assigned to the agent with the fewest open tickets (non-closed, non-cancelled).
- If multiple agents are tied, the one who was least recently assigned a ticket receives it.
Round robin assignment
Round robin distributes tickets sequentially by assigning each new ticket to the available agent who was least recently assigned, regardless of how many tickets they currently have open. It’s a good fit for sales and lead distribution where equal opportunity matters more than current workload.How it works
- A new ticket arrives in the helpdesk.
- The system finds all agents whose status is Available.
- If a max ticket limit is configured, agents who have reached that limit are excluded.
- The ticket is assigned to the agent with the oldest last-assignment timestamp, the teammate who has waited longest for a new ticket.
Comparison
| Feature | Manual | Balanced | Round Robin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-assigns tickets | No | Yes | Yes |
| Selection criteria | — | Fewest open tickets | Least recently assigned |
| Considers current workload | — | Yes | No |
| Respects max ticket limit | — | Yes | Yes |
| Only assigns to available agents | — | Yes | Yes |
| Tie-breaking rule | — | Least recently assigned | — |
Unassigned tickets
When no agents are available or all agents have reached their ticket limit, the ticket stays in the shared inbox as unassigned. It is not lost. The system will automatically assign it when capacity opens up. Unassigned tickets are always processed oldest first and assigned incrementally, one at a time, so that no single agent is swarmed with the entire backlog the moment they come online. You don’t need to manually reassign queued tickets.When all agents are unavailable
If every agent is set to Away, Busy, or Paused, the auto-assignment algorithms (balanced and round robin) cannot find an eligible agent. Here’s what happens:- Incoming tickets stay unassigned in the shared inbox with a New status.
- Tickets remain queued until an agent becomes available.
- When capacity opens up, unassigned tickets are assigned incrementally, oldest first, one at a time, until the backlog is cleared.
Max tickets per agent
For both automated methods (balanced and round robin), you can optionally set a maximum number of open tickets per agent. When an agent reaches this limit, they stop receiving new assignments until they close or resolve existing tickets.- Range: 1–999
- Default: Disabled (no limit)
Agent availability
Only agents with an Available status are eligible for automatic assignment. You can manage each agent’s status from the team availability panel in the assignment settings.| Status | Receives auto-assigned tickets? | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Available | Yes | Agent is online and ready to handle tickets |
| Away | No | Agent is temporarily unavailable (lunch, meeting) |
| Busy | No | Agent is focused on existing work and should not receive new tickets |
| Paused | No | Agent is offline or on extended leave |
Setting up assignment
Configure ticket limits (optional)
If using balanced or round robin, toggle on Limit open tickets per person and set a cap to prevent agent overload.
Good to know
- New agents default to Away. When an agent is first added to a chatbot, their status is set to Away. They will not receive auto-assigned tickets until an admin or the agent themselves switches to Available.
- Ticket limits only apply to auto-assignment. The max tickets per agent setting does not restrict manual assignment. An admin can still assign tickets to an agent who has exceeded the configured limit.
- Reassignment does not change ticket status. When a ticket is reassigned from one agent to another, the ticket’s status remains unchanged. It does not reset to New or On You automatically.
- The Away toggle only switches between Away and Available. Agents in Busy or Paused status cannot use the sidebar toggle. Only an admin can change their status from the Helpdesk Settings → Assignment panel.