ACD

How to trace back email routing history

Gain insight into how a particular email was routed by operators, the Rules Engine or the email ACD.

Note: An Enterprise subscription is required.

On the left pane of the desktop Operator Client, open the Email folder.
Result: The left pane is populated with Email folders. The upper-right area displays a list of email threads for the selected email folder.
From the list of Emails threads, select the item you want to view.
Tip: You may need to use the folder structure on the left to navigate to the desired item.
Navigate to the Rule Applied section in the Details or Email History > Details tabs.
Tip: You can also display trace information by adding the Applied Rule ID and Applied Rule Name fields to the Dashboard. See also Add/Remove fields.

Result: You can trace back thread history using the information displayed.

Set up automatic distribution for email

Automatic Email Distribution (AD) allows you to automatically and intelligently distribute and assign incoming emails to your agents.

In the Web Admin Center, click Channels > Email > Automatic Distribution.
Result: The Automatic Distribution for Email page is displayed.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates AD for all incoming email in your account.

Options:

Option	Description
Reassign unanswered messages (minutes)	When selected, emails are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not accept the thread within the specified period of time. An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned.
Concurrent message limit	When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This setting can be overridden at an individual agent level.
Agents waiting for assignment	When there are fewer incoming email threads than agents can handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank. To determine which waiting agent gets the next email, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the agent who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no email threads, ACD will assign the next incoming email to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the workload between agents. Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest agents. The next incoming thread is assigned to the agent who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-email tasks along with their email related work. Those who are managing email will stay busy with email, while others can stay focused on non-email tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent limits are set. Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Option

Description

Reassign unanswered messages (minutes)

When selected, emails are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not accept the thread within the specified period of time. An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned.

Concurrent message limit

When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This setting can be overridden at an individual agent level.

Agents waiting for assignment

When there are fewer incoming email threads than agents can handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank.

To determine which waiting agent gets the next email, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the agent who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no email threads, ACD will assign the next incoming email to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the workload between agents.
Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest agents. The next incoming thread is assigned to the agent who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-email tasks along with their email related work. Those who are managing email will stay busy with email, while others can stay focused on non-email tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Under Manual Reassignment, tell Bold360 how to place customers into the queue when they are reassigned by an agent rather than automatic distribution.
You can set this option independently for customers reassigned within a department (From same department) as opposed to between departments (From other departments).
Note: For answered items that are manually reassigned, the queue time is always reset. For automatically assigned items, customers always maintain their place in the queue.
- To place customers at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place customers in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or agent level.

How to set up automatic email distribution

Automatic Email Distribution (AD) allows you to automatically and intelligently distribute and assign incoming emails to your operators.

Important: Before you continue, make sure you have set up BoldChat to manage email.

Note: An Enterprise subscription is required.

From the main menu of the operator client, go to Setup > Automatic Distribution > Automatic Email Distribution Setup.
Result: The Automatic Email Distribution Setup window is displayed.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates ACD at the account level.

Select options:

Option	Description
Reassign if not accepted in X minutes	When selected, emails are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not accept the thread within the specified period of time. An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.
Limit concurrent email threads to X	When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.
Operators waiting for assignment	When there are fewer incoming email threads than operators can handle, some operators will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked operators first, but you can choose an assignment method for operators of the same rank. See How to rank operators. To determine which waiting operator gets the next email, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the operator who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between operators. Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest operators. The next incoming thread is assigned to the operator who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-email tasks along with their email related work. Those who are managing email will stay busy with email, while others can stay focused on non-email tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent limits are set. Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.

Option

Description

Reassign if not accepted in X minutes

When selected, emails are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not accept the thread within the specified period of time.

An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.

Limit concurrent email threads to X

When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads.

This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.

Operators waiting for assignment

When there are fewer incoming email threads than operators can handle, some operators will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked operators first, but you can choose an assignment method for operators of the same rank. See How to rank operators.

To determine which waiting operator gets the next email, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the operator who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between operators.
Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest operators. The next incoming thread is assigned to the operator who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-email tasks along with their email related work. Those who are managing email will stay busy with email, while others can stay focused on non-email tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.

Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or operator level.

Set up automatic distribution for messaging

Automatic distribution for messaging allows you to automatically and intelligently distribute assignment of new, incoming message threads to your agents.

In the Web Admin Center, go to Channels > Messaging > Automatic Distribution.
Result: The Automatic Distribution for Messaging page is displayed.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates AD for all incoming messages in your account.

Options:

Option	Description
Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)	When selected, SMS threads are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not accept the thread within the specified period of time. An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned.
Concurrent message limit	When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual agent level.
Agents waiting for assignment	When there are fewer incoming threads than agents can handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank. To determine which waiting agent gets the next item, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the agent who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between agents. Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest agents. The next incoming thread is assigned to the agent who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-messaging tasks along with their messaging related work. Those who are managing messages will stay busy with messages, while others can stay focused on non-messaging tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent limits are set. Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Option

Description

Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)

When selected, SMS threads are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not accept the thread within the specified period of time.

An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned.

Concurrent message limit

When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual agent level.

Agents waiting for assignment

When there are fewer incoming threads than agents can handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank.

To determine which waiting agent gets the next item, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the agent who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between agents.
Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest agents. The next incoming thread is assigned to the agent who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-messaging tasks along with their messaging related work. Those who are managing messages will stay busy with messages, while others can stay focused on non-messaging tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Under Manual Reassignment, tell Bold360 how to place customers into the queue when they are reassigned by an agent rather than AD.
You can set this option independently for customers reassigned within a department (From same department) as opposed to between departments (From other departments).
Note: For answered items that are manually reassigned, the queue time is always reset. For automatically assigned items, customers always maintain their place in the queue.
- To place customers at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place customers in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or agent level.

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

Use Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD) to automatically place agents in an active chat session without agent interaction.

For example, you can automatically invite customers to chat with an agent when they have been on a particular page for a certain time, clicked a link or revisited a URL. Automatic Chat Distribution balances the number of customers in queue and the agent's workload in order to keep the rate of invitations at a maintainable level and the agent's chat queue saturated.

In the Web Admin Center, go to Channels > Chat > Automatic Distribution.
Result: The Automatic Distribution for Chat window is displayed.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates ACD at the account level.

Select the following options:

Option	Description
Initial assignment delay	When Automatic Chat Distribution is enabled, you can delay the automatic assignment of chat sessions by the defined time. This way, you can keep chats in queue - in unassigned status - for an extended period.
Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)	When selected, chats are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not answer the chat session within the specified period. In practice this means that a chat is answered by another agent when the originally assigned agent fails to respond. An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new chats from being assigned. The agent must then explicitly set their status to Available.
Reassign messages after agent disconnected (seconds)	When an agent disconnects (for example, after logging out), Automatic Distribution reassigns all active chats to other agents after the defined period of time. When the agent disconnects due to network connectivity issues, chats are reassigned after at least two minutes. Therefore, even if you set the Reassign messages after agent disconnected value to 30 seconds, chats will only be reassigned after two minutes. Keep in mind that if no agents are available to take additional workload then chats will be placed in queue and their waiting time will be counted from the time the customer started the chat.
Concurrent chat limit	When selected, the number of chats that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the chat limit, they are no longer assigned new chats. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual agent level. Chat and discussion difficulty affects this limit.

If you choose to limit concurrent chats, the following options are also available:

Option	Description
Show queue position	When no agents are eligible to receive new chats (all have reached their maximum concurrent chats limit), then new chats are placed in a queue. When selected, customers see their position in the queue in the chat window. Agents can manually start chatting with the next customer in queue as described in How to manually start chatting with the next customer in queue.
Estimated wait time	With this option it is possible to display the approximate waiting time to visitors who are waiting in the queue for agent chat. This option can be enabled if the Show queue position option is active. The estimated wait time is calculated based on previous wait times and the visitor's position in the queue.
Enable exit from queue	When selected, customers in the waiting queue are presented a button that cancels the chat and displays the unavailable form (if enabled).
Queue length limits	Maximum in queue: Do not allow new chat sessions when the total queue size reaches this number. Average per agent: Disable the Chat Button when the total number in the queue divided by the number of available agents reaches this number.
Invitation throttling	The invitation throttle controls the balance between the number of invitations sent and the risk that your target queue is exceeded. This helps you avoid long queues of unassigned chats when more customers accept invitations than agents can handle. Throttling options: Target queue size. The target number of chats that you are willing to leave queued for assignment. The invitation throttle adjusts the number of invitations sent in order to optimize queue size. Note: The target queue size is independent of the Disable chat queue size setting. Chat becomes unavailable when the target queue size reaches a number equal to or less than the Disable chat queue size. You are recommended to set a higher threshold for the Disable chat queue size setting than your target queue size. Expected acceptance rate. The expected likelihood that an invitation will be accepted. You can choose your own percentage or use the calculated value, which is based on a moving average of the actual acceptance rate over approximately one week for the given account or department. Throttling rate. This is your willingness to risk that more invitations will be accepted than your target queue size. When you choose a lower risk option, fewer invitations are sent, thus decreasing the potential number of acceptances. The options represent a 50%, 5% and 0.1% probability that you will exceed the target queue size, assuming that the expected acceptance rate is accurate. Note: For optimal results, make sure that the expected and real acceptance rates correlate closely. If the rates diverge, either you will not be sending out as many invites as you are able to handle, or your target queue size will be frequently exceeded.
Allow customers to enter queue upon Available click	Decide how to handle new chat sessions when a customer clicks a button shown as Available, but meanwhile all agents become unavailable. You can override other queue limits and allow them to enter the queue according to the following limits: Max. in queue upon Available click: Allow the queue to reach this limit before preventing new chat sessions. Concurrent chat limit upon Available click: Allow agents to reach this limit before they are no longer assigned chats.

Define the difficulty level for chats and discussions. These limits are used to calculate agent chat capacity when concurrent chat limit is enabled.
Note: You can change chat difficulty at department level only.
How is agent chat capacity calculated?
Suppose concurrent chat limit is set to 3, chat difficulty has a multiplier of 1, and chat discussion difficulty has a multiplier of 0.5. When an agent has two ongoing chats (counts as 2 x 1 concurrent chats) and a chat discussion (counts as 1 x 0.5 concurrent chat) then the concurrent limit is 2.5. In this case, - since chat capacity is 0.5 - the agent can still receive an additional discussion task, but cannot receive new chats.

When there are fewer incoming chats than what agents could handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Chats are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank. See How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department).

Option	Description
Agents waiting for assignment	To determine which waiting same-rank agent gets the next chat, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no chats, ACD will assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the chat workload between agents. Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest agents. The next incoming chat is assigned to the agent who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set. Round Robin Rotate chat assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit. Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, chats are assigned to the agent within the same rank who is working on chats with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an agent handling one difficulty 3 chat before an agent who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Option

Description

Agents waiting for assignment

To determine which waiting same-rank agent gets the next chat, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no chats, ACD will assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time.
Choose this to balance the chat workload between agents.
Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest agents. The next incoming chat is assigned to the agent who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate chat assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, chats are assigned to the agent within the same rank who is working on chats with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an agent handling one difficulty 3 chat before an agent who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Under Manual reassignment, tell Bold360 how to place customers into the queue when they are reassigned by an agent rather than ACD.
You can set this option independently for customers reassigned within a department (From same department) as opposed to between departments (From other departments).
Note: For answered items that are manually reassigned, the queue time is always reset. For automatically assigned items, customers always maintain their place in the queue.
- To place customers at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place customers in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or agent level.

How to assign chats to certain operators before others (ranking within department)

Within a department, Premier and Enterprise subscribers can rank operators to determine how chats are assigned.

Ranking is applied at the department level and works in conjunction with Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD).

Create a department, as follows:
1. From the main menu of the operator client, go to Setup > Account Setup > General > Departments
2. Click New. The New Department window is displayed.
On the New Department window, go to the Operators tab.
Add operators to the department.
For each operator, assign a rank.
Remember: A Premier or Enterprise subscription is required!
Option. To change how chats are assigned to same-rank operators, you must override Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD), as follows:
1. On the New Department window, go to the Chat Distribution tab.
2. Click Override account-level automatic distribution settings for this department.
3. Select a method under Among same-rank operators, assign by this method.
  - Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the operator who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the chat workload between operators.
  - Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest operators. The next incoming chat is assigned to the operator who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
  - Round Robin. Rotate chat assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.
4. Under Chats queued for assignment, set an urgency for this department. See How to determine which queued chats are assigned first (Urgency).
Under Visitor queue time upon manual reassigment, tell BoldChat how to place visitors into the queue when they are reassigned by an operator rather than ACD. You can set this option independently for vistors reassigned within a department as opposed to between departments.
- To place visitors at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place visitors in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.

How to determine which queued chats are assigned first (Urgency)

When there are more incoming chats than operators can handle, a chat queue is formed. Urgency determines which queued chats will be assigned first.

Urgency can be applied in two ways:

At the department level as part of Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD)
At the chat level as part of the Chat Rules Engine

Chat rule urgency prevails over department-level urgency.

To set urgency at the department level as part of Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD):
1. Create a department at Setup > Account Setup > General > Departments.
2. On the New Department window, go to the Chat Distribution tab.
3. Click Override account-level automatic distribution settings for this department.
4. Under Chats queued for assignment, select an Urgency level.
5. Save your changes.
Incoming chats for a department with a higher urgency setting are distributed before those for a department with a lower setting. When departmental urgency is the same for multiple chats in the queue, operators receive the chat from the department for which they have the highest priority.
To set urgency at the chat level as part of the Chat Rules Engine, refer to the instructions for managing chats according to rules: How to manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine).

How to set up SMS automatic distribution

Automatic SMS distribution allows you to automatically and intelligently distribute assignment of new, incoming SMS threads to your operators.

Important: Before you continue, make sure you have set up BoldChat to manage SMS.

Note: An Enterprise subscription is required.

From the main menu of the operator client, go to Setup > Automatic Distribution > Automatic SMS Distribution Setup.
Result: The Automatic SMS Distribution Setup window is displayed .
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates ACD at the account level.

Select options:

Option	Description
Reassign if not accepted in X minutes	When selected, SMS threads are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not accept the thread within the specified period of time. An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.
Limit concurrent SMS threads to X	When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.
Operators waiting for assignment	When there are fewer incoming threads than operators can handle, some operators will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked operators first, but you can choose an assignment method for operators of the same rank. See How to rank operators. To determine which waiting operator gets the next item, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the operator who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between operators. Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest operators. The next incoming thread is assigned to the operator who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-SMS tasks along with their SMS related work. Those who are managing SMS will stay busy with SMS, while others can stay focused on non-SMS tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent limits are set. Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.

Option

Description

Reassign if not accepted in X minutes

When selected, SMS threads are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not accept the thread within the specified period of time.

An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new threads from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.

Limit concurrent SMS threads to X

When selected, the number of threads that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new threads.

This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.

Operators waiting for assignment

When there are fewer incoming threads than operators can handle, some operators will be waiting for an assignment. Threads are assigned to highest ranked operators first, but you can choose an assignment method for operators of the same rank. See How to rank operators.

To determine which waiting operator gets the next item, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming thread to the operator who has the fewest active threads and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the workload between operators.
Most Busy. Assign threads to your busiest operators. The next incoming thread is assigned to the operator who is handling the most threads until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-SMS tasks along with their SMS related work. Those who are managing SMS will stay busy with SMS, while others can stay focused on non-SMS tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active threads (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of threads assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a thread if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.

Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or operator level.

How to send chats to a rollover department

When no operators are available in the original department, rollover departments take over incoming chats.

For example, Sales goes offline at 5pm, but Customer Support stays online. You set Customer Support as the rollover department for Sales. As a result, the Sales chat button is displayed as available whenever either a Sales or Customer Support operator is logged in.

Rollover departments are set as part of the Department definition process.

Remember: If a rollover department has business hours set at the department-level, it cannot receive rollover chats outside of its own business hours.

Create a department, as follows:
1. From the main menu of the BoldChat Operator Client, go to Setup > Account Setup. The Account Setup window is displayed.
2. On the left menu of the Account Setup window, click General > Departments > New
Result: The New Department window is displayed.
On the New Department window, select a Rollover Department.
Tip: Enterprise subscribers can also rank rollover departments. Chats are taken over in the order of the rollover department's ranking.
Finish setting up your department.
Save your changes.
Result:

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

Use Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD) to automatically place operators in an active chat session without operator interaction.

Note: A Premier or Enterprise subscription is required.

For example, you can automatically invite visitors to chat with an operator when they have been on a particular page for a certain time, clicked a link or revisited a URL. Automatic Chat Distribution balances the number of visitors in queue and the operator's workload in order to keep the rate of invitations at a maintainable level and the operator's chat queue saturated.

From the main menu of the operator client, go to Setup > Automatic Distribution > Automatic Chat Distribution Setup.
Result: The Automatic Chat Distribution Setup window is displayed.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates ACD at the account level.

Select options:

Option	Description
Reassign if not answered in X seconds	When selected, chats are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not answer the chat session within the specified period of time. In practice this means that a chat is answered by another operator when the originally assigned operator fails to respond. An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new chats from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.
Limit concurrent chats to X	When selected, the number of chats that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the chat limit, they are no longer assigned new chats. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.

Option

Description

Reassign if not answered in X seconds

When selected, chats are reassigned to another operator when the originally assigned operator does not answer the chat session within the specified period of time. In practice this means that a chat is answered by another operator when the originally assigned operator fails to respond.

An operator who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new chats from being assigned. The operator must then explicitly log back in as Available.

Limit concurrent chats to X

When selected, the number of chats that can be assigned to each operator is limited. When an operator reaches the chat limit, they are no longer assigned new chats. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual operator level.

If you choose to limit concurrent chats, the following options are also available:

Option	Description
Inform visitor about position in queue	When no operators are eligible to receive new chats (all have reached their maximum concurrent chats limit), then new chats are placed in a queue. When selected, visitors see their position in the queue in the chat window.
Enable link to cancel chat	When selected, visitors in the waiting queue are presented a button that cancels the chat and displays the unavailable form (if enabled).
Disable chat when queue size is X	When selected, chat is unavailable to visitors when the chat waiting queue reaches the specified limit. Setting this to zero prevents new chat sessions when there are no eligible operators in your account.
Queue length limits	Maximum chats in queue: Do not allow new chat sessions when the total queue size reaches this number. Average in queue per available operator: Disable the Chat Button when the total number in the queue divided by the number of available operators reaches this number.
Invitation throttling	For Enterprise subscribers only. The invitation throttle controls the balance between the number of invitations sent and the risk that your target queue is exceeded. This helps you avoid long queues of unassigned chats when more visitors accept invitations than operators can handle. Throttling options: Target queue size. The target number of chats that you are willing to leave queued for assignment. The invitation throttle adjusts the number of invitations sent in order to optimize queue size. Note: The target queue size is independent of the Disable chat queue size setting. Chat becomes unavailable when the target queue size reaches a number equal to or less than the Disable chat queue size. You are recommended to set a higher threshold for the Disable chat queue size setting than your target queue size. Expected acceptance rate. The expected likelihood that an invitation will be accepted. You can choose your own percentage or use the calculated value, which is based on a moving average of the actual acceptance rate over approximately one week for the given account or department. Throttling rate. This is your willingness to risk that more invitations will be accepted than your target queue size. When you choose a lower risk option, fewer invitations are sent, thus decreasing the potential number of acceptances. The options represent a 50%, 5% and 0.1% probability that you will exceed the target queue size, assuming that the expected acceptance rate is accurate. Note: For optimal results, make sure that the expected and real acceptance rates correlate closely. If the rates diverge, either you will not be sending out as many invites as you are able to handle, or your target queue size will be frequently exceeded.

When there are fewer incoming chats than operators would be able to handle, some operators will be waiting for an assignment. Chats are assigned to highest ranked operators first, but you can choose an assignment method for operators of the same rank. See How to rank operators.

Option	Description
Operators waiting for assignment	To determine which waiting same-rank operator gets the next chat, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the operator who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the chat workload between operators. Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest operators. The next incoming chat is assigned to the operator who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent chat limits are set. Round Robin Rotate chat assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit. Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, chats are assigned to the operator within the same rank who is working on chats with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an operator handling one difficulty 3 chat before an operator who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Option

Description

Operators waiting for assignment

To determine which waiting same-rank operator gets the next chat, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the operator who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the chat workload between operators.
Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest operators. The next incoming chat is assigned to the operator who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the operator who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your operators must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single operator, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate chat assignment among all available operators regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per operator. Lower ranked operators will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked operators have reached their limit.

Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, chats are assigned to the operator within the same rank who is working on chats with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an operator handling one difficulty 3 chat before an operator who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Under Visitor queue time upon manual reassignment, tell BoldChat how to place visitors into the queue when they are reassigned by an operator rather than ACD.
You can set this option independently for visitors reassigned within a department (From same department) as opposed to between departments (From other departments).
Note: For answered items that are manually reassigned, the queue time is always reset. For automatically assigned items, visitors always maintain their place in the queue.
- To place visitors at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place visitors in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or operator level.

How to route incoming chats

BoldChat gives you a fine level of control over how incoming communications can be directed to specific folders and departments. Routing answers the question "How can I show certain incoming chats to certain operators?"

At the highest level, routing looks like this:

The simplest way to route chats is to associate a Custom Chat Button definition or Chat Window pre-chat form with a Department definition. Incoming chats are routed to operators in an associated department.
If you want all chats to go to a specific chat folder, create folders and set one as the default. All incoming chats will go to the default folder unless Chat Rules are applied.
The entity called Chat Rules gives you added subtlety. You can use Chat Rules to evaluate incoming chats and move them to a folder or assign them attributes such as category or status.
Finally, Premier and Enterprise subscribers can also use Automatic Distribution (ACD) to set up rules that automatically activate chats by placing operators in a chat session without operator interaction. ACD also allows for operator ranking and chat urgency settings. To achieve optimal distribution to appropriate resources, operators can be ranked within a department and departments can be ranked for an operator.

How to assign chats based on their difficulty

Distribute incoming chats more evenly between operators by adjusting the difficulty factor of a typical chat.

Difficulty balancing helps you control the combination of work items an operator can handle concurrently as well as how soon a chat queue reaches capacity by differentiating difficulty levels between typical incoming chats, based on department of origin, website or chat window.

When difficulty balancing is enabled, Automatic Chat Distribution takes chat difficulty into consideration by assigning a combination of fewer difficult and a greater number of less difficult items to operators until their queue limit has been reached or exceeded.

For example, tech support issues and general business inquiries may require different amount of time to resolve. Administrators can assess and review the difficulty of a chat using any metric of their choosing, such as on-call time or chat lines exchanged. Raising or lowering the difficulty factor can make operators more efficient and lessen visitor wait-time by routing chats that are appropriate to operator skill level, expertise, and workload.

Consider the following examples:

Scenario	Outcome
Queue limit is 4 Operator receives 2 chats with difficulty 2	The operator is effectively handling 4 items, and will not receive any more chats as the limit has been reached.
Queue limit is 4 Operator receives the following chats in order: 3 chats with difficulty 1 2 chats with difficulty 0.75	All five chats are assigned to the operator, who is effectively handling 4.5 items. No further chats will be assigned as the limit has already been exceeded.

The effective weight of a chat in the queue is linearly proportional to its difficulty factor.

The factor ranges from 0 through 100. Decimal fractions are allowed.
The default difficulty is 1, representing average difficulty.

By design, difficulty-based distribution can cause an operator's limit to be exceeded. This can temporarily overload an operator; however, the behavior is expected, and aims to prevent difficult items from sitting in the queue for a prolonged period of time to ensure that visitors in the queue are treated fairly.

Difficulty can be applied in two ways:

At the department level as part of Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD)
At the chat level as part of the Chat Rules Engine

Chat rule difficulty prevails over department-level difficulty.

To set difficulty at the department level as part of Automatic Chat Distribution (ACD):
1. Create a department at Setup > Account Setup > General > Departments.
2. On the New Department window, go to the Chat Distribution tab.
3. Set the difficulty factor under Override default difficulty for this department.
4. Save your changes.
To set difficulty at the chat level as part of the Chat Rules Engine, refer to the instructions for managing chats according to rules: How to manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine).

Route chats to your agents

If you have multiple departments, you should have some logic in place to route customer chats to the appropriate department. You can do so by using a pre-chat form or by setting up routing rules.

Note: This article is part of a Quick Start Guide to help you implement your Bold360 environment from scratch.

Via Pre-Chat Form

When you want the customer to choose with which department they want to be connected.

Make sure your departments are named in a customer-facing manner.
In the Web Admin Center, go to Channels > Chat > Chat Window.
Click on My Chat Window and go to the Pre-Chat form tab.
Check box for Department. This will add Department as a field in the pre-chat form. Customers can choose the department they want to speak with and will be routed accordingly.

Via Routing Rules

When you want to route customers to a particular department based on their initial question, language or other criteria.

In the Web Admin Center, go to Channels > Chat > Routing Rules.
Click Create New.
On the Criteria tab, do the following:
1. Create a Rule Name. This name should include the department name.
2. Fill out the criteria that will determine when a chat should be routed to this department. For example, if Initial Question Contains help or support.
Within Actions tab, select appropriate department from Department drop-down.

Previous article: Create a Floating Chat Button

Next article: Run reports on your organization

Additional Configuration - Automatic Distribution

Automatic Distribution automatically assigns chats to agents to maximize agent efficiency. Within Automatic Distribution settings, you can set concurrent chat limits, enable queues and more.

Note: This article is part of a Quick Start Guide to help you implement your Bold360 environment from scratch.

To see the below steps in action, view our tutorial:

In the Web Admin Center, go to Channels > Chat > Automatic Distribution. Set up automatic distribution for chat by selecting Enable automatic distribution.
Optional: You can enable a concurrent chat limit which will limit how many chats are assigned to an agent at a time. To do so, enable Concurrent Chat Limit and set this number in the corresponding box.
If you have set a concurrent chat limit, you can route customers to a queue when all agents have hit their concurrent chat limit. Under Queue Length Limits, you can set a hard limit under Maximum in queue or you can set a dynamic limit depending on how many agents are online under Average per agent. If you do not want to enable a queue, you can set Maximum in queue to 0.
You can change the assignment method under Agents Waiting for Assignment. By default, this is set to Least Busy. This is the approach most commonly taken by customers. However, you can choose from the following options:
- Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no chats, ACD will assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the chat workload between agents.
- Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest agents. The next incoming chat is assigned to the agent who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
- Round Robin. Rotate chat assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.
Save your changes.

Previous article: Define your website

Next article: Additional Configuration - Canned Messages

How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department)

Within a department, you can rank agents to determine how incoming items are assigned.

Ranking is applied at the department level and works in conjunction with Automatic Distribution (AD).

Create or edit a department, as follows:
1. In the Web Admin Center, go to Organization > Departments. The Department Management page is displayed.
2. Select an existing department or click Create New.
Result: The New/Edit Department page is displayed.
On the Agents tab, select an agent to assign them to the group.
Result: The selected agent is displayed in the table at the top of the screen.
Assign a rank.
Result: Items are assigned to lower ranked agents only when all higher ranked agents have reached any applicable limits.
Save your changes.

How to route items among same-rank agents

As part of your routing strategy, you can change how items are assigned to same-rank agents by overriding Automatic Distribution (AD) as part of the department setup process. You can also assign Urgency to determine which queued items will be assigned first.

Create or edit a department, as follows:
1. In the Web Admin Center, go to Organization > Departments. The Department Management page is displayed.
2. Select an existing department or click Create New.
Result: The New/Edit Department page is displayed.
On the Automatic Distribution tab, choose a channel and click Override account-level distribution settings.
Select a method under Agents waiting for an assignment > Among same-rank agents, assign by this method.
- Least Busy. Assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has the fewest active chats and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no chats, ACD will assign the next incoming chat to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the chat workload between agents.
- Most Busy. Assign chats to your busiest agents. The next incoming chat is assigned to the agent who is handling the most chats until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-chat tasks along with their chat related work. Those who are chatting will stay busy chatting, while others can stay focused on non-chat tasks. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
- Round Robin. Rotate chat assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active chats (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a chat if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.
Save your changes.

Manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine)

You can use Chat Rules to evaluate incoming chats and route them to departments, move them to a folder, assign them attributes such as category or status, or assign them an urgency to determine which queued chats are assigned first.

A single rule may contain multiple actions, which are applied to every incoming chat before Automatic Distribution could route a chat. When a chat is received, Digital DX runs the rules one by one - in the order that you define - and checks whether the incoming chat matches the criteria defined in the chat rule. If there is a match, the chat is routed according to the actions defined in the rule. Otherwise, Bold360 checks the chat against the next rule that you have defined. When none of the rules match the chat, then Automatic Distribution routes the customer to an agent or department.

Chat routing rules are also applied when the Apply to department transfers (all services) option is enabled on the General Transfer Rules page and chats are routed to a new department.

How does it work?

Important: You must have Account settings > Setup Rules Engines permission to manage your chat rules.

Create or edit a Chat Rule as follows:
1. In the Web Admin Center, click Channels > Chat > Routing Rules.
2. On the Routing Rules for Chat page, select an existing rule or click Create New.
Result: The Edit/New Routing Rule for Chat page is displayed.
Name the rule.
Rules are displayed in the rules list by Rule Name. Each rule should have a unique name for easy identification.
Set criteria.
The rules engine compares the properties of incoming chats against the criteria and performs the rule's action when there is a match.
- Initial Question Contains: Apply the rule to chats with a pre-chat form where the customer input for the Initial Question field contains the defined expressions.
- Chat Window: Apply the rule to chats originating from the selected custom chat window definition.
- Website: Apply the rule to chats that originate from a source associated with the selected Website definition.
- Departments: Apply the rule to chats that originate from a source associated with the selected Department definition.
- Language: Apply the rule to chats associated with the selected language, as detected from the customer's language settings or as set on the Custom Chat Window (pre-chat form).
- Mobility. To apply the rule to chats originating from all devices, select both Desktop/Laptop Visitor and Mobile Visitor.
- Auto Answers: Apply the rule to work items according to the following sub-criteria.
  - First Question Contains: Customer's first question contains the defined expressions
  - Last Question Contains: Customer's last question contains the defined expressions
  - Any Question Contains: Any of the customer's questions contains the defined expressions
  - Shown Canned Message: Message included in the customer's query results
  - Clicked Canned Message: Customer clicked the message
  - Last Clicked Canned Message: Customer clicked the message last
  - Rated Positive Canned Message: Customer rated the message up
  - Rated Negative Canned Message: Customer rated the message down
Can you select multiple criteria? Yes. Multiple selections within a criterion are evaluated according to OR condition logic, while selections across criteria are evaluated according to AND condition logic. For example, when you select multiple languages, then the routing rule would run on matching any of those languages (OR condition logic). However, when you define a website, a chat window, and a language, then the routing rule would only run on matching all of those criteria (AND condition logic).
To route a chat when criteria are met, choose the following actions:
- Folder: Send a chat to a specific chat folder.
- Department: Make the chat available to members of a specific department.
- Urgency: Route queued chats according to urgency:
  Note:
  - Incoming items with a higher urgency setting will be distributed before those with a lower setting.
  - When urgency is the same for multiple items in the queue, agents will receive the next item from the department for which they have the highest priority.
  - By default, department-level urgency prevails over chat rule urgency
  - No Change indicates the rule will not change the urgency of the item.
- Difficulty: Affects the concurrent chat limit.
  Note:
  - Chats are assigned the default difficulty factor of 1 when difficulty-based routing is not set.
  - Department-level difficulty prevails over chat rule difficulty.
To assign attributes to a chat when additional criteria are met, choose the following actions:
- Category
- Status
- Custom Field 1 or 2
Result: These attributes are shown to agents as values in columns on the chat panel. Agents can use the information to make decisions about how to handle or organize chats.
Save the rule.
Continue to create rules.
Drag and drop rules to arrange them in the order they should be evaluated.
Important: Rules are evaluated in the order they appear in the rules list.

Chat Rules are applied to your entire Digital DX account.

What are best practices for routing rules?

Routing rules are very flexible and are often under-utilized; however, our best practice recommendation is to enable both folders and routing rules. Customers should have a folder for each department and use routing rules to route chats, emails, and messages accordingly.

Workflows with email management rules can be set to auto-respond with canned messages and close the email thread out with the same rule to help provide a faster response to the customer and keeping the queues cleared out for more accurate SLA reporting.

Routing rules help automate actions based on certain conditions. While this is commonly used to assign a work item to a specific department, this can also help set for example category and status labels automatically, which can help reduce the agent's wrap-up handle time.

How are discussions distributed when sent to a department

When Automatic Distribution is enabled and you select a department as discussion partner, Bold360 automatically assigns the discussion to an available agent in that department. In many respect, a discussion is treated as a chat work item. Similarly to chats, Automatic Distribution is responsible for routing discussions to agents.

You can set up automatic distribution for chats and chat discussions either for all agents of your organization or for a specific department. To enable Automatic Distribution for chats and discussions, at admin.bold360.com, go to Channels > Chat > Automatic Distribution and enable Enable automatic distribution. To limit the number of discussions an agent can take at a time, select Concurrent discussion limit.

Important: You can override Concurrent discussion limit at department level.

The following Automatic Distribution settings influence routing within the selected department:

Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)

When selected, discussions are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not answer the discussion within the specified period of time.

An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status on the Chat channel to prevent new discussions (and chats) from being assigned. The agent must then explicitly set their status to Available.

Reassign messages after agent disconnected (seconds)

When an agent disconnects (for example, after logging out), Automatic Distribution reassigns all active chats and discussions to other agents after the defined period of time. When the agent disconnects due to network connectivity issues, discussions are reassigned after at least two minutes. Therefore, even if you set the Reassign messages after agent disconnected value to 30 seconds, discussions will only be reassigned after two minutes. Keep in mind that if no agents are available to take additional workload then discussions will be placed in queue.

Agents waiting for assignment

To determine which waiting same-rank agent gets the next discussion, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming discussion to the agent who has the highest chat capacity and has waited the longest. Choose this to balance the chat and discussion workload between agents.
Most Busy. Assign discussions to your busiest agents who has the lowest chat capacity. The next incoming discussion is assigned to the agent who is handling the most chats and discussions until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
Round Robin. Rotate discussion assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active chats and discussions (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of chats and discussions assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a discussion if all higher ranked agents have reached their chat capacity limit.

How to route queued items to departments by Urgency

As part of your routing strategy, Urgency determines which queued chats will be assigned first.

Urgency can be applied in two ways:

At the department level as part of Automatic Distribution (AD)
At the chat level as part of the Chat Rules Engine (this prevails over department-level urgency)

Here is how to set Urgency for a department.

Create or edit a department, as follows:
1. In the Web Admin Center, go to Organization > Departments. The Department Management page is displayed.
2. Select an existing department or click Create New.
Result: The New/Edit Department page is displayed.
On the Automatic Distribution tab, choose a channel and click Override account-level distribution settings.
Set urgency for this department under Messages queued for assignment.
Incoming chats for a department with a higher urgency setting are distributed before those for a department with a lower setting. When departmental urgency is the same for multiple chats in the queue, agents receive the chat from the department for which they have the highest priority. Chat-level urgency prevails over department-level urgency.
Save your changes.

To set urgency at the chat level, refer to the instructions for managing chats according to rules: Invite customers to chat according to rules (Invitation Rule Sets).

How to set concurrent work item limits per agent

Concurrency limits for chats and other items are normally set at the account or department level. These limits can be overridden at the individual agent level.

When an agent reaches a limit, they are no longer assigned new items.

Create or edit an agent, as follows:
1. In the Web Admin Center, go to Organization > Agents.
2. On the Agent Management page, select an existing agent or click Create New.
Result: The New/Edit Agent page is displayed.
On the Automatic Distribution tab, choose the limits you want to override for this agent:
- Concurrent chat limit
- Concurrent email thread limit
- Concurrent SMS thread limit
Save your changes.

Example:

When would you set concurrency limits?

Concurrency limit hierarchy is important to keep in mind to build the necessary flexibility into your organization. Digital DX supports three levels of limits: at account level, department level, and agent level.

While there may be a general setting applied to the account that no one person takes more than three work items at a time, this will be overridden by any department level settings and agent settings that are defined. For example, if your "L2 Support" department is set to take a maximum of three chats, a newly hired agent starting to work in this queue can be set to have an agent limit of one chat maximum. This way, they can ramp up without disrupting the maximum capacity for the entire department.

These concurrencies must be considered in relation to each other. For example, if the agent assigned to "L2 Support" which has a maximum concurrency of three and the "L3 Support" department that they also belong to has a maximum concurrency of one chat, this agent's potential maximum workload is 4 chats: three L2 chats and one L3 chat as an agent can belong to multiple departments. If this agent should only ever receive a maximum of three chats of any type, you must set an agent-level concurrency limit of three chats so that they never exceed this maximum, no matter where they come from (such as two L2 chats + one L3 chat or three L2 chats and zero L3 chats).

Bold360’s customer engagement solution makes the transition from chatbot to human agent a completely seamless experience. The full history of the interaction is carried over to the agent, so the customer never has to repeat themselves. Bold360’s?artificial intelligence continues to support this engagement?even after passing it off to a human, and the agent can also provide feedback to the smart advisor, improving results with every interaction. Whether talking with a chatbot or human agent, Bold360 makes it easy for your customers to get the answer they need. When bots and humans work seamlessly together, your customer wins.

Omni-queue setup

You can combine your available channels into a single queue. Depending on how you set up Omni-queue, your agents can receive work items from the chat, email, and messaging channels in one queue.

Important: You must have the Account settings > Access Omni-queue settings permission to see the Channels > Omni-queue menu in the Admin Center.

At admin.bold360.com, go to Channels > Omni-queue > Channel setup.
Select the channels that want to include in Omni-queue.

Agents will receive work items from these channels as soon as they change their status to Available in Omni-queue.
Save your changes.

Remember:

Omni-queue is an account-level feature. When enabled, you cannot override it at agent or department level.
When an agent does not have access to a channel that is included in the Omni-queue, they will not be assigned work items on that channel.

Why would you use Omni-queue?

Agent availability in Omni-queue is controlled by a separate status button in Agent Workspace. Agents can make themselves available on multiple channels by a single click.
Concurrent workload limit applies to the combined channels. For example, when agents have a limit of three concurrent work items (and Automatic Distribution is enabled), they can start conversations with three customers, regardless of which channels the customers use. In this case, an agent may work on, say, two active chats and a Facebook Messenger conversation simultaneously.
An agent's settings for channel availability override Omni-queue settings. When a channel is disabled for a specific agent but is part of the Omni-queue, that agent does not receive work items from the channel. For example, if the SMS channel is disabled for the agent but is part of the Omni-queue, the agent will not get text messages.

Automatic Distribution for Omni-queue

Use Automatic Distribution to automatically place agents in an active sessions without agent interaction.

Remember: Automatic Distribution applies to all channels included in Omni-queue. Work items will be assigned to your agents, regardless of which channel they come from.

Go to Channels > Omni-queue > Automatic Distribution.
Select Enable automatic distribution.
Result: This activates Automatic Distribution at the account level.

Select the following options:

Option	Description
Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)	When selected, work items are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not answer the work item within the specified period. In practice this means that a work item is answered by another agent when the originally assigned agent fails to respond. An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new work items from being assigned. The agent must then explicitly set their status to Available.
Concurrent item limit	When selected, the number of work items that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new work items. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual agent level. Chat and discussion difficulty affects this limit.

Option

Description

Reassign unanswered messages (seconds)

When selected, work items are reassigned to another agent when the originally assigned agent does not answer the work item within the specified period. In practice this means that a work item is answered by another agent when the originally assigned agent fails to respond.

An agent who fails to answer in time is set to Away status to prevent new work items from being assigned. The agent must then explicitly set their status to Available.

Concurrent item limit

When selected, the number of work items that can be assigned to each agent is limited. When an agent reaches the limit, they are no longer assigned new work items. This limit setting can be overridden at an individual agent level. Chat and discussion difficulty affects this limit.

When there are fewer incoming work items than what agents could handle, some agents will be waiting for an assignment. Work items are assigned to highest ranked agents first, but you can choose an assignment method for agents of the same rank. See How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department).

Option	Description
Agents waiting for assignment	To determine which waiting same-rank agent gets the next chat, choose an assignment method: Least Busy. Assign the next incoming work item to the agent who has the fewest active sessions and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no work items, Automatic Distribution will assign the next incoming item to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time. Choose this to balance the workload between agents. Most Busy. Assign work items to your busiest agents. The next incoming work item is assigned to the agent who is handling the most work items until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-work item tasks along with their regular work. Those who are working on customer issues will stay busy, while others can stay focused on tasks not related to work items. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set. Round Robin Rotate work item assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active work items (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of work items assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a work item if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit. Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, work items are assigned to the agent within the same rank who has work items with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an agent handling one difficulty 3 chat before an agent who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Option

Description

Agents waiting for assignment

To determine which waiting same-rank agent gets the next chat, choose an assignment method:

Least Busy. Assign the next incoming work item to the agent who has the fewest active sessions and has waited the longest. This naturally means that if you have multiple agents available with no work items, Automatic Distribution will assign the next incoming item to the agent who has been in Available status for the longest period of time.
Choose this to balance the workload between agents.
Most Busy. Assign work items to your busiest agents. The next incoming work item is assigned to the agent who is handling the most work items until their limit is reached, and thereafter to the agent who has been idle for the shortest period of time. Choose this option if your agents must manage non-work item tasks along with their regular work. Those who are working on customer issues will stay busy, while others can stay focused on tasks not related to work items. To prevent overload on a single agent, make sure concurrent chat limits are set.
Round Robin Rotate work item assignment among all available agents regardless of waiting time or number of active work items (until their concurrent limit is reached). Choose this option to balance the number of work items assigned per agent. Lower ranked agents will only be assigned a work item if all higher ranked agents have reached their limit.

Note: If you are using difficulty-based distribution, work items are assigned to the agent within the same rank who has work items with the lowest total relative difficulty. For example, an incoming chat will be assigned to an agent handling one difficulty 3 chat before an agent who is handling four difficulty 1 chats.

Under Manual reassignment, tell Bold360 how to place customers into the queue when they are reassigned by an agent rather than Automatic Distribution.
You can set this option independently for customers reassigned within a department (From same department) as opposed to between departments (From other departments).

Note: For answered work items that are manually reassigned, queue time is always reset. For automatically assigned items, customers always maintain their place in the queue.
- To place customers at the end of the queue regardless of how long they have been waiting, select Move to end of queue (time is reset)
- To place customers in the queue based on time already spent waiting, select Maintain place in queue (time is preserved)
Save your changes.
Result: Settings are applied to your entire account except where overridden at the department or agent level.

Frequently Asked Questions about Omni-queue

How does Automatic Distribution for Omni-queue influence other channels?

Omni-queue settings override Automatic Distribution for other channels and thereby simplifies admins' work. When a channel is part of Omni-queue, you can no longer modify its Automatic Distribution settings, even if Automatic Distribution is not enabled for Omni-queue.

What about department-level Automatic Distribution settings?

You cannot modify Automatic Distribution for chat, email, and messaging channels at the department level, even if Automatic Distribution is disabled for Omni-queue. However, you can define Automatic Distribution for Omni-queue at the department level. This will override account-level Omni-queue settings.

Can agents receive work items on all Omni-queue channels?

No. Agent-specific channel settings override Omni-queue settings. When a channel is disabled for agents, they do not receive items on that channel, even if the channel is included in Omni-queue.

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ACD Articles

How to trace back email routing history

Set up automatic distribution for email

How to set up automatic email distribution

Set up automatic distribution for messaging

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to assign chats to certain operators before others (ranking within department)

How to determine which queued chats are assigned first (Urgency)

How to set up SMS automatic distribution

How to send chats to a rollover department

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to route incoming chats

How to assign chats based on their difficulty

Route chats to your agents

Via Pre-Chat Form

Via Routing Rules

Additional Configuration - Automatic Distribution

How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department)

How to route items among same-rank agents

Manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine)

What are best practices for routing rules?

How are discussions distributed when sent to a department

How to route queued items to departments by Urgency

How to set concurrent work item limits per agent

Omni-queue setup

Automatic Distribution for Omni-queue

Frequently Asked Questions about Omni-queue

Announcements

Bold360 21.10 Release Notes

Bold360 21.10 release notes

Enforcing HTTPS and removing HTTP across widget scripts

In-Product Rebranding

getEstimatedWaitTime API call

Bold360 21.11 Release Notes

ACD Articles

How to trace back email routing history

How to trace back email routing history

Set up automatic distribution for email

Set up automatic distribution for email

How to set up automatic email distribution

How to set up automatic email distribution

Set up automatic distribution for messaging

Set up automatic distribution for messaging

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to assign chats to certain operators before others (ranking within department)

How to assign chats to certain operators before others (ranking within department)

How to determine which queued chats are assigned first (Urgency)

How to determine which queued chats are assigned first (Urgency)

How to set up SMS automatic distribution

How to set up SMS automatic distribution

How to send chats to a rollover department

How to send chats to a rollover department

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to automatically activate chats (Automatic Chat Distribution)

How to route incoming chats

How to route incoming chats

How to assign chats based on their difficulty

How to assign chats based on their difficulty

Route chats to your agents

Route chats to your agents

Via Pre-Chat Form

Via Routing Rules

Additional Configuration - Automatic Distribution

Additional Configuration - Automatic Distribution

How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department)

How to assign chats to certain agents before others (ranking within department)

How to route items among same-rank agents

How to route items among same-rank agents

Manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine)

Manage incoming chats according to rules (Chat Rules Engine)

What are best practices for routing rules?

How are discussions distributed when sent to a department

How are discussions distributed when sent to a department

How to route queued items to departments by Urgency

How to route queued items to departments by Urgency

How to set concurrent work item limits per agent

How to set concurrent work item limits per agent

Video: Routing to a Human Agent (1:46)

Omni-queue setup

Omni-queue setup

Automatic Distribution for Omni-queue

Frequently Asked Questions about Omni-queue

Announcements

Bold360 21.10 Release Notes

Bold360 21.10 release notes

Enforcing HTTPS and removing HTTP across widget scripts

In-Product Rebranding

getEstimatedWaitTime API call

Bold360 21.11 Release Notes