Step 9: Configuring routing rules

Sending your chats to the right place using our powerful routing tool

Routing rules allow you to define where to send your incoming chats. You will first need to have set up your team inboxes.

Routing rules will define the way a chat chat lands in the system. Depending on the criteria defined in the routing rules, matching chats can be routed to various destinations such as a particular team inbox or channel, or according to certain triggers, such as a matched keyword, or after a defined delay.

First, go to Organisations > Routing > Inbound routing tab from the left navigation panel

1. The basics explained

By default, you will see a catch-all rule that always tries to route chats to an inbox where agents or a bot are online.

Other routing rules that have been configured separately are applied by the system by checking them one by one, starting with the first one on the list.  If no match is found, the system moves on to the next rule until it finds a successful match, based on if/then rules. Once matched, the specified routing will be applied. A successful delivery is when a rule is matched and an online agent is notified.

If a rule is matched but no-one is online, the chat will be placed in the inbox but the system will continue searching for other rules.

If there are no agents online for other inboxes, the system will always go to next routing rule. If the system cannot find a match at all, it will notify ALL inboxes using the default catch-all rule.

Once a match is found, you can configure the system to either 'Stop' at that rule, or 'Continue' to look for other matching rules and apply them. This only works if the first rule is delivered to an online agent.

Using Continue makes sure that other rules (also delayed rules) are applied even if the chat is successfully delivered by the first rule.

2. How do I create new routing rules?

The routing system is highly complex and very powerful.  Please watch the videos below that explain the functions available. Please contact your Web1on1 account manager if you'd like some help.

Introduction to rule engine & creating if/then rules 

Order of rules

3. Delayed rules

Delayed rules can be particularly useful to make sure no chat is missed. If agents online in a specific inbox are for whatever reason not picking up a chat, that chat will always end up appearing in a more general inbox.

Delayed rules work in two different ways:

1. Whenever a rule is matched to an online agent AND 'Continue' is set to carry on matching additional rules;

2. If no-one is online the delayed rules will be fired immediately to seek out an online agent if there is one.

How to configure delayed rules:

Routing explained between Parent & Child organizations

All routing rules are automatically applied to the parent of an organisation, but they can be set to trigger according to certain criteria using the delay rule. Here's how:

Example of multiple words recognition rules