Auto Assignment spreads new conversations evenly across your team. Instead of waiting for someone to claim a conversation, Heymarket assigns it to the next inbox member in line, so no one gets overloaded and nothing sits unowned.
How Auto Assignment works
When Auto Assignment is on for an inbox, new and reopened unassigned conversations are assigned to inbox members one at a time, in order. After the last member gets a conversation, assignment starts again from the top, the classic Round Robin rotation.
A few things to know:
- Only new and reopened conversations are assigned. Conversations that are already in the inbox when you turn on Auto Assignment aren't affected.
- User groups are included. If a user group is a member of the inbox, everyone in that group is part of the rotation.
- Members don't need to be online. Conversations are assigned in order whether or not the member is currently active.
- Assignments stick. Follow-up messages on an assigned conversation stay with the same teammate.
Turn on Auto Assignment
Only admins can change auto assign settings.
- Go to Admin > Inboxes.
- Find the inbox you want to set up and click Settings.
- Next to Auto assign, click the current setting to open the Auto assign window.
- Turn on Auto assign new conversations.
- Select Auto Assignment. Next in line is selected by default.
- Click Save.
Auto Assignment applies only to the inbox you set it up on. Your other inboxes keep their current settings.
What your team sees
When Auto Assignment assigns a conversation, the assignee's name appears at the top of the chat, and a note in the conversation shows that Auto Assignment made the assignment. Only the assigned teammate gets notifications for that conversation.
Choose the right auto assign method
Each inbox can use one auto assign method at a time:
| Method | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Assign on reply (First to reply) | Small teams that claim work as it comes in | The first teammate to reply is assigned. Later replies don't change it. |
| AI Agent | Inboxes where an AI Agent handles the first response | New conversations go to the AI Agent you choose. |
| Round Robin (Next in line) | Teams that want an even split of new conversations | New and reopened conversations go to inbox members one at a time, in order. |
| Auto Assignment (Load balance) | Teams where some conversations take longer than others. | Each new conversation goes to the member who has the fewest open conversations in the inbox, so no one gets buried while a teammate sits idle.
|
Balance workload with Load balance
Next in line is straight Round Robin: it hands out conversations in turn, no matter how busy each person is. Load balance looks at each member’s current workload first. Every new conversation goes to the inbox member with the fewest open conversations assigned to them in that inbox.
How workload is counted
- Only conversations in a member’s Open tab count.
- Pending, closed and archived conversations don’t count.
- Workload is counted separately for each inbox. Being busy in one inbox doesn’t affect assignments in another.
- If two or more members have the same number of open conversations, the one who’s next in the Next in line order gets it.
Turn on Load balance
- Go to Admin > Inboxes and open the inbox’s Settings.
- Click the current setting next to Auto assign.
- Turn on auto assign for new conversations and select Auto Assignment.
- Choose Load balance.
- Click Save. The setting now reads Auto Assignment: Load balance.
You can switch between Next in line and Load balance at any time. The change applies to the next new conversation. If you turn Auto Assignment off and back on later, the inbox keeps the option you picked last.
Only assign to online members (optional)
Check Only assign to online members to skip teammates who aren’t available. It works with both Next in line and Load balance.
- A member counts as online when Heymarket is open and their status is Available. If someone sets their status to Offline, Busy or Away, they’re skipped until they set it back to Available.
- If no one is online, new conversations stay unassigned and wait for Auto Assignment.
- When a member comes online, they get up to 10 of the oldest waiting conversations.
- Waiting conversations don’t include ones that were already unassigned before you turned on Auto Assignment, AI Agent handoffs, or conversations unassigned by an idle timeout.
Change who's in the rotation
The rotation is made up of the inbox's members. To add or remove someone, open the inbox, go to the Members tab, and add or remove them there. Changes apply to the next conversation that's assigned.
Reassign a conversation
You can still reassign any conversation by hand from the Assignee dropdown at the top of the chat. A manual reassignment always overrides the automatic one.
Turn off Auto Assignment
- Go to Admin > Inboxes and open the inbox's Settings.
- Open Auto assign.
- Turn off Auto assign new conversations, or pick a different method.
- Click Save.
Conversations that were already assigned keep their assignee.
FAQ
Is Auto Assignment the same as Round Robin? Yes. With Next in line selected, Auto Assignment works as a Round Robin, giving each member a conversation in turn.
What happens if a member is away or offline? They still receive conversations in their turn. If someone is out for an extended period, remove them from the inbox members until they're back.
Who gets notified about an Auto Assignment conversation? Only the assigned teammate.
Does Auto Assignment affect outgoing messages, lists, or campaigns? No. Auto Assignment only assigns incoming conversations.
Can I use Auto Assignment and an AI Agent on the same inbox? Not at the same time. Each inbox uses one auto assign method.