Route and assign conversations
Decide who gets each new conversation. Set up auto-assign, round robin or least busy routing, chat limits per agent, and the statuses that control routing.
On this page
When a visitor starts a conversation, Pengo can hand it straight to someone on your team, or leave it in Incoming for whoever accepts it first. You decide per website.
#Choose how chats are routed
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Go to Settings Team Routing .
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Pick a Routing method.
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Leave Auto-assign new chats on to have Pengo assign chats for you. Turn it off to have every chat wait in Incoming until someone accepts it.
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Set the Maximum active chats per agent.
Your changes save automatically. The page header shows Saved when they’re stored.
| Routing method | Who gets the next chat |
|---|---|
| Round robin | The next available agent in turn, so chats spread evenly. This is the default. |
| Least busy | Whoever has the fewest active conversations right now. |
| Random | Any available agent. |
| Specific agent | Always one person you choose under Select primary agent. Good for dedicated account owners. |
#When a chat is routed
With Auto-assign new chats on, Pengo assigns a chat as soon as it needs a person: right away, or when Pengo Intelligence hands it over. The teammate gets a Chat assigned to you alert.
Pengo only routes to people who are:
- the owner, or a teammate with access to that website (never viewers),
- Online, with Pengo open on one of their devices,
- under their chat limit.
If nobody fits, the chat waits in Incoming. Pengo tries again every minute and whenever a teammate comes Online, as long as the visitor wrote recently. Anyone can still accept it in the meantime.
#Limit chats per agent
Maximum active chats per agent sets how many open or waiting chats Pengo routes to one person, from 1 to 50. The default is 5. The count includes chats on all your websites.
Agents can still accept more chats themselves. The limit only stops Pengo from sending them more. In the inbox, a chip above the conversation list shows where you stand, for example “3/5 chats”.
Two switches decide what happens when people are full or unavailable:
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Keep routing when everyone is full | When every online agent is at the limit, assign the chat to the least busy one anyway instead of leaving it in Incoming. | Off |
| Fallback to any available agent | If the agent you picked under Specific agent is unavailable or full, route the chat to any online teammate instead. | On |
#Your status decides if you get chats
Each teammate sets their own status from the switch in the dashboard header, the mobile app, or Settings Your profile My availability .
| Status | What happens |
|---|---|
| Online | New chats can be routed to you while Pengo is open on one of your devices. |
| Away | You keep your chats; new ones go to others. |
| Busy | Like Away, and alerts are muted. Only in-app alerts arrive. |
| Offline | No new chats until you switch back. |
On the My availability page you can also:
- Use Auto-away, on by default, to set you Away after a period without using Pengo. Set the Inactivity time (minutes) from 1 to 480. The default is 15. You’re back Online as soon as you use Pengo again. Busy is never changed.
- Add a Status message, up to 200 characters, that your teammates see next to your status.
If your connection drops, Pengo sets you Offline and puts you back Online when it reconnects.
#Assign or transfer by hand
You can always override routing from the conversation itself. Pick a teammate with the assignee button in the conversation header, or use Transfer in the More actions menu. See Your first conversation.
Common questions
Why wasn't a new chat assigned to anyone?
Nobody who works on that website was Online with room under their chat limit, or Auto-assign new chats is off. The chat waits in Incoming. Pengo tries again every minute and as soon as a teammate comes Online.
Does the chat limit stop agents from taking more chats?
No. It only stops Pengo from routing more to them. Agents can still accept or be given chats themselves.
Do viewers get chats?
No. Viewers are read-only, so Pengo never routes conversations to them.
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