Send each conversation to the right team
Departments split your inbox by team, so sales questions do not land in front of your support agents. They also decide what each agent is allowed to see.
This is for you once more than one person answers messages, or once your teams handle different kinds of question. If everyone does everything, you can skip departments entirely.
Step by step
Create your departments
Go to Settings > Miscellaneous and add a department for each team you want to separate, such as Sales and Support. Reload the page once you have saved them, otherwise the new departments will not appear.
Put each agent in a department
Open Users > Agents, edit an agent and set their department. Leave the department empty for anyone who needs to see everything.
Let users choose the department
In Settings > Miscellaneous, turn on Display in dashboard to make users pick a department before they start a conversation. Turn on Display in conversation list if you also want the department shown next to each conversation in the panel.
Or set the department automatically
You can assign a department with a chatbot Q&A "set data", with flow actions, from Settings > Automations > More, with the JavaScript variable var SB_DEFAULT_DEPARTMENT = ID; or through the API. This suits sites where the page already tells you which team is needed.
Rename departments to match your business
Under Settings > Miscellaneous, use Label and Label single to replace the word "Departments" with your own wording, and Dashboard title to change the heading users see.
Settings reference
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Display in dashboard | Forces users to pick a department before they can start a conversation. |
| Display images | Shows a department image instead of a colour. |
| Display in conversation list | Shows the department alongside conversations in the list. |
| One conversation per department | Keeps a user's conversations separate, so each department has its own conversation. |
| Label | Replaces the plural word "Departments" with wording of your own. |
| Label single | Replaces the singular word "Department" with wording of your own. |
| Dashboard title | Sets the title shown above the department picker. |
Good to know
Reload after adding a department
New departments do not show up until you reload the page. If one seems to be missing, reload before assuming it failed to save.
No department means full access
Agents and admins who are not given a department see the conversations of every department. This is the setting to use for a manager or an owner who wants the whole picture.
A department limits more than conversations
An agent or admin who does have a department can only access that department's conversations, users and agents. They will not see the rest of your customer list.
Moving a conversation sends email
When a conversation is reassigned to a new department, that department's agents are emailed. Expect the receiving team to hear about it straight away.
Common questions
I added a department but I cannot see it. What is wrong?
How do I stop an agent seeing other teams' conversations?
How do I give someone access to everything?
Can I make people choose a department before they write in?
Can the department be set without asking the customer?
Does anyone get told when I move a conversation to another department?
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