> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documents.xobito.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Assign Agents > Route conversations to specific teammates and control who can reply in chat. Assignment is how Xobito makes sure every conversation has an owner. When a conversation is assigned to a staff member, that person is responsible for replying. To see the chats assigned to you, open the filter popup above the conversation list and pick your own name in the **Agent** dropdown. Xobito's current build supports **manual assignment** plus a single workspace-wide toggle that restricts replying to agents only. There is no round-robin, no least-loaded strategy, no away-timer, and no queue-threshold alert built into the app. This page describes what the product actually does today — don't design your workflow around features the settings page doesn't expose. ## Why assign conversations Each conversation has one owner, so no customer message is answered twice (or not at all). Hand off to the right teammate — language, product area, VIP tier — by reassigning manually. Managers can see who's handling which conversations at any moment. Every reply is linked to the staff member who sent it — useful for audits and coaching. ## Assign a conversation manually From the Live Inbox. Use the assign button (or the avatar placeholder) in the contact panel on the right. Start typing to filter. Only staff members who have the required chat permission can receive assignments and reply — see [Who can be assigned](#who-can-be-assigned). The conversation now belongs to that staff member. They can find it by opening the filter popup and selecting their own name in the **Agent** dropdown. ## Reassign a conversation Same flow — click the current assignee's avatar and pick someone else. Reassignment updates immediately; the new owner can find the chat by filtering on their own name in the Agent dropdown. When reassigning, leave context for the next agent in the contact's **Notes** tab (Contacts → click the contact → Notes). The new owner can read your handover before replying. ## Unassign a conversation To clear an assignee from a conversation: 1. Open the conversation. 2. Click the current assignee's name. 3. Clear the assignee. Unassigned conversations stay in the shared inbox and any staff member with chat-view permission can pick them up and assign them. ## Working new conversations New incoming conversations start with **no assignee**. Staff work through them top-down — the most recent activity bubbles to the top of the list. Pick the next conversation in the list (or use the filter popup to narrow by group, source, status, etc.). Assign it to yourself — or to a teammate better suited for it. Reply yourself, or hand off by reassigning and (optionally) leaving context in the contact's Notes tab. Xobito doesn't send a threshold-based alert when the inbox backlog grows. If you need that, build it yourself via the API, or train a team-lead habit of checking the inbox periodically. ## Who can be assigned A staff member must have the **`tenant.chat.view`** permission (or an equivalent chat-reply permission their role grants) to be eligible as an assignee **and** to reply in chat. Staff without that permission: * Don't appear in the **Assign** picker. * Won't be able to reply even if a conversation is somehow assigned to them. Permissions are granted via **Settings → Roles** — see [Team & Roles](/team/overview). ## Support Agent settings One and only one setting lives on the **Settings → Support Agent** page. When enabled, only staff with the chat-reply permission (`tenant.chat.view`) can send messages in conversations. Other staff may still browse conversations if their role allows viewing — they simply cannot reply. ### What `only_agents_can_chat = true` does * Staff members **with** the chat-reply permission: unchanged — they reply normally. * Staff members **without** that permission: * Can still open conversations if they have read access (so managers can review). * The reply composer is disabled for them. ### What it does *not* do The Support Agent settings page does **not** include: * Round-robin or least-loaded auto-assignment. * An "Away" status timer that auto-marks staff unavailable. * A queue-threshold alert ("notify me when unassigned > 20"). * Auto-reassignment when a staff member is marked away or offline. * Per-role eligibility filters for an auto-assigner (there isn't one). If previous documentation suggested any of these, that was incorrect — they aren't in the current build. If you need that kind of automation, use a combination of [Bot Flows](/automations/bot-flows) for acknowledgement, manual assignment for routing, and discipline in your team workflow. ### When to enable Turn `only_agents_can_chat` on when: * You have non-support staff (sales ops, finance) who need **read** access to conversations for context but should never reply themselves. * You want a single switch to enforce "only trained agents talk to customers" across the workspace. Leave it off (the default) when: * Every staff member with inbox access is trained to reply. * You're a small team where anyone helping out can respond. Sidebar → **Settings** → **Support Agent**. Turn **Only agents can chat** on or off. The change takes effect immediately. ## Assignment and the 24-hour session window The 24-hour session window is tied to the **contact**, not to the agent. Reassigning a conversation does not reset the window — the new owner inherits however much time is left. ## Per-agent visibility Managers can filter the inbox by assignee to see who's handling what, and use the activity reports under [Team & Roles](/team/overview) for aggregate metrics. ## Frequently asked questions No — only one assignee at a time. Other staff with inbox access can still view the conversation, but only the assignee is the "responsible" owner. There is no automatic "away" handling. Before they leave, either reassign their open conversations manually to another teammate, or unassign them so they return to the shared pool. Not in the current build — the Support Agent settings page is a single toggle. Route new conversations by training your team to scan the inbox top-down (using the filter popup to narrow by group, source, or status if needed), or use a Bot Flow to acknowledge the customer while a human picks up. No. Bot Flows and template bots send messages on the workspace's behalf regardless of `only_agents_can_chat`. The toggle governs **human** staff only. Not directly. The toggle keys off the chat-reply permission. Shape who can reply by choosing who you grant that permission to in **Settings → Roles**. Assignment changes are visible in the conversation itself (you can see the current owner and who sent each reply). A formal cross-conversation audit log isn't exposed through the Support Agent settings — check [Team Activity](/team/overview) for broader activity reporting. ## Next Stop-bot keywords, notification sounds, auto-lead, and more. Invite staff, grant the chat-reply permission, and manage roles.