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Assign channels to a team

Wire a channel — email inbox, voice number, web chat widget, etc. — to a default team so inbound conversations land with the right group. The default-team setting lives on the channel, not on the team.

May 12, 20264 min read

Assign channels to a team

Pick which team picks up inbound conversations from each channel. The setting is per-channel — each channel has one default team that gets new conversations until an automation rule or an agent reassigns them.

How the relationship works

Each channel has one default team. The relationship is one-to-one from the channel’s perspective:

  • An email inbox routes new email conversations to one team.
  • A voice number routes inbound calls to one team’s queue.
  • A web chat widget routes new chats to one team.
  • An SMS number routes inbound texts to one team.

A team can be the default for many channels (a “General Support” team can own three email inboxes, two voice numbers, and a chat widget). But each individual channel points at exactly one default team.

This default-team setting is the foundation. Automation rules layer on top and can reassign conversations based on conditions (VIP customer, language, tag).

Before you start

  • Admin permissions on the channel you’re configuring (each channel type has its own permission scope)
  • The destination team already exists — create it if not
  • For voice queues specifically: a team is required before the queue can accept calls

Steps

The exact path depends on the channel type. Each channel’s settings page has a Default team (or equivalently named) field.

Email channel

  1. Open Settings → Email (or Settings → Channels → Email).
  2. Pick the inbox / email channel you want to configure.
  3. Find the Default team field. Select the team from the dropdown.
  4. Save.

New email conversations from that inbox now route to the chosen team.

Voice channel

  1. Open Settings → Voice.
  2. Go to Call Queues (or the queue tied to the relevant phone number).
  3. The queue must have a team assigned — pick it from the dropdown.
  4. Save.

Inbound calls to the associated number flow into the team’s TaskRouter queue, ringing online members.

For Twilio phone numbers themselves, the Default team sits on the phone number’s settings — open the number, set the team, save.

For IVR menus, each menu option that ends in “Connect to agent” can specify a target team; this overrides the queue default for that path.

Web chat

  1. Open Settings → Web Chat (or the channel-specific widget settings).
  2. Select the widget.
  3. Set Default team for new chat conversations.
  4. Save.

SMS

  1. Open Settings → SMS.
  2. Select the SMS-enabled phone number.
  3. Set Default team.
  4. Save.

Meta channels (Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp) and Amazon

  1. Open the channel’s settings page.
  2. Find the Default team (sometimes called Default assignee team).
  3. Pick the team. Save.

Verify it worked

  1. Send a test message through the channel (a test email, a chat from an incognito window, a test call to the voice number).
  2. Watch the inbox — the new conversation should appear assigned to the team you picked.
  3. Members of that team should see the conversation in their assigned-to-team filter.

Routing logic — the full picture

When a new conversation arrives:

  1. Channel default team is applied first. The conversation is assigned to that team.
  2. Automation rules run. Any rule with a matching condition can reassign the conversation to a different team — common reasons: VIP tagging, content-based routing (auto-tagged “billing” → assign to billing specialists), language detection.
  3. Agent assignment within the team is then handled by the team’s routing strategy — round-robin, most-available, or manual claim from a queue.

The default-team setting on the channel is the floor. Everything else stacks on top.

Common patterns

  • One team handles all channels — Same team set as default on every channel. Simplest setup; works for small teams.
  • Channel-specialized teams — “Email Support” gets email channels, “Phone Support” gets voice numbers, “Chat Support” gets web chat widgets.
  • Region-divided teams — EU number → EU team, US number → US team, APAC number → APAC team. Common for follow-the-sun coverage.
  • Tier 1 default + Tier 2 escalation — All channels default to Tier 1. Automation rules escalate to Tier 2 based on tag, sentiment, or customer tier. See Tiered support recipe.

Changing the default team

You can change a channel’s default team at any time. The change applies to new conversations only — already-assigned conversations stay with their current team unless you reassign them manually or via automation.

If you’re consolidating teams (merging “Email — US” and “Email — EU” into a single “Email Support”), reassign in-flight conversations before retiring the old team.

Troubleshooting

  • Symptom: New conversations from a channel are landing on the wrong team. Fix: Check both layers. First, Settings → channel → Default team — is it pointing at the right team? Second, check active automation rules that target Conversation Created on this channel — one may be reassigning before you see it.
  • Symptom: “This team can’t be assigned” error when picking a team for a voice queue. Fix: Voice queues require a team that has at least one member with voice permissions. Add a member with the right role before retrying.
  • Symptom: Inbound voice calls aren’t reaching team members. Fix: Team members need to be marked Available in Voice Status. The team assignment routes the call to the queue; presence determines who rings.
  • Symptom: Default team field is read-only or missing. Fix: Your role doesn’t have edit permission on that channel. Ask an Owner.

See also

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