> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.liftify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assign conversations automatically

> Set up rules that hand new conversations to the right person, and decide whether whoever replies first becomes the owner.

Assigning a conversation is how you say "this one is yours". You can do it by hand in the thread, but if your team splits the Inbox by location, by campaign, or by channel, let Liftify do it the moment the conversation arrives.

## Where to find it

Click **Inbox** in the left navigation, then **Assignment Rules** in the sidebar. The same page is available under Settings as **Inbox**.

You need permission to manage assignment rules to change anything here. Without it you can see the rules but not the **Create Rule** button or the toggles.

## How Liftify decides who owns a conversation

When a conversation opens — or reopens because the customer came back — Liftify works down this order and stops at the first answer:

1. **The campaign's assignee.** If the conversation came out of a campaign that names someone to handle replies, they get it.
2. **Your assignment rules**, checked from the top of the list down. The first rule that matches wins.
3. **Whoever replies first**, if the first-responder setting is on and nobody has claimed the conversation yet.

Rules run at the moment a conversation starts or reopens. Changing your rules does not go back and reassign conversations already sitting in the Inbox.

## The first-responder fallback

At the top of the page is a switch labelled **Automatically assign unassigned conversations to the first user who responds**, with the note *"Applies only to conversations not already assigned by a campaign assignee or a matching rule."*

Leave it on and any conversation nobody has claimed becomes the property of the first person who sends a reply. That is usually what you want on a small team — it stops two people answering the same customer without anyone having to remember to assign it by hand.

Turn it off if you would rather conversations stay unassigned until somebody deliberately takes them. The switch saves as soon as you flip it.

## Create a rule

1. Click **Create Rule** (or **Create your first rule** if you have none yet).
2. Give it a **Name**. It's optional, but "VIP customers to Jane" reads better in the list than a row with no name.
3. Set the **Conditions**. Leave one on its "All …" option to mean "don't care":
   * **Campaign** — only conversations that came out of the campaigns you pick
   * **Scope** — only conversations for the locations you pick
   * **Source** — only the channels you pick. Reviews and Surveys are shown but can't be chosen: *"Reviews and Surveys aren't routed through the Inbox yet, so they can't be used as a source."*
   * **Custom field** — pick one of your own contact fields, an operator, and a value
4. Pick the **Default Owner** — the person this rule assigns to. The list only offers active members of this account who are allowed to reply to conversations. Use the search box to find someone quickly.
5. Click **Save**.

New rules are created active. On an existing rule you'll also see an **Active** checkbox you can untick to park it without deleting it.

<Warning>
  Two safety checks can block a save, and both are deliberate:

  * *"Confirm this rule should match all conversations, or add at least one condition"* — you left every condition on "All". A checkbox appears reading **I understand this rule will match ALL conversations if no conditions are set above**. Only tick it if you really do want a catch-all.
  * *"Select an assignee, or confirm this rule should be saved with no assignee"* — you left **Default Owner** on **Unassigned**, so the rule would never actually assign anyone.
</Warning>

## Order matters

The rules list is checked top to bottom and the first match wins, so put your most specific rules above your general ones.

To reorder, drag a row by its handle, or use the up and down arrows next to it. The new order saves immediately.

Each row shows the rule's **Name**, a plain-English summary of its **Conditions** (for example *"Campaign: Spring Promo · Location: Austin · Source: SMS, Email"*, or *"This rule matches all conversations"*), its **Default Owner**, and its **Status** — **Active** or **Inactive**.

Watch for a warning under an owner's name:

* *"Assigned user is deactivated — this rule will fall through to the next rule or first-responder."* — the person no longer has an active login. Point the rule at someone else.
* *"Assigned user is not a member of this account — this rule will never assign anyone."* — the person isn't on this account any more. The rule is doing nothing until you fix it.

## Edit, pause or delete a rule

* **Edit** — the pencil icon on the row opens **Edit Assignment Rule**.
* **Pause** — flip the **Status** switch on the row to **Inactive**. The rule stays in the list, greyed out, and stops matching.
* **Delete** — the bin icon on the row, or the bin icon in the top corner of the edit form. You'll be asked *"Are you sure you want to delete this rule?"* first.

## When a teammate says the Inbox is empty

This one catches people out, so check it before you go looking for a bug.

Roles in Liftify control not just whether someone can open the Inbox, but whether they see every conversation or only the ones assigned to them. A brand-new role starts with nothing ticked, so unless whoever created it deliberately granted the wider access, that person only ever sees their own conversations. A new hire who has not been assigned anything yet therefore opens the Inbox and finds it completely empty — and there is nothing wrong with the messages.

To fix it, an account administrator opens Settings, edits the role, expands **Conversations** under **Permissions**, and ticks **View all conversations, including unassigned conversations and those assigned to other users** alongside **View conversations**. Then click **Save Changes**. The person needs to reload the Inbox to see the difference.

Leave it unticked on purpose when you want a CSR to see only their own queue — just make sure something is actually assigning conversations to them, either a rule above or the first-responder switch.

## Troubleshooting

**A conversation came in and nobody got it.** Work down the order at the top of this page. Was there a campaign assignee? Did any rule match — check the **Conditions** summaries, and check the rule is **Active**. Was the owner shown with a warning under their name? And if the conversation is genuinely unclaimed, the first-responder switch only assigns it once somebody actually replies.

**The wrong person keeps getting them.** A rule higher in the list is matching first. Reorder, or tighten the conditions on the higher rule.

**I changed the rules but existing conversations didn't move.** Rules only apply when a conversation opens or reopens. Reassign the ones already in your Inbox by hand from the thread header.

**The Create Rule button isn't there.** Your role doesn't include managing assignment rules. Ask whoever administers your account.

**New conversations aren't appearing until I reload.** The Inbox list is drawn when the page loads. Refresh to pull in anything that arrived since.