Agent Capacity

Support Portal includes an agent capacity system that governs how many conversations can be actively assigned to each agent at any given time. By enforcing per-agent limits, the platform prevents workload imbalance and ensures that response quality remains consistent — even during traffic spikes common in telecom contact centers and government service desks.

Operational objective

Agent capacity management addresses a core operational challenge: as conversation volume scales, unrestricted auto-assignment can overwhelm individual agents, leading to slower response times and diminished service quality.

Capacity limits provide three key benefits:

• Workload protection — Each agent receives only as many conversations as they can handle effectively, reducing burnout and missed messages.
• Predictable assignment behavior — The auto-assignment engine respects capacity thresholds before routing new conversations, making staffing and forecasting more reliable.
• Channel-appropriate pacing — Different communication channels demand different levels of attention. Capacity can be tuned per inbox so that live chat agents carry fewer simultaneous conversations than those handling email or asynchronous messaging.

How capacity is determined

A conversation counts toward an agent's capacity when it is assigned to that agent and is not yet resolved. The following states consume capacity:

This means that resolving conversations frees capacity immediately, while snoozing a conversation does not. Agents who need temporary relief should resolve or reassign conversations rather than snoozing them.

Configuring capacity limits

Capacity limits are configured at the inbox level. Each inbox can define a maximum number of concurrent conversations per agent, allowing you to tailor limits by channel type.

Setting a capacity limit

Navigate to Settings > Inboxes and select the inbox you want to configure. Open the Collaborators tab and locate the Auto Assignment section — enable it if not already active. Set the Max auto-assignment limit for the inbox, which defines the maximum number of open conversations that auto-assignment will route to a single agent through this inbox. Select Update to save the configuration.

The limit applies to all agents assigned to that inbox. When an agent's assigned conversation count reaches the threshold, the auto-assignment engine skips that agent until their count drops below the limit.

Recommended capacity values by channel

Different channels require different handling speeds. The following values serve as starting points — adjust based on your team's experience and SLA targets.

Interaction with round-robin assignment

Agent capacity works in conjunction with the round-robin auto-assignment engine. When a new conversation arrives in an inbox with auto-assignment enabled, the system follows this sequence:

1. Identify eligible agents — All agents assigned to the inbox who are currently online (or meet availability criteria) are considered.
2. Filter by capacity — Any agent whose current conversation count meets or exceeds the inbox capacity limit is excluded from the round.
3. Assign in rotation — Among the remaining eligible agents, the conversation is assigned to the next agent in the round-robin sequence.
4. Queue if no agent is available — If all eligible agents have reached their capacity limit, the conversation is placed in the Unassigned queue. It remains there until an agent's capacity frees up or a supervisor manually assigns it.

This behavior ensures that conversations are never force-assigned beyond an agent's configured limit.

Enterprise deployment patterns

High-volume telecom support centers

Telecom operators often handle thousands of concurrent conversations across multiple service tiers. A common configuration approach:

• Tier 1 (general inquiries) — Set capacity to 6–8 per agent on the live chat inbox. These interactions are typically short and can be resolved quickly with canned responses.
• Tier 2 (technical support) — Reduce capacity to 2–3 per agent. Technical troubleshooting requires deeper focus and longer conversation durations.
• Tier 3 (escalation / regulatory) — Set capacity to 1–2. These are complex cases that may involve compliance review or cross-departmental coordination.

By configuring separate inboxes for each tier, each with its own capacity value, the platform matches workload intensity to agent specialization.

Tiered capacity by expertise

Organizations with agents of varying experience levels can use capacity limits strategically:

• Assign newer agents to inboxes with lower capacity limits, giving them time to handle each conversation thoroughly.
• Senior agents handling routine interactions can operate with higher limits, maximizing throughput.
• Specialized agents dealing with regulated processes (e.g., identity verification, contract disputes) should have lower limits to ensure compliance-quality responses.

This approach pairs well with team-based routing. See Teams for details on structuring agent groups.

Monitoring and managing capacity

When all agents in an inbox reach their capacity, conversations accumulate in the Unassigned queue. Supervisors should monitor this queue to prevent response delays.

Operational indicators to watch:

• Growing unassigned queue — May indicate that capacity limits are too low relative to conversation volume, or that additional agents are needed during peak hours.
• Agents consistently below capacity — May suggest limits are set too high, or that conversation volume does not justify the current staffing level.
• Uneven distribution — If some agents consistently reach capacity while others do not, review agent availability settings and inbox assignments.

Capacity data can be correlated with agent performance reports to refine limits over time. See Reports for available metrics.

Relationship to other assignment features

Agent capacity is one component of the broader assignment logic in Support Portal. Related capabilities include:

• Auto-assignment — The underlying engine that distributes conversations. Capacity limits act as a constraint on this engine. See Auto Assignment.
• Teams — Agent groups that can be assigned conversations collectively. Capacity applies per agent within a team. See Teams.
• Business hours — When business hours are configured, auto-assignment only considers agents during active hours. Capacity limits remain in effect during those windows. See Business Hours.
• Automation rules — Conversations can be assigned to specific agents via automation, which bypasses round-robin but still respects capacity awareness in downstream routing. See Automation.