## Overview

**Smart Routing** decides **which agent** each conversation goes to and **how many** conversations each
agent receives — automatically. Instead of distributing manually, you define **policies** and the
platform applies them to every new conversation, balancing load and improving response time.

There are two policy types that work together:

- **Routing policy**: defines the distribution **strategy** and the priority order.
- **Capacity policy**: defines **load limits** per agent and per inbox.

## Prerequisites

- The **Smart Routing** module enabled for your account (an optional capability). If it isn't under
  Settings, talk to an administrator.
- Permission to manage routing.
- Inboxes and agents already configured, so you can bind them to policies.

## Step by step

1. Under Settings, open **Smart Routing**.
2. Create a **routing policy**:
   - give it a name and description;
   - choose the **strategy** (round-robin, balanced, or skill match);
   - set the **conversation priority** (earliest first or longest waiting first);
   - bind one or more **inboxes** to the policy.
3. (Optional) Create a **capacity policy** to limit load per agent and per inbox.
4. **Enable** the policies and watch the distribution on real conversations.

## Settings & options

**Routing strategies:**

| Strategy | How it distributes |
| --- | --- |
| Round-robin | Distributes conversations evenly across agents in rotation. |
| Balanced | Assigns to the agent with the **fewest** open conversations. |
| Skill match | Prefers agents on the conversation's team, then rotates. |

**Conversation priority:** earliest first, or the conversations waiting longest for a reply.

**Extra routing-policy options:**

- **Fair distribution**: limits how many conversations an agent receives within a time window.
- **Reassign on unassign**: automatically re-routes the conversation if the assigned agent is removed.
- **Enable/disable**: pause a policy without deleting it.

**Capacity policy:**

- conversation limit per inbox;
- exclusion rules (for example, by label and conversation age);
- agents bound to the policy.

## Use cases

- **Balance the team**: use the balanced strategy to keep one agent from piling up conversations.
- **Specialist support**: skill-match routing sends to the right team first.
- **Guard against overload**: a capacity policy limits concurrent conversations per agent.
- **SLA**: prioritize the longest-waiting conversations to reduce response time.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Start with a simple strategy (round-robin or balanced) and tune it with real numbers.
- Combine routing + capacity: the strategy picks **who**, capacity prevents **overload**.
- Make sure agents are **available** (online) — policies distribute to whoever can handle conversations.
- Review capacity limits as the team grows or during demand spikes.

## Troubleshooting

- **Conversations aren't being assigned**: confirm the policy is active and bound to the right inbox,
  and that there are available agents.
- **One agent gets too many conversations**: review the strategy and add a capacity policy with limits.
- **I don't see Smart Routing**: the module may not be enabled for the account or your role.
- **Conflict with automation rules**: if a rule also assigns agents, align the two so they don't overlap.

## See also

- [Automation & Flows overview](/hc/ajuda/articles/automation-flows-overview-en)
- [Automation rules: triggers, conditions, and actions](/hc/ajuda/articles/automation-flows-regras-de-automacao-en)
- [Bots and Captain (support AI)](/hc/ajuda/articles/automation-flows-bots-e-captain-en)