Assignment Workflows in Intercom automatically route conversations and tickets to the correct teams and teammates, reducing manual work and ensuring customers are supported quickly. However, configuration issues or unexpected logic can sometimes leave conversations unassigned or misrouted. This guide outlines the most common causes and practical solutions to keep your Workflow automation running smoothly.

Set up assignment Workflows

Follow these steps to create and manage Workflows that assign conversations or tickets automatically.

1. Set up teams

Before creating a Workflow, ensure your teams and teammates are configured.

Go to Settings > General > Teammates & Teams.
Create new teams and assign members if needed.

2. Create a Workflow

Navigate to AI & Automation > Workflows.
Click + New workflow.
Select a trigger, such as Customer sends their first message.
Define conditions based on attributes or keywords to filter messages for targeted assignment.
Use actions within the builder to assign conversations to specific teams or teammates.

3. Apply additional rules

Simplify your logic by consolidating related criteria and actions. Ensure that each condition accurately matches the teammate or team you want to assign to.

4. Refine conversation or ticket automation

Assign new conversations or tickets directly to a team to prevent them from remaining in the Unassigned folder.

Tip: For a comprehensive tutorial on workflow automation, explore the Intercom Academy.

Recommendations for Workflow configuration

Include assignments in Workflow logic

Whenever possible, use explicit Assign to teammate or Assign to team actions. For reusable or Fin-connected Workflows, define assignment logic directly within the Workflow to avoid fallback to “Unassigned.”

Match triggers to conversation events

Some Workflows only trigger on new messages and may miss replies or ongoing conversations. Adjust triggers to cover all relevant customer actions, including follow-ups or reopened conversations.

Prevent CSAT surveys from sending too soon

If using CSAT automations, add a condition such as Teammate has replied is true before sending. This ensures surveys aren’t sent after fully automated exchanges.

Common causes of unassigned conversations

Workflows are powerful tools for automating conversation assignment, but configuration issues or unintended scenarios can lead to conversations being left unassigned. Below are the most common causes and their solutions.

1. Default assignment is “Unassigned”

When a Workflow includes a Let Fin continue or Fin continues step, it may skip assignment, routing the conversation to your workspace’s default assignee (often “Unassigned”).

Solution: Always include explicit Assign to teammate or Assign to team steps—especially in reusable or Fin-connected Workflows.

2. Conflicting or overlapping Workflows

Two or more Workflows triggered simultaneously can interfere with each other, causing reassignments or unassigned states.

Solution:

Disable redundant Workflows if another already handles assignments.
Use tags to prevent double-triggering (for example, Conversation tag is not...).

3. Mismatched audience in Workflow

A Workflow configured only for Users will not execute for Leads, leaving those conversations unassigned.

Solution: Update the Workflow audience to include both Users and Leads where applicable.

4. Assignment from article reactions

Conversations created from Help Center feedback (e.g., a “thumbs down” reaction) are routed to Unassigned by default.

Solution: Create a dedicated Workflow that assigns these conversations to a support team or designated teammate.

5. Round Robin limitation

Round Robin assigns conversations only once when they first enter a team inbox. If a conversation is later marked as unassigned or moved back, it will not reassign automatically.

Solution:

Create a Workflow that detects unassigned conversations and routes them back through Round Robin.
Alternatively, manually reassign affected conversations.

Troubleshooting assignment issues

Workflow timing and activation

Workflows may fail to trigger if attributes (for example, Market AUS) populate after activation.

Solution: Temporarily remove the attribute condition to confirm whether timing is the issue.

Conflicting rules or logic

Overlapping triggers or misused AND/OR logic can prevent assignments.

Use AND logic to ensure all conditions must be met.
Remove redundant rules or actions that cause reassignments.

Audience misconfiguration

Make sure your Workflow audience matches the conversation type (Users, Leads, or both).

Team availability

Round Robin skips teammates marked as Away, leaving conversations in the team inbox unassigned until someone becomes active.

Category and priority conflicts

Overlapping categories (for example, routing vs. closing) can lead to logic conflicts. Consolidate related Workflows and set clear priorities or delays between actions.

FAQs

Why wasn’t a conversation assigned to a specific teammate?

Check the Workflow’s assignment rules and teammate status. Ensure conditions (tags, attributes) match correctly, and confirm that assigned teammates and teams are marked as Active under Settings > Teammates and Settings > Teams.

Why are conversations left unassigned even when a teammate replies?

A teammate’s manual reply can interrupt an active automation. Review triggers to prevent mid-action interruptions, and check teammate status—if set to Away with Reassign replies enabled, the conversation may revert to Unassigned.

What can be done if automation settings fail?

If your Intercom automation fails, follow these steps:

Adjust Workflow Criteria:
- Review the rules (e.g., tags, keywords, user attributes) to ensure they are accurate.
- Use flexible conditions like "contains" instead of rigid ones like "is."
- Confirm the automation is targeting the correct audience (e.g., Users, Leads).
Rerun Tests:
- Use Intercom's testing tools to simulate a conversation.
- This confirms your changes have fixed the problem.
Check for Conflicts:
- Review other workflows for conflicting rules.
- Ensure the automation is configured for the correct channel (e.g., email, Messenger).