When all teammates are busy, customers waiting in the Messenger can see their live position in the queue — for example, "#3 in queue" — updating in real time as the line moves. This replaces the usual reply time estimate for the team while the feature is enabled, giving customers a concrete signal that they're being helped and that the line is moving.
Note: This functionality is available on the Expert plan. Queue position visibility is configured in team inbox settings and requires balanced assignment.
Prerequisites
Before enabling queue position visibility, make sure the following are in place:
The team inbox must use balanced assignment (Expert plan only). Balanced assignment automatically routes conversations to the most available teammate. Round-robin and manual assignment teams are not eligible.
Reply expectations — the Messenger setting that controls whether customers see wait time information — must be turned on and set to Match teammate expectations. Find this in Settings > Channels > Messenger > Conversations. Check both the With teammates and With Fin tabs and confirm the toggle is on and the dropdown is set to Match teammate expectations in both.
How to enable queue position visibility
Go to Settings > Inbox > Team inboxes and open the relevant team.
Confirm that Reply expectations are set correctly: go to Settings > Channels > Messenger > Conversations, check both the With teammates and With Fin tabs, and make sure the toggle is on and the dropdown is set to Match teammate expectations. Then return to Settings > Inbox > Team inboxes and reopen the team.
Enable Use team-specific reply time.
Under The team usually replies, select Show queue position.
Click Save. The setting takes effect immediately — customers waiting in the Messenger will start seeing their queue position right away.
Troubleshooting: queue position not showing
If the queue position indicator doesn't appear in the Messenger after enabling, the most common cause is a Reply expectations misconfiguration. Go to Settings > Channels > Messenger > Conversations and confirm: (1) the Reply expectations toggle is on, and (2) the dropdown is set to Match teammate expectations — in both the With teammates and With Fin tabs. If either is off or set to a different option, queue position won't display.
What customers see
While waiting for a teammate, customers see a live queue position indicator in the Messenger header — for example, "#3 in queue". The number updates in real time as other conversations are assigned. When a teammate is assigned to the conversation, the queue position indicator disappears — this is expected and means the customer is being helped, not that something went wrong.
Limitations
Web Messenger only — the queue position indicator in the Messenger is not supported on iOS or Android mobile SDKs.
Queue positions beyond 1,000 display as "#1000+".
The queue position indicator only shows during configured office hours. Outside office hours, the Messenger shows the standard reply time estimate instead. If no office hours schedule is set for the workspace, the queue position indicator shows at all times.
The queue position number in the Messenger can move backward if the team uses priority or SLA-based conversation sorting, because higher-priority conversations jump ahead. For a stable, forward-moving queue experience, use Started at sorting.
Tip: To keep queue numbers moving predictably forward, set your conversation sorting to Started at in Settings > Inbox > Assignments > Workload management under "Conversation sorting". Priority or SLA-based sorting can cause positions to increase, which may confuse customers.
FAQs
Why isn't the queue position showing for my customers?
The most common causes are:
Reply expectations are turned off — go to Settings > Channels > Messenger > Conversations and turn them on.
Reply expectations aren't set to "Match teammate expectations" — check both the With teammates and With Fin tabs and update the dropdown.
The team inbox doesn't use balanced assignment — round-robin and manual assignment teams aren't eligible.
The customer is contacting you outside your configured office hours — the queue position indicator only shows during office hours.
Why did the queue position disappear?
This is expected. When a teammate is assigned to the conversation, the queue position indicator is removed because the customer is no longer waiting in the queue — they're being helped.
Why is the queue number going up, not down?
If the team uses priority or SLA-based conversation sorting, higher-priority conversations jump ahead in the queue, which pushes other customers back. To keep queue numbers moving predictably forward, set conversation sorting to Started at in Settings > Inbox > Assignments > Workload management under "Conversation sorting".
Does queue position work on mobile?
Not yet. The queue position indicator is currently only supported on the web Messenger. iOS and Android are not yet supported.
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