Teamwork: How to Distribute Customer Requests

<p>As a team grows, a new problem appears: two managers reply to the same customer while another waits for hours. The reason is simple — nobody knows who owns which conversation.</p> <h2>What is request distribution?</h2> <p>Request distribution means assigning every new conversation to a specific manager or team. Each customer gets an owner, nobody is forgotten and no work is done twice.</p> <h2>How teamwork is set up in AITOOLS</h2> <h3>Roles and permissions</h3> <p>There are three roles: <strong>owner</strong>, <strong>admin</strong> and <strong>operator</strong>. An operator can chat with customers, while editing the knowledge base or connecting a new channel needs separate permissions.</p> <h3>Inboxes</h3> <p>Group channels and managers into inboxes such as “Instagram sales” and “WhatsApp support”. Each manager sees only their inbox’s requests.</p> <h3>Assignment, notes and tags</h3> <p>Assign a chat to a manager in one click. Internal notes are invisible to the customer so the team can pass on context, and tags split customers into segments.</p> <h3>Quick replies</h3> <p>Save frequent answers under a short shortcut — a manager types a few characters and sends the ready text, which speeds up replies a lot.</p> <h3>Tasks</h3> <p>A task board covers internal work: assignee, due date, priority and watchers. The assignee is notified as soon as a task is assigned.</p> <h2>When the AI replies and when a manager does</h2> <p>The best setup: the AI answers routine questions (price, stock, delivery) and managers take complex cases — large orders, complaints, special requests. Typing <strong>**</strong> in the chat pauses the AI in that conversation.</p> <h2>5 rules for distributing requests</h2> <ol> <li>Give every channel a responsible inbox.</li> <li>Don’t leave new requests unassigned for more than an hour.</li> <li>Leave an internal note when handing a chat over.</li> <li>Create quick replies for your 10 most common questions.</li> <li>Review managers’ reply times every week.</li> </ol> <h2>FAQ</h2> <h3>How many managers can I add?</h3> <p>You invite members and assign roles. If you have questions about team size, contact us.</p> <h3>Can I see a manager’s chats with customers?</h3> <p>Yes, owners and admins see conversations and the activity log.</p> <h2>Read also</h2><ul><li><a href="/blog/operator-kpi-response-time/">How to track managers: KPIs</a></li><li><a href="/blog/omnichannel-crm-for-small-business/">What is an omnichannel CRM</a></li></ul> <p><strong>Try AITOOLS:</strong> <a href="https://platform.aitools.az/auth">start free for 2 weeks</a> (1,000 AI replies, no card) or <a href="/#how-it-works">let our team set everything up for free</a>.</p>