Managing Queues

Learn how Queues route incoming conversations, manage Queue Operators, set availability and auto-replies, and control who can transfer conversations to a Queue.

What Is a Queue?

A Queue is a shared inbox where new incoming conversations can wait for an available team member.

One or more Channels can route incoming text messages or live chats to the same Queue.

When a new conversation enters a Queue, it remains unassigned until a designated Queue Operator takes it. Once an Operator takes the conversation, that user becomes the owner and can respond to the customer or transfer the conversation to another user or Queue.

How Queues Work

Term	What It Means
Channel	Determines where an incoming customer conversation originates, such as a text number or website chat.
Queue	Holds new incoming conversations until someone takes ownership.
Queue Operator	A user responsible for monitoring and taking conversations from the Queue.
Conversation Owner	The user who takes responsibility for the conversation after removing it from the Queue.

View Your Queues

To view the Queues associated with your account:

1. Select the gear icon to open Administration.
2. Select Queues.

From here, you can view each Queue along with information such as:

• Conversations currently waiting
• Number of Queue Operators
• Channels routing to the Queue

Use the search bar to quickly locate a specific Queue.

We recommend assigning more than one Operator to a Queue to help ensure incoming customers receive a timely response.

Queue Status & Hours

Select a Queue to review its status, hours, and other settings.

There are three Queue status options:

Status	How It Works
Auto	Opens and closes the Queue automatically based on the hours you’ve configured.
Open	Keeps the Queue open regardless of its configured hours.
Closed	Closes the Queue and sends the configured closed auto-reply to incoming customers.

Auto

Auto is the default Queue status and is recommended for normal day-to-day operations.

Add the hours your Operators are available to monitor and respond to incoming conversations. During those hours, the Queue is open. Outside those hours, customers receive your configured closed auto-reply.

Open

Setting a Queue to Open overrides its normal schedule and keeps it open continuously.

Only use this setting when Operators are available to monitor and respond to incoming conversations.

Closed

Setting a Queue to Closed overrides the normal schedule and sends your closed auto-reply to incoming customers.

This is useful for:

• Holidays
• Office closures
• Staff meetings
• Unexpected closures

If you manually close a Queue, remember to return it to Auto when normal operations resume.

Queue Auto-Replies

Queues can use auto-replies to set expectations when customers reach out.

Open Auto-Reply

An Open Auto-Reply is sent when a new inbound conversation enters an open Queue.

For example:

Thanks for reaching out to Dunder Mifflin! A member of our team will be with you shortly.

This is helpful for acknowledging the customer’s message while they wait for an Operator.

Closed Auto-Reply

A Closed Auto-Reply is sent when a customer reaches the Queue while it is closed.

For example:

Thanks for reaching out! Our office is currently closed. We’ll respond when we reopen tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

Keep your closed auto-reply up to date so customers know when they can expect a response.

Queue Wait Times

Captivated visually indicates how long conversations have been waiting in the Queue.

By default:

• Green — Newly queued conversation
• Yellow — Waiting at least 10 minutes
• Red — Waiting at least 60 minutes

Administrators can adjust these time thresholds based on their team’s expected response times.

These indicators help Operators quickly identify conversations that have been waiting the longest.

Queue Operators

Queue Operators are users responsible for monitoring and responding to incoming conversations in a Queue.

Administrators can manage Operators from the Operators tab of the Queue.

Add an Operator

1. Open the Queue.
2. Select Operators.
3. Select Add Another Operator.
4. Choose the user you’d like to add.
5. Save your changes.

Remove an Operator

Remove the user from the Operators section and save your changes.

Removing someone as an Operator does not delete their Captivated account. It only removes their responsibility for that Queue.

Preview Access

Administrators can also give Operators Preview Access, allowing them to view an incoming message before taking ownership of the conversation.

Taking a Conversation from the Queue

If you’re a Queue Operator, new unassigned conversations will appear in the Queue when customers reach out.

To take a conversation:

1. Locate the waiting conversation.
2. Select the Take option.
3. The conversation will be assigned to you.
4. Respond to the customer or transfer the conversation to the appropriate user or Queue.

Once you take the conversation, you become its owner.

Not seeing queued conversations? Confirm that you’re configured as an Operator for that Queue. Your Captivated Administrator can review your Queue access.

Queue Sharing

Sharing determines which Teams and Users are allowed to transfer conversations into a Queue.

For example, your organization may have separate:

• Main Queue
• Sales Queue
• Service Queue
• Billing Queue

If a conversation enters the Main Queue but the customer needs Sales, a user with access to the Sales Queue can transfer the conversation there. The Sales Queue Operators can then take ownership and assist the customer.

Queue Sharing and Queue Operators are different. Operators monitor and take conversations from the Queue. Sharing determines who can transfer conversations to the Queue.

Add or Delete a Queue

Add a Queue

From the Queues section of Administration, select Add Queue and configure the Queue’s settings.

Before making the Queue live, make sure you’ve configured:

• Queue Operators
• Hours
• Auto-replies
• Channel routing, if applicable
• Sharing permissions

Delete a Queue

Open the Queue you’d like to remove and select Delete.

Before deleting a Queue, confirm that no active Channels still route incoming conversations to it.

Need Help?

If you have questions about Queue routing, Operators, hours, or configuration, contact Captivated Support using the Support option within Captivated or text [phone].