This article covers frequently asked questions about how to manage your Intercom agent profile and notification settings, and how conversation routing and assignment operate in Intercom.
Agent settings and profile
The following questions cover how to manage your Intercom profile, notifications, and personal settings.
How do I set up an alias so customers only see my first name?
Go to Settings, click Profile, click Your Name, click Edit, then click Alias. Enter your first or preferred name. This is what customers will see rather than your full name.
My profile is showing the wrong location and time zone. Can this be changed?
Yes. Update your location in Profile settings in Intercom. If the edit option is greyed out, this is a permissions issue that can be investigated. There is also an option to hide your location entirely.
How long before Intercom sets an agent to 'Away' due to inactivity?
The inactivity timer is set to 90 minutes. The status change is based on inactivity within Intercom specifically. Activity in other browser tabs does not count. This is a safety net for situations where an agent forgets to set themselves as away at the end of the day.
Can agents create their own macros?
No. Admins can create Macros.
How do I disable sound notifications for conversations I am not involved with?
Go to Settings, click Personal, click Notifications, then scroll down to Browser Notifications. You can adjust which notifications trigger sounds from there.
How do I see a teammate's conversations in Intercom?
Pin your teammates on the left-hand panel of the inbox. Once pinned, their assigned conversations will be visible to you alongside your own.
How do I log in without going through the captcha every day?
Select 'Keep me logged in' when logging in, then bookmark the page once you are in your inbox. When you return, you will be taken directly to your inbox without needing to log in again. If you have been inactive for a week or more, you may be asked to confirm you are not a robot, but it should be a single click. The captcha cannot be removed as it is part of Intercom's security measures.
Are macros (canned responses) pre-built or do we create them?
They are created per product by the DSE. Nothing is pre-built automatically.
Can we include customer time zones so we do not call them at the wrong time?
Yes, this can be added as a data attribute in Intercom.
Does Intercom's SLA calculation account for weekends and bank holidays?
Yes. Office hours are configured in Intercom and bank holidays or closure periods can be added too.
Routing and assignment
The following questions cover how conversations are routed and assigned to agents in Intercom.
Who decides the priority of a case: the Access Digital Assistant or the customer?
The Access Digital Assistant assigns priority automatically based on the conversation. You can change it manually when converting to a ticket.
Can we change ticket status like we could in Salesforce?
Yes. Status can be changed manually at the top of the ticket. Workflows can also automate some status changes based on attributes.
When a customer asks to speak to an agent, how is that agent chosen?
Conversations are routed based on the support team structure in place. Assignment works in one of two ways: round robin (conversations assigned to agents in turn) or balanced (the agent with the fewest open chats receives the next conversation). The specific routing for each product setup is confirmed separately.
What happens if an agent is at lunch or temporarily unavailable?
Routing rules take availability into account. The finalised routing approach is confirmed per product ahead of going live.
Using Away or Away & Reassign Replies
Away: Use this for a break, lunch, or if you're returning the next day, including weekends where you leave on Friday and return on Monday.
Away & Reassign Replies: Use this if you've finished for the day and won't be returning the next day, excluding weekends.
How do I handle a service request (for example, billing or flex points) rather than a standard support ticket?
A back office ticket can be created. Back office tickets act as task tickets and can be raised directly from within a conversation. They are straightforward to implement but need to be configured for each product database. If the query does not require formal tracking, it can remain as a conversation. Service requests needing a customer manager can be routed via a back office ticket.
Can we transfer cases to other support teams that also use Intercom?
No. Cross-team case transfers between separate Intercom workspaces are not currently possible.