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Waiting Flows

While customers wait for an agent to assist with their query via voice or chat, you can customize their waiting experience to maintain engagement and improve customer satisfaction.

Key Features

You can configure the Waiting Experience within Contact Center AI using the following features:

  • Routing rules based on agent skills.
  • Message options for both voice and chat requests:
    • Initial message when a request is assigned to a queue.
    • Hold audio for calls,
    • Deliver Periodic messages while contacts wait – both for calls and chats.
  • Message language configuration.
  • Callback if the wait time exceeds a specified limit.
  • Send a voicemail if the call wait duration exceeds a specified limit, the queue position is too long, or the estimated wait time exceeds a specified limit.

The Waiting Flows Live Board

You can find the Waiting Flows Live Board by navigating to Contact Center AI > Flows & Routing > Waiting Flows.
Waiting Flows Page

The Waiting Flows Live Board features

The Waiting Flows section displays the following fields:

FIELD DESCRIPTION
Name The name of the Waiting Experience entry.
Skill Rule The skill rules that have been configured for the entry. The waiting experience. Conversations matching these skill rules will go through the waiting experience configured within this entry.
Description The description of the Waiting Experience entry.
Edit (Icon) This icon lets you access the configuration window for a Waiting Experience entry, where you can update the available options.

Add Waiting Experience

Steps to add a new waiting experience:

  1. Go to Flows & Routing > Waiting Flows.
  2. Click + New Waiting Experience.
    Add New Waiting experience

  3. In the Add New Waiting Experience window, you will see three tabs:

    1. Configuration, where you can set up the name, description, and routing rules;
    2. Call Experience, where you can configure the Waiting Experience for customers who call;
    3. Chat Experience, where you can customize the Waiting Experience for chats.

Configuration

The Configuration section lets you set up the basics of your Waiting Experience entry.
Waiting Experience Configuration

Name and Description

Provide a Name and a brief Description of the Waiting Experience.
Name and Description

Routing Rules

Define the configuration rules for the Skill Group and Skill waiting queue constraints.

  1. Select the Skill Group, then the Skill that the Waiting Experience should match;
  2. Click the row-wise +Add button to add a new row to the existing Routing Rule (OR) condition and the Delete icon to delete a row;
  3. Configure the AND/OR conditional logic by hovering over a rule row and toggling between the tabs, as shown in the demo below;
  4. To configure the AND condition, click the + Add button below the OR/AND section;
  5. To remove a rule, click the Delete () icon next to the row. To delete a rule section, click the Delete (bin) icon next to it.
    Routing Rules Demo

    Below is an example configuration for Routing Rules:

    Routing Rules Example

    In this example, customers are mapped to a specific agent as follows: 1. If the skill group is Languages and skill is English OR, 2. If the skill group is Languages and skill is Spanish, AND, 3. If the skill group is Travel Requirements and the skill is US Entry.

Call Experience

Click the Call Experience tab to configure the waiting experience for customers contacting you using the voice channel.
Call Experience

On the Call Experience page, configure the settings below:

Initial Message

This message is played to customers waiting in the queue and is enabled by default. You can change the language, select the desired language, edit the message, and click Done.
Initial Message

Agent Transfers

This message is played to customers when they are transferred to an agent or a queue and is enabled by default. You can change the language, select the desired language, edit the message, and click Done.
Agent Transfers

Hold Audio

This audio is played to the customers on hold. Select the audio you wish to play from the Hold Audio dropdown list.
Hold Audio

Periodic Messages

These messages are played periodically to the customers waiting in the queue or put on hold. To configure them, follow these steps:

  1. Set the number of seconds within which the periodic message should play;
  2. Set the play order as either random or sequential;
  3. Select the type of playback – either once or looped;
  4. Edit the message and change the language by clicking one of the language options. Click ✔ Done to save or click x Close to discard your changes;
  5. To add another message, click + Add Another;
  6. To delete a message, click the Delete icon next to it.
    Periodic Messages

Periodic messages also enable organizations to allow their customers to view/listen to their Queue Position and Estimated Wait Time (EWT).

You can configure the following variables:

  • Queue Wait Time: {{queue.waitTime}} min – This is shown based on the average waiting time in the queue. The calculation is refreshed every 15 minutes.
  • Queue Position: {{queue.position}}

CallBack Option

If the wait time exceeds a set limit, you can offer or force a callback for waiting customers as follows:

  1. Enable the option to activate it;
  2. Set the digit key that customers should press to be redirected to the callback service. Waiting customers can either be Offered or Forced to receive a callback based on the settings configured here;
  3. Edit the chat deflection message in the textbox. Use the language tab to change languages. Click ✔ Done to save or click x Close to discard your changes.
    Callback Option

Voicemail

You can offer or force a voicemail for waiting customers in the following scenarios:

  • Call waiting duration is greater than “x” minutes.
  • Queue position is greater than “x”.
  • Estimated wait time is greater than “x” minutes.

Steps to offer or force voicemail:

  1. Enable the option to activate it;
  2. Set the digit key that customers should press to be redirected to the voicemail service. Customers waiting in the queue can either be offered or forced to receive a callback based on the settings configured here;
  3. Edit the message in the textbox. Use the language tab to change languages. Click ✔ Done to save or click x Close to discard your changes.
    Voicemail

Chat Experience

Click the Chat Experience tab to configure the waiting experience for customers contacting you through chat.
Chat Experience Tab

In the Chat Experience section, you can configure the following settings:

Initial Message

This message will be displayed to the contact waiting in the queue. By default, the initial message is enabled.

To edit this text and language, type your custom message in the textbox and select a language. Click ✔ Done to save, or click x Close to discard your changes. The initial message feature is enabled by default.
Initial Message

Agent Transfers

This message will be displayed when the customer is transferred to an agent or a queue. By default, the agent transfers feature is enabled.

To edit this text and language, type your custom message in the textbox and select a language. Click ✔ Done to save or click x Close to discard your changes.
Agent Transfers

Periodic Messages

These messages are periodically displayed to customers waiting in the chat queue. They can be configured as follows:

  1. Set the number of seconds within which the periodic message should display;
  2. Choose whether to display the messages randomly or sequentially;
  3. Select whether the message should display once or looped;
  4. Edit the message and change the language by clicking one of the language options. Click ✔ Done to save or click x Close to discard your changes;
  5. To add another message, click + Add Another;
  6. To delete a message, click the Delete icon next to it.
    Periodic Messages

Save

Click the Save button at the bottom of the Edit Waiting Experience window to save your configuration. You can save all your settings by clicking any tab.
Save Experience

Edit Waiting Flows

Steps to edit Waiting Flow configurations:

  1. In the Waiting Flows section, click the Edit icon for the waiting experience entry you want to edit.
    Edit Experience

  2. In the Edit Waiting Experience window, modify the configurations as required, and click Save.

  3. A success confirmation message is displayed when the Waiting Experience changes are updated.
    Edit Confirmation

Delete Waiting Experience

Steps to delete a Waiting Experience entry:

  1. In the Waiting Flows section, edit the entry you want to delete;
  2. At the bottom left of the Edit Waiting Experience window, click the Delete (bin) icon;
    Delete Confirmation

  3. You will be asked to confirm your choice. Click Yes.

Note

Deleted Waiting Flows cannot be restored. Please proceed with caution.