> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.conduit.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inbox routing

> Automatically route incoming messages and calls to the right inbox

## What is inbox routing?

When a new contact reaches out via SMS, WhatsApp, email, voice, or any other channel, Conduit needs to know which inbox to put them in. Inbox routing lets you set rules that automatically assign contacts to a specific inbox based on the channel they came from.

Where a conversation lands depends on two things: whether Conduit recognizes the contact, and whether a routing rule covers the channel they reached you on. Routing rules only apply to unrecognized contacts. A recognized contact always stays in the inbox it is already mapped to.

## Recognized and unrecognized contacts

A contact is **recognized** when the address they are reaching you from, their phone number, email address, or social account, already belongs to a contact that is mapped to an inbox. It does not matter how that contact came to exist. A contact created automatically by a reservation synced from your PMS counts, and so does one your team added by hand.

A contact is **unrecognized** when that address is new to your workspace. There is no reservation behind it and nobody has added it as a contact.

<Info>
  Recognition is about the contact, not the channel. The same phone number can be recognized on one workspace and unrecognized on another, depending on whether that person already exists as a mapped contact.
</Info>

## Where a conversation lands

Recognition comes first. A routing rule only decides where an unrecognized contact goes.

| | No routing rule on the channel | Routing rule on the channel |
| - | - | - |
| **Recognized contact** | The inbox the contact is already mapped to | The inbox the contact is already mapped to |
| **Unrecognized contact** | The **Unmapped** inbox | The inbox the rule targets |

## How it works

1. A new message or call comes in from a channel, for example an SMS to your Twilio number
2. Conduit checks whether the contact is recognized
3. **If the contact is recognized**, the conversation stays in the inbox that contact is already mapped to. Routing rules are skipped
4. **If the contact is unrecognized**, Conduit checks whether a routing rule exists for that channel
5. **If a rule matches**, the contact moves to the inbox the rule targets. **If no rule matches**, the contact stays in Unmapped

## Supported channels

You can create routing rules for any connected channel:

| Channel | Routed by |
| - | - |
| SMS | Phone number |
| WhatsApp | Phone number |
| Email | Email address or account |
| Voice | Phone number |
| Messenger | Facebook page |
| Instagram | Instagram account |
| Helpdesk | Third-party connection |
| Slack | Slack channel |
| Widget | Chat widget |

## Setting up a routing rule

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Settings > Inbox Routing">
    Navigate to **Settings > Inbox Routing** in your workspace.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Add Rule">
    Click the **Add rule** button to create a new routing rule.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a channel">
    Choose the channel you want to route from the dropdown. Only channels that don't already have a routing rule will appear.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a target inbox">
    Choose which inbox contacts from this channel should be routed to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Save the rule. It takes effect immediately for new incoming contacts. Contacts that are already mapped to an inbox are not moved.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  When you create a rule for a phone number, Conduit automatically applies the rule to all channel types on that number (SMS, voice, WhatsApp). You don't need to create separate rules for each.
</Tip>

## Editing and deleting rules

* To **edit** a rule, click the edit button on the rule and change the target inbox. The channel itself can't be changed after creation.
* To **delete** a rule, click the delete button. Contacts already routed by that rule stay in their current inbox.

## The Unmapped inbox

The Unmapped inbox is where unrecognized contacts land when no routing rule covers the channel they arrived on. It is a holding area, not a destination, and a busy Unmapped inbox usually means a channel is missing a rule.

You can:

* View and manage unmapped contacts like any other inbox
* Manually move contacts to the correct inbox
* Create a routing rule for the channel so future conversations skip Unmapped entirely

<Tip>
  If the same channel keeps filling Unmapped, that is the channel to write a rule for. Moving conversations by hand fixes today. A rule fixes it permanently.
</Tip>

## Routing and workflows

<Warning>
  **Routing rules run before workflow triggers.** When a message or call comes in, Conduit routes the contact to the correct inbox first, then evaluates workflow triggers. This means your workflow triggers should target the **routed inbox**, not the Unmapped inbox.

  For example, if you have a routing rule that sends voice calls to the "Customer" inbox, a "Call completed" workflow trigger should be configured for the "Customer" inbox.
</Warning>


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