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. Without routing rules, new contacts land in the Unmapped inbox, where your team would need to manually move them to the correct inbox.How it works
- A new message or call comes in from a channel (e.g., an SMS to your Twilio number)
- Conduit checks if there’s a routing rule for that channel
- If a rule matches, the contact is automatically placed in the target inbox
- If no rule matches, the contact stays in the Unmapped inbox
Routing only applies to new, unmapped contacts. If a contact is already assigned to an inbox (from a reservation, manual assignment, etc.), routing rules won’t change their inbox.
Supported channels
You can create routing rules for any connected channel:| Channel | Routed by |
|---|---|
| SMS | Phone number |
| Phone number | |
| Email address or account | |
| Voice | Phone number |
| Messenger | Facebook page |
| Instagram account | |
| Helpdesk | Third-party connection |
| Slack | Slack channel |
| Widget | Chat widget |
Setting up a routing rule
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.
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 a catch-all for contacts that don’t match any routing rule. You can:- View and manage unmapped contacts like any other inbox
- Manually move contacts to the correct inbox
- Create routing rules to prevent contacts from landing here in the future