In this article you will learn why Atom's assignment engine can send chats to disconnected users or test accounts, and how to prevent it.
📌 Frequently Asked Question or Initial Context
Some administrators have noticed that the system assigns chats to agents in "offline" status or to test accounts. This creates confusion, as conversations are expected to flow only to active and available agents. Here we explain the logic behind this behavior.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Section (step by step)
Verify the agent's actual status: Check in the Users panel and in the Connection History of the reports (Agents > Agent Status) whether the agent was actually "offline" or in a "non-assignable" status at the time of chat assignment.
Verify assignment configuration: Confirm that the system is configured to search for available agents. Identify how many agents in that specific group were in assignable status simultaneously.
Review the test agent's groups: Make sure that test accounts do not belong to production groups. If they are linked to active groups, the system will consider them candidates to receive chats.
Observe bot logs: Check the Agent Status Reports to determine the exact conditions (number of agents and their statuses) that forced the bot to make such an assignment.
✅ Possible Solutions
Manage test users: The definitive solution is to remove test users from production groups or disable them completely to prevent them from entering automatic distribution.
Manual reassignment: If a conversation lands in the wrong account, an administrator can move it manually from the inbox to the correct agent.
🗒️ Additional Notes
Continuity priority: The assignment bot prioritizes keeping the conversation within the same group. If the agent who previously assisted the customer is offline and there are no other available agents in that group, the system could force assignment to the previous agent (even if offline) or to any other group member (such as a test profile) to prevent the chat from becoming orphaned.
Preventive monitoring: It is recommended to periodically review who is part of each group and clean up old accounts or technical support accounts that should not receive real customers.
🧩 Practical Example / Use Case
Scenario: Marta López was offline from Friday to Tuesday. During that time, the system assigned conversations to a "Test Agent" because it was the only other group member, despite also being disconnected.
Result: The behavior is as expected by design: the bot prioritized group membership over connection status to attempt continuity. The solution was to remove the test account from Marta's group.
📞 When to Contact Support?
Contact the support team if:
Active and available agents are not receiving conversations despite being correctly configured and connected.
The system assigns chats to groups that the customer should not have access to.
Keep your production groups clean! 🚀
Atom's assignment system prioritizes customer continuity; if all your agents are disconnected, the bot can assign the chat to the last advisor who handled the case or to test accounts linked to the same group to prevent the chat from being left hanging. To avoid confusion, review your groups, unlink test accounts from real channels, and encourage proper use of connection statuses in your team. ✅