Glossary
Call routing
Call routing is the set of rules a phone system uses to decide where an incoming call goes: to which queue, department, or agent, to the IVR, or to an AI agent. A rule can take into account the number dialed, the time, the caller's menu choice, their language, and data from your CRM.
Why it mattersRouting decides how fast a customer reaches someone who can solve their issue.
Also called: call distribution rules, call routing rules
How it works
How it works
A call comes in to the company number, and the system checks the rules in order. For example: after hours – an automated greeting and an automatic callback in the morning; a regular customer – straight to their account manager; everyone else – to the IVR and from there to the right department's queue. Inside the queue, calls go to available agents – that is the job of ACD.
Rules
What a call can be routed by
- The number dialed: each city or ad campaign can have its own number and its own queue
- Time and day of the week: business hours, weekends, holidays
- The caller's IVR choice, or their words if the IVR understands speech
- CRM data: account manager, customer status, an open ticket
- Agent skills and workload: language, product, experience – this is skills-based routing
Metrics
What to measure
- How many calls reach the right queue the first time
- How many calls agents transfer further
- How many customers hang up in the menu and in the queue
- Service level for each queue
In CONTACT.WORK
How CONTACT.WORK uses it
In CONTACT.WORK, routing is set up around your processes: by number, time, IVR, CRM data, agent skills, and workload. A regular customer gets connected to their account manager, and a call about an open ticket goes to whoever is handling it. The same rules work for chat and messaging apps, and a voice AI agent works out what the caller needs and transfers the call to the right department.
More
Where to use it
Backlinks
Where it appears on the site 18
Services 2
Integrations 4
Comparisons 1
Calculators 1
Glossary