If you run a support team, sales desk, or anything where live chat is your frontline, you’ve likely watched messages bounce between the wrong people. Customers get frustrated, teammates get annoyed, and you end up picking through chat logs to figure out what went wrong. If you’re using Olark, group routing can save you tons of headaches—if you set it up right.
This guide is for anyone who wants their website chats to go to the right team member without a dozen Slack messages trying to sort things out. Whether you’re new to Olark or just haven’t poked around the routing settings, I’ll walk you through group routing, what’s worth your time, and how to avoid common gotchas.
Why bother with group routing anyway?
Let’s be honest—without some kind of routing, live chat gets messy. You end up with:
- Sales questions going to tech support (who then has to find a sales rep)
- VIP customers waiting while newbies figure out who should take the chat
- Burnout for whoever’s unlucky enough to catch every stray message
Group routing in Olark is a way to sort chats by team (or “group”) and make sure the right folks see the right requests. It’s not magic, but it does most of the heavy lifting if you put in a little setup work upfront.
Step 1: Figure out your chat groups before you touch the settings
Before you dive into Olark’s admin panel, take a minute to sketch out who should handle what.
Ask yourself: - Do you have different teams for sales, support, billing, etc.? - Are there people who should never see certain types of chats? - Does your team work in shifts or cover different regions?
Pro tip:
Don’t overcomplicate it. Most teams get by with 2-4 groups: support, sales, and maybe billing or tech.
What not to do:
Don’t make a group for every possible situation. “Returns on Tuesdays” is just going to confuse everyone and create more work.
Step 2: Set up groups in Olark
Now let’s actually create those groups inside Olark.
- Log into your Olark account.
- Go to the “Agents & Groups” section (sometimes called “Team”).
- Add your groups. Give them clear, simple names—“Support,” “Sales,” “Billing,” etc.
- Assign agents to groups. Each agent can be in more than one group, but don’t go wild. Stick to what makes sense for your team.
Watch out for:
- People who are “in every group” because they know the most. This usually leads to burnout. Spread the load if you can.
- Vague group names like “General.” Be specific—otherwise, you’ll end up routing everything to “General” and you’re back to square one.
Step 3: Set up group routing rules
This is where Olark starts doing the work for you.
Option 1: Route by chat widget location
If your website has different pages for sales, support, and so on, you can set your chat widget to trigger different groups depending on where the chat starts.
How to do it:
- In your Olark dashboard, look for “Routing Rules” or similar.
- Set up rules like:
- If chat starts from /pricing, route to “Sales.”
- If chat starts from /help-center, route to “Support.”
Solid move:
This works well if your website is organized by function. If it’s not, don’t force it.
Option 2: Route by pre-chat survey
You can ask visitors what they need before they start the chat, then route based on their answer.
Example: - Add a pre-chat question like, “What do you need help with?” with options for Sales, Support, Billing. - In Olark, set rules to assign chats to the right group based on the answer.
Heads up:
Don’t ask five questions before letting someone chat. One, maybe two, tops. Otherwise, you’ll lose people.
Option 3: Manual group selection (for advanced users)
You can use JavaScript to set the group dynamically if you have a custom flow or want to get fancy. This is only worth it if you have dev resources and a good reason.
What to ignore:
Unless you have a strong dev team, don’t try to get too clever with custom code. Stick to what’s built-in—it’s more reliable and easier to maintain.
Step 4: Test your routing rules (for real)
Once you’ve set up routing, actually test it. Don’t just trust the preview.
- Start chats from different pages and see where they go.
- Try every pre-chat option.
- If you have a dev team, have them run through edge cases.
- Ask your team to break it—see what happens if someone isn’t logged in, or if a group is empty.
Pro tip:
Make a checklist and run through it every time you change routing. It’s boring but saves you from embarrassing mistakes.
Step 5: Train your team (without boring them to death)
A fancy routing system doesn’t matter if your team ignores it. Get everyone up to speed, but keep it simple:
- Show which chats they’ll get and why.
- Make sure they know how to transfer a chat if it does land in the wrong group.
- Remind folks to stay logged in to Olark during their shift—otherwise, routing rules don’t matter.
What to skip:
Don’t do a 30-slide PowerPoint. A quick, hands-on walkthrough is enough.
Step 6: Monitor, tweak, and don’t be afraid to change your setup
You’ll find out fast what works and what’s broken.
- Watch chat volume in each group. Too much in one? Maybe your rules need an update.
- Listen to team feedback. If someone’s getting hammered with chats, adjust group sizes or rules.
- Check chat transcripts for “Sorry, let me transfer you”—that’s a sign your routing needs work.
Real talk:
No setup is perfect on day one. The point is to make things easier, not to create a system you’re afraid to touch.
What works, what doesn’t, and what to ignore
What works: - Simple, clear group structures - Routing by page when your site is organized - Pre-chat surveys with 1-2 focused questions
What doesn’t: - Having everyone in every group (defeats the point) - Overthinking your groups (“Premium Support for Customers Named Alice” is not a real need) - Forgetting to test with actual users
What to ignore: - Complex, custom code unless you really need it - Fancy features you’ll forget to maintain - Any advice that says “set it and forget it”—routing always needs tweaks
Keep it simple, review often, and don’t chase perfection
Routing chats with Olark group routing isn’t about building the perfect system. It’s about reducing headaches for your team and your customers. Start simple, see what breaks, and fix it. Most teams only need a few clear groups and a couple of routing rules to make a real difference.
If you’re not sure where to start, pick your two biggest chat topics and set up routing for those. You can always add more groups later. The main thing? Make it easy for people to get help from the right person—without a maze of menus or endless transfers.
Keep it simple, check in often, and don’t be afraid to tweak things until it works for your team.