About Connecting Chat with Operator Through Operator Panel

Connecting chat with an operator allows users to connect with live operators through the ConnectiveOne operator panel. This provides the ability to offer personalized support and resolve complex issues that require human intervention.

Context and Problem

In many cases, automation cannot solve all client questions:

  • Complex questions require human intervention
  • Personalized support for important clients
  • Escalation of problems from automation to operators
  • Need for emotional support and empathy

Connecting chat with an operator solves this task by allowing users to connect with live operators for help.

Key Concepts

Basic Connection

The simplest way to connect a user to an operator is to use the action operator_panel__connect_to_operator_with_msg with the subject_alias parameter, which specifies the dialog topic.

Automatic Connection

You can configure automatic connection of a free operator to a new dialog through the auto_connect_operator: true parameter. This allows the system to automatically distribute dialogs to free operators.

Auto-Distribution of Dialogs

The system can automatically distribute dialogs to operators by various criteria (load, skills, topics), ensuring fair load distribution and efficient use of resources.

Approach Options

Manual Connection vs Automatic Connection

Manual Connection:

  • ✅ Pros: Control over operator selection
  • ❌ Cons: Requires manual intervention

Automatic Connection:

  • ✅ Pros: Speed, automation, fair distribution
  • ❌ Cons: Less control over operator selection

Why We Use Automatic Connection: Automatic connection ensures quick response to client requests and efficient use of operator resources.

Chat Redistribution

If an operator cannot process dialogs (technical problems, connection loss), chats can be automatically redistributed to other operators through the redistribution process.

Adopted Solutions

Additional Capabilities

Connection to operator supports many additional capabilities:

  • Dialog topic settings
  • Adding tags to dialogs
  • Sending custom messages to operator
  • Configuring alias when closing dialog
  • Webhook for events from operator panel

Handling Situations Without Free Operators

To handle situations when there are no free operators, you can use:

  • limit event to redirect the user
  • Waiting queue through status: "queue" parameter
  • Waiting message

Implications for Users and Implementation

For Integrators

When configuring connection to operator, it's important to:

  1. Determine connection type — manual or automatic
  2. Configure dialog topics — for organization and filtering
  3. Handle situations without operators — add limit event or queue
  4. Configure additional capabilities — tags, messages, alias

Common Errors

Error: User cannot connect to operator
Problem: Action operator_panel__connect_to_operator_with_msg is not configured
Solution: Add action block with correct configuration

Error: Dialogs are not distributed automatically
Problem: auto_connect_operator: true is not specified or settings are not activated
Solution: Check JSON configuration and settings in operator panel

Error: User does not receive message when operators are unavailable
Problem: limit event is not added to handle the situation
Solution: Add limit event with message or sending to queue

Usage Examples

Basic Connection

{
  "subject_alias": "support"
}

Automatic Connection

{
  "auto_connect_operator": true,
  "subject_alias": "support"
}

With Waiting Queue

{
  "auto_connect_operator": true,
  "subject_alias": "support",
  "status": "queue"
}