> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Unassigned Open Conversations, Intercom > Live count of open Intercom conversations with no assigned agent or team. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained) • **Category:** [Helpdesk / Customer Support](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) > Open conversations sitting in the inbox with no agent or team assigned — the queue nobody owns yet. ## At a glance > **Unassigned Open Conversations** counts the open threads in your Intercom inbox that no agent and no team has picked up yet. These are the conversations most at risk of being missed, because ownership is the trigger for accountability — an unassigned conversation has no one watching its clock. For Blitz, where a quick "is this in stock for Saturday?" question can convert directly into a sale, an unassigned pile is leaking revenue every minute it sits. Think of this as your "needs triage" pile: the goal during staffed hours is to keep it at or near zero. | | | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **What it counts** | Open Intercom conversations (`state = open`) where `admin_assignee_id` and `team_assignee_id` are both null/unset — i.e. no human owner. The headline is the count of such conversations right now. | | **Sample type** | Real-time read of the `conversations` search endpoint filtered to open + unassigned. Not an average or a trend. | | **Why it matters** | Unassigned conversations are the leading source of SLA breaches and runaway wait times. They sit outside any agent's personal queue, so no one feels responsible until routing or a lead intervenes. Clearing them is pure triage hygiene. | | **Reading the value** | During staffed hours, aim for `0`. A small standing number is normal between auto-assignment cycles; a climbing number means inbound is outpacing routing, or auto-assignment rules have a gap. | | **Currency** | number | | **Time window** | `RT` | | **Alert trigger** | `>0` | | **Sentiment key** | — | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation Vortex IQ queries the Intercom `conversations` search endpoint for records with `state = open` and filters to those where neither `admin_assignee_id` nor `team_assignee_id` resolves to an active owner. (A conversation routed to a team but not yet to an individual is treated per your profile setting — by default team-only assignment counts as assigned.) The card reports the count; the underlying list carries each conversation's age, customer, channel, and tags so a lead can triage in priority order. ## Worked example *A representative reading of **Unassigned Open Conversations** for Blitz.* On a normal weekday the card hovers at `0–1` because Intercom's round-robin assignment routes new conversations to agents within seconds. At 12:05 it jumps to `7`. The support lead checks and finds the cause: the morning shift's two agents both went to lunch and were toggled "away", so round-robin had no eligible recipient and parked the conversations unassigned. She manually assigns the seven across the remaining agent, replies to the two oldest herself, and adjusts the away-mode rule so the queue can't strand again. The count returns to `0`. To investigate *why* assignment stalled, she opens Vortex Mind; to ask "how long were those seven unassigned before pickup?" she uses Ask Viq. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why merchants reach for it | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`ic_alert_sla_breach`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/sla-breaches-live) | Unassigned conversations are the main feeder of live SLA breaches — clear these to stop breaches forming. | | [`ic_alert_oldest_open`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/oldest-open-conversation) | An unowned conversation is the usual culprit behind a runaway oldest-open age. | | [`ic_open_conversations`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/open-conversations) | Total open backlog gives the denominator: a big unassigned share of a small backlog is a routing problem. | | [`ic_workload_by_team`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/workload-by-team) | Shows whether assigned load is balanced — if one team is overloaded, conversations may be left unassigned deliberately. | | [`ic_unanswered_awaiting_first_reply`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/unanswered-awaiting-first-reply) | Unassigned conversations are usually also unanswered; track both to see first-touch risk. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Intercom's own dashboard:** In Intercom, open **Inbox** and select the **Unassigned** view (a standard system view in most workspaces), filtered to **Open**. The conversation count at the top of that view is the direct equivalent of this card. You can also build a custom Inbox view filtering `Assignee is Unassigned` and `State is Open`. **Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:** | Reason | Direction | What to do | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Team-only assignment.** A conversation routed to a team but not an individual may count as "assigned" in Vortex IQ but appear under "Unassigned" in some Intercom views. | Variable | Confirm whether your profile treats team-only routing as assigned, and match the Inbox filter accordingly. | | **Snoozed scope.** This card counts only `state = open`; snoozed-but-unassigned conversations are excluded. | Vortex IQ may read lower | Set the Inbox view to Open only, excluding snoozed. | | **Bot / Fin-handled conversations.** Conversations actively held by an automated bot may not yet have a human assignee. | Variable | Decide whether bot-held threads should count as unassigned for your team and align both views. | | **Refresh lag.** Round-robin assigns continuously; a conversation assigned a second ago may still show unassigned in one view. | Marginal | Force a refresh on both. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** pair with workload and SLA cards to see whether unassigned spikes are a staffing problem or a routing-rule gap. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind. ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **Q: How often does Unassigned Open Conversations update?** It is real-time — re-read on each dashboard refresh. Because auto-assignment runs continuously, expect this number to bounce near zero during staffed hours and accumulate outside them. **Q: Why does my Intercom Inbox show a different number?** The common reasons are team-only assignment being counted differently, snoozed conversations being included in the Inbox view but excluded here, and bot-held conversations. Build a custom Inbox view with `Assignee is Unassigned` + `State is Open` for the cleanest comparison. **Q: Is a non-zero value always bad?** No. A small, transient number between assignment cycles is normal. The signal is a value that climbs and stays up — that means inbound is outrunning routing or an assignment rule has a gap (an away-mode edge case, a closed team, an unrouted channel). **Q: Can I customise the alert threshold?** Yes. The `>0` trigger is configurable per profile in the Sensitivity tab. Many teams set it to `>3` to suppress the normal transient churn and only alert on genuine pile-ups. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Unassigned Open Conversations* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Intercom and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.