Adding and Managing Team Members

Growing your live chat team on Social Intents is straightforward. Whether you are adding your first agent or scaling to dozens of team members, Social Intents makes it easy to invite agents, assign roles, organize departments, and manage permissions - all from a single dashboard. This guide walks you through every step of adding and managing team members so your live chat operation runs smoothly from day one.

How to Add a New Agent

Only users with the Admin or Owner role can add new agents. Agent-role users do not have access to the Add Agent button or the agent management pages. If you need to add agents but do not see the option, ask your account administrator to either add the agent for you or upgrade your role.

Understanding Agent Roles and Permissions

Social Intents has four roles that control what each team member can see and do. Assigning the right role keeps sensitive settings protected while giving everyone the access they need.

Role Permissions Comparison

Agent Role

The Agent role is the most restricted level of access. Agents can answer live chats, edit their own profile settings (display name, photo, job title), and view canned responses during conversations. They cannot add or remove other agents, create or edit chat shortcuts, change widget settings, or view reports. This role is ideal for frontline support representatives and sales team members who need to focus on conversations without managing administrative settings.

Manager Role

The Manager role adds access to reporting and analytics on top of the standard Agent capabilities. Managers can view chat transcripts, monitor agent performance metrics, and access the reporting dashboard. This role works well for team leads and department supervisors who need visibility into team performance without full administrative control.

Admin Role

The Admin role provides full access to all platform features except billing. Admins can add and remove agents, manage chat shortcuts, configure widget settings, set up integrations, adjust schedules, and manage departments. This role is appropriate for IT administrators, operations managers, or anyone responsible for maintaining the live chat infrastructure.

Owner Role

The Owner is the person who originally created the Social Intents account. The Owner has all Admin permissions plus access to billing, subscription management, and account-level settings. There is one Owner per account, and the Owner account cannot be deleted. If you need to transfer ownership, contact Social Intents support.

Agent Limits by Plan

The number of agents you can add depends on your subscription plan. Social Intents scales with your team, and most paid plans include unlimited agents at no additional per-seat cost.

If you are on the Starter or Trial plan and have reached the 3-agent limit, you will be prompted to upgrade when attempting to add another agent. Upgrading to the Basic plan or above removes all agent limits, allowing your entire team to use Social Intents without per-agent pricing.

Assigning Agents to Groups and Departments

Groups (also called departments) let you route incoming chats to the right team. For example, you might create a "Sales" group and a "Support" group so visitors can choose who they want to speak with. Agents can be assigned to one or multiple groups, and groups are defined at the widget level.

Setting Up Groups

Before you can assign agents to groups, you need to create the groups in your widget settings:

Assigning Agents to Groups

Once groups are created, you can assign agents to them:

If no groups have been created on any widget, the agent profile page will display a message: "No groups have been created. Add these under your Live Chat settings → Customize Text." Groups help visitors reach the right person faster and allow you to organize your team by function, product line, or region.

Managing Existing Agents

As your team evolves, you will need to update agent profiles, change roles, or remove team members. All agent management is done from the Agents page in your dashboard.

Editing an Agent's Profile

Click on any agent in the Agents list to open their profile. From here, Admins and Owners can update any field including the agent's name, email, display name, role, timezone, job title, photo, and group assignments. Agents with the Agent role can only edit their own profile and are limited to changing their display name, photo, job title, and password.

Changing an Agent's Role

To change an agent's role, open their profile and select a new role from the Role dropdown. Only Admins and Owners can see and modify the Role dropdown. Changing a role takes effect immediately - if you promote an Agent to Admin, they will instantly have access to all administrative features. If you demote an Admin to Agent, they will lose access to settings, agent management, and shortcuts management on their next page load.

Removing an Agent

To remove an agent, open their profile page and click the Delete button. A confirmation dialog will ask you to verify the deletion. Once confirmed, the agent is permanently removed from the account. Only Admins and Owners can delete agents, and the Owner account can never be deleted.

Re-Sending Invite Emails

If an agent did not receive their original invite email or has lost their login credentials, you can resend the invitation from their profile page. Click the Re-Send Invite Email button to generate a new password and send a fresh email with updated credentials. This is also useful when onboarding agents who sign up but do not complete their initial login promptly.

Best Practices for Team Management

Managing a live chat team effectively requires more than just adding agents. Here are proven strategies to keep your team organized and your chat operation running at peak performance:

Start with Clear Role Assignments

Assign the Agent role to frontline team members who only need to answer chats. Reserve the Admin role for IT staff or operations managers who need to configure widgets, integrations, and schedules. Use the Manager role for team leads who need reporting access without full administrative control. This prevents accidental changes to critical settings.

Use Groups to Route Chats Effectively

Create groups that mirror your organizational structure. Common setups include Sales and Support groups, or groups organized by product line or region. When visitors see a department selector in the chat widget, they can self-route to the right team, reducing transfers and improving first-contact resolution.

Set Up Display Names Thoughtfully

The Display Name is what visitors see during a chat - it appears in the chat widget alongside the agent's photo and job title. Use friendly, approachable names. Some teams use first names only for a personal feel, while others use full names for a professional appearance. The "Real Name" field is used internally only and never shown to visitors.

Keep Agent Profiles Updated

Encourage agents to upload a professional profile photo, set their timezone correctly, and add a job title. When the Show Agent Photos setting is enabled on your widget, visitors see the agent's photo during conversations, which builds trust and creates a more human connection. The recommended photo size is 50×50 pixels in JPG, PNG, or GIF format.

Review Team Members Regularly

Periodically audit your agent list to ensure that former employees or contractors have been removed. Agents who have left your organization should be deleted promptly to maintain security. Check that role assignments are still appropriate as team members take on new responsibilities.

Perguntas frequentes

How many agents can I add to my account?

The Starter plan supports up to 3 agents. The Basic ($69/month), Pro ($99/month), and Business ($199/month) plans all include unlimited agents at no extra per-seat cost. Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial that supports up to 3 agents.

Can agents add other agents?

No. Only users with the Admin or Owner role can add new agents. Users with the Agent role cannot see the Add Agent button and do not have access to agent management features.

What happens when I delete an agent?

The agent is permanently removed from your account and immediately loses access to the chat console and all features. Deletion cannot be undone. If you want to temporarily remove an agent from chat rotation, set their online status to offline instead.

Can I change the account Owner?

The Owner is the original account creator and cannot be changed through the dashboard. The Owner account cannot be deleted. To transfer ownership, contact Social Intents support for assistance.

What if my agent did not receive the invite email?

Check the agent's spam or junk folder first. If the email is not there, go to the agent's profile page and click Re-Send Invite Email. This generates a new password and sends a fresh invitation email.

Do agents need to download any software?

No. If you use the web dashboard, agents log in through a browser - no software installation required. If you use Social Intents through Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, or another platform integration, agents interact through that platform's existing app.

Can an agent belong to multiple groups?

Yes. Agents can be assigned to multiple groups across multiple widgets. Use the multi-select dropdown on the agent's profile page to assign them to every relevant department.

Existe um preço por agente?

No. Social Intents does not charge per agent on the Basic plan and above. You pay a flat monthly rate and can add as many agents as your team needs. This makes Social Intents one of the most cost-effective live chat solutions for growing teams.