Also known as: shared reply pool, reply claiming, claiming conversations, batch replies, broadcast mode
Claim Replies lets your agents pick up incoming text replies from a shared pool when they're ready, rather than having replies automatically assigned to them. It's built for large organizations, volunteer shifts, and busy reply periods where a shared queue works better than one-to-one assignment.
What is Broadcast mode?
In a peer-to-peer (P2P) texting campaign, contacts often text back after receiving your initial message. Claim Replies changes how those incoming replies reach your agents.
Instead of assigning each reply to a specific agent, replies wait in a shared pool. Any eligible agent can then claim a batch of conversations and start responding.
Good to know: Claim Replies only changes how incoming replies are handled. Initial messages are still sent automatically in both modes.
Auto Assign vs. Broadcast mode
When you create a campaign, you'll choose one of two reply-handling modes:
| Auto Assign Replies | Broadcast mode | |
| How it works | Replies are automatically distributed to assigned agents | Replies wait in a shared pool. Agents claim batches when they're ready |
| Best for | Smaller teams, or campaigns where each agent owns their conversations | Large campaigns, volunteer shifts, or reply-heavy campaigns |
| Manager effort | May need to reassign replies manually if they pile up | Agents pull their own work, resulting in less reassignment needed |
How to turn on Broadcast mode
- Create a new P2P texting campaign.
- Go to the Script step.
- Under Initial message and reply handling, select Broadcast mode.
- Configure the Reply batch size and Claim expiry.
- Save and launch your campaign.
Broadcast mode settings
When you select Broadcast mode, two settings appear:
Reply batch size
This is the number of conversations an agent can claim at once.
- Options: 10, 25, 50, or 100
- Default: 25
Choose a smaller batch size if you want agents to focus on fewer conversations at a time. Choose a larger one for experienced agents handling high volumes.
Claim expiry
If an agent claims a conversation but there's no activity for this amount of time, the conversation returns to the shared pool so someone else can pick it up.
- Options: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour
- Default: 30 minutes
How the expiry timer works: The timer is based on the last interaction, not the moment the conversation was claimed. The timer resets whenever:
- The contact sends a message
- The agent sends a message
- The conversation is read
If a campaign is paused, expiry timers freeze. They resume from where they left off when the campaign restarts.
Who can claim replies?
There's no separate setting for this. Agent eligibility comes from the Agent step of your campaign, where you already choose:
- All agents
- Specific agents
- Teams
- Assign agents later
Only agents added through the Agent step can claim replies in that campaign.
What agents see
In Claim Replies mode, agents don't receive replies automatically. Instead:
- The Pending tab stays empty because conversations aren't pre-assigned.
- The Chats tab shows a Claim Replies button. After an agent finishes their first batch, the button changes to Claim More Replies.
When can an agent claim?
The Claim Replies button is active only when all three of these are true:
- The pool has replies waiting.
- The agent is eligible for the campaign.
- The agent has no active claimed batch.
When an agent clicks the button, they receive conversations up to the batch size, starting with the oldest unread replies. If fewer replies are available than the batch size, the agent gets whatever remains.
Agents must respond to their current batch before claiming more.
What the button messages mean
| What the agent sees | What it means |
| [N] replies waiting (button active) | Replies are available — click to claim a batch |
| No replies to claim right now. Check back soon. | The pool is empty |
| Respond to your current conversations to claim more. | The agent still has an active batch to finish |
| You're not set up to claim replies in this campaign. Contact your manager. | The agent isn't eligible for this campaign |
When is a conversation "handled"?
A conversation counts as handled when the last message in the thread is from the agent. If the contact replies again after that, the conversation needs attention again.
Which replies enter the pool?
A reply enters the shared pool when:
- It hasn't been handled yet
- The conversation isn't temporarily locked to an agent (see below)
These conversations are excluded from the pool:
- Conversations marked Complete
- Contacts on your Do Not Text (DNT) list
- Contacts who were auto-opted out
- Profanity-filtered conversations (when moderator mode is on)
Excluded conversations still appear in the Manager Inbox, so you never lose visibility.
Lock-in window: If a contact recently interacted with a specific agent, their conversation stays with that agent for a short period before it can move to the shared pool. This keeps conversations consistent for contacts who are actively texting back and forth.
Manager tools
Manager Inbox
The Manager Inbox shows all unhandled replies, whether they're:
- Waiting in the pool (labeled Unassigned)
- Claimed by an agent (labeled with the agent's name)
- Assigned through Auto Assign mode
Returning an agent's conversations to the pool
Managers can manually move an agent's claimed conversations back to the shared pool. This is useful if an agent leaves mid-shift or claims more than they can handle. Returned conversations become available for other agents to claim, unless they're excluded by the pool rules above.
Auto Reassign
Auto Reassign is disabled while Claim Replies is on, since agents claim replies directly and there's nothing to reassign. If you switch the campaign back to Auto Assign mode and save it, Auto Reassign becomes available again.
Editing a live campaign
| Setting | Can you edit it while the campaign is active? |
| Reply handling mode (Auto Assign ↔ Claim Replies) | No — pause the campaign first |
| Reply batch size | Yes — applies to new claims only |
| Claim expiry | Yes — applies to new claims only. Already-claimed conversations keep the expiry that was set when they were claimed |
What happens when you switch modes
Auto Assign → Claim Replies
- Conversations already assigned to agents stay with those agents.
- New eligible replies enter the shared pool from that point on.
Claim Replies → Auto Assign
- Claimed conversations stay with their current agent until responded to.
- Pool conversations become eligible for standard reply assignment and Auto Reassign.
Frequently asked questions
Do initial messages still send automatically with Claim Replies? Yes. Claim Replies only changes how incoming replies are handled. Initial messages send automatically in both modes.
What happens if two agents claim at the same time? The first claim gets processed first. The second agent receives whatever conversations remain. If none remain, they see the "No replies to claim right now" message.
Can an agent claim more replies before finishing their current batch? No. Agents must respond to their current conversations before claiming another batch.
What happens to a claimed conversation if the agent stops responding? After the claim expiry period passes with no interaction, the conversation returns to the shared pool so another agent can claim it.
Why is the Claim Replies button grayed out for my agent? Either the pool is empty, the agent has an unfinished batch, or the agent isn't eligible for the campaign. The message below the button explains which.
Can I change the batch size mid-campaign? Yes. The new batch size applies to future claims. Existing claimed batches aren't affected.
Why can't I see Auto Reassign? Auto Reassign is hidden or disabled while Claim Replies is on. Switch the campaign back to Auto Assign mode (while paused) to bring it back.
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