Why assignment matters
Assigning a conversation puts it in the right agent's My Inbox view, so it's clear who owns the response. Unassigned conversations sit in the Unassigned view and can be picked up by any agent.
Become the assignee
You become the assignee automatically the first time you reply to a chat with a public message. There is no separate "claim" or "assign to me" button — sending the first agent reply is what hands the chat to you. The sidebar's Assignee row in the visitor panel shows who currently owns the chat (display-only).
Transfer a conversation
To hand the current chat to another teammate, tap the Transfer button in the conversation header. The button is only visible when you're the current assignee, and only teammates who are currently online appear in the picker. The receiving agent gets the chat in their My Inbox immediately.
To transfer several chats at once — for example before you go offline — open the ellipsis (⋯) menu in the conversation header and pick Transfer selected or Transfer all (N).
Leave a conversation
If you no longer need to be involved, open the ellipsis (⋯) menu in the conversation header and choose Leave. This option only appears when you're the current assignee. The conversation becomes unassigned again and returns to the Unassigned queue.
What's next
Need to leave a note for the agent who's taking over? See Private notes and @mentions.