Contact settings determine how new contacts are assigned in your workspace.
Two controls work together:
Auto-assign contact automatically assigns new contacts based on routing logic.
Default contact owner assigns new contacts when auto-assign is disabled.
This guide explains how these settings behave when enabled, disabled, or used alongside automation.
How to configure contact settings
Go to Admin → Contact settings.
Turn Auto-assign contact on or off based on your workflow.
Select a default contact owner if auto-assign is disabled (optional).
Click Save.
How saving behaves based on configuration
When auto-assign contact is turned ON, the default contact owner option is not available. You can save contact settings without selecting a default owner.
When auto-assign contact is turned OFF, the default contact owner option becomes available. Selecting a default contact owner is optional. If no owner is selected, saving is still allowed and no validation error appears.
If auto-assign was previously enabled and you toggle it OFF, the default contact owner option becomes available. If you later turn auto-assign back ON, the default contact owner setting is no longer used.
How new contacts are assigned
When auto-assign is OFF and no default contact owner is configured, newly created contacts remain unassigned. This applies to contacts created manually.
When auto-assign is disabled and a default contact owner is configured, newly created contacts are assigned to the selected default owner.
Changes to contact settings do not modify existing contact assignments.
How automation affects assignment
Automation-based assignments continue to work independently of the default contact owner setting.
If auto-assign is OFF and no default owner is configured, contacts assigned through workflows or automation rules will still follow those rules. The absence of a default contact owner does not interfere with automation-driven assignment.
Behavior for bulk imports and API-created contacts
When contacts are created through bulk import or via API while auto-assign is OFF and no default contact owner is configured, the contacts remain unassigned unless an automation rule assigns them.
Import and export functionality is not affected by these settings.
How this relates to other assignment tools
Auto-assign determines whether the system automatically assigns new contacts.
The default contact owner applies only when auto-assign is disabled.
Automation rules operate independently and continue to assign contacts according to their configured logic.
Existing assignments are not retroactively changed when these settings are updated.