# Agent Availability and Auto-Answer (/docs/guides/run-your-team/agent-availability-and-auto-answer)



Agent availability determines whether careCycle can route a softphone call to
an agent. Organization administrators can define the Busy reasons agents use,
decide whether agents start each session Available or Busy, and choose whether
auto-answer is optional or enforced.

Configure these options under **Settings > Organization > Softphone Settings**, in the
**Agent availability** card.

Availability States [#availability-states]

careCycle uses four live availability states:

* **Available**: the agent can receive routed calls and transfers.
* **Busy**: the agent is signed in but cannot receive calls. A configured reason,
  such as Break, Lunch, Meeting, or Coaching, explains why.
* **On Call**: careCycle sets this automatically while the agent is handling a
  call.
* **Wrap Up**: careCycle sets this automatically after a call while the agent
  completes the disposition.

Only Available agents are included in call routing. Busy, On Call, Wrap Up, and
offline agents are excluded.

For a softphone destination, careCycle places only eligible Available agents
in the routing sequence and rings them one at a time. **Ring duration per
agent** accepts 5 through 30 whole seconds, while **Max wait time** accepts 10
through 120 whole seconds for the complete sequence. The overall timer can end
the sequence before every eligible agent is tried. Neither timer applies when
the routed agent has personally enabled Auto Answer or the organization
enforces it.

See [Agent Queue
Operations](/docs/guides/run-your-team/agent-queue-campaigns) for the full
campaign flow and [Routing
Groups](/docs/guides/campaign-toolkit/routing) for their
agent routing.

Create Busy Statuses [#create-busy-statuses]

In **Busy statuses**, enter a status name and an optional timer in minutes, then
select **Add status**.

| Example  | Timer | Behavior                                                |
| -------- | ----: | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Break    |    15 | Returns the agent to Available after 15 minutes         |
| Lunch    |    30 | Returns the agent to Available after 30 minutes         |
| Meeting  | Empty | Remains Busy until the agent or a supervisor changes it |
| Coaching | Empty | Remains Busy until the agent or a supervisor changes it |

Leave **Timer (min)** empty when the status should remain active until someone
changes it. Enter a value from 1 to 1,440 when the status should automatically
expire.

The order shown in settings is the order agents see in their status menu. Use
the arrow controls to reorder statuses. Archive a status when it should no
longer be selected. Archived statuses remain available in historical reporting.

Choose the Login Status [#choose-the-login-status]

The **Login** setting controls the state applied when an agent starts a new
softphone session:

* **Available**: the agent can receive calls as soon as sign-in finishes.
* **Busy**: the agent starts with the selected Busy reason and cannot receive
  calls until that status ends.

Busy can be selected only after at least one Busy status has been created. If
the login status is Busy, choose the reason that should be applied, such as
Break.

Refreshing the page or briefly losing the network does not restart the login
status. careCycle restores the current state during a short reconnect. A full
sign-out followed by sign-in starts a new session and applies the configured
login status.

Configure Auto-Answer [#configure-auto-answer]

Auto-answer joins an incoming softphone call without requiring the agent to
select **Answer** or **Claim**.

* When **Auto-answer** is enforced in organization settings, it is always on and
  agents cannot disable it.
* When it is not enforced, each agent can turn Auto Answer on or off from their
  avatar menu.

Auto-answer applies only when an agent is Available and a call is routed to
them. A Busy agent does not receive calls. Personal and organization-enforced
Auto Answer both bypass the per-agent and overall routing timers.

<Callout type="warn" title="Timed Busy statuses can create dead air with auto-answer">
  If auto-answer is on and a timed Busy status expires while the agent is still
  away, careCycle returns the agent to Available. A new call can then be routed
  and answered automatically, leaving the customer connected to an unattended
  workstation.

  For example, an agent selects a 15-minute Break but returns after 25 minutes.
  At minute 15 the agent becomes Available. During the next 10 minutes, an
  incoming call may auto-answer with no agent present.
</Callout>

Supervisor Controls and Reporting [#supervisor-controls-and-reporting]

Owners, administrators, and managers can set an online agent to a configured
Busy reason or return a Busy agent to Available from the Wallboard. Custom
roles need the agent-status override permission. On Call and Wrap Up agents
cannot be manually overridden. Call monitoring is a separate permission and is
not granted to managers by default.

The Wallboard displays the selected Busy reason and its live duration. Timed
statuses also show when the agent will return to Available. The Productivity
report keeps the total Busy time and breaks it down by reason, including
archived reasons and older unspecified Busy sessions.

<Cards>
  <Card title="Making and Taking Calls" href="/docs/guides/agents/making-and-taking-calls">
    The agent experience for availability, incoming calls, and transfers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The Wallboard" href="/docs/guides/know-your-numbers/wallboard">
    Monitor live agent status and manage availability from the floor view.
  </Card>
</Cards>