# Set conversation priority

> Priority is a new feature that will help you prioritize and gain insight into customer issues. Every new conversation receives a default priority of 3. 
For ...

Source: https://support.kustomer.com/en_us/priority-SyBpkBHIZ

Last updated: 2026-05-19T22:06:32.617Z

Use conversation priority to help route urgent customer conversations before less urgent conversations that are otherwise eligible for the same routing flow. For example, you can give VIP customer conversations a higher priority so they are considered earlier during skills-based routing.

Conversation priority works alongside queue priority. Queue priority determines which queue is considered first. Conversation priority helps determine which eligible conversation within that routing flow should be considered first.

**Who can access this feature?**

**User types**

Admins can create business rules. Agents can change priority while viewing a conversation.

  

### In this article:

*   [How does it differ from queue priority?](#differ)
*   [Set conversation priority](#set)
*   [Sort conversations based on priority](#sort)

**Note:** Conversation priority affects conversations that are routed using skills-based routing. It does not change queue priority, agent capacity, or whether a conversation is eligible for a specific agent.  
  

### How does it differ from queue priority?

Conversation priority and queue priority both affect routing order, but they are used at different levels.

  

Conversation priority

Queue priority

**What is it?**

A priority value on a conversation. It helps determine which eligible conversation should be routed first.

A priority value on a queue. It helps determine which queue should be routed from first.

**How is it used in routing?**

Among eligible conversations, conversations with higher conversation priority are considered before conversations with lower conversation priority. If conversations have the same priority, the conversation that has been waiting longer is routed first.

Queues with higher queue priority are routed before queues with lower queue priority. Depending on your routing configuration, the router may continue routing from a higher-priority queue before moving to a lower-priority queue.

**Scale**

**5** is the highest priority. **1** is the lowest priority. The default is **3**.

**1** is the highest priority. **100** is the lowest priority.

> **Important:** Conversation priority and queue priority use different scales. For conversation priority, higher numbers mean higher priority. For queue priority, lower numbers mean higher priority.

For more information, see **Understand queue priority**.

### Set conversation priority

You can set conversation priority in two ways: manually or via a business rule

Agents can manually change the **Priority** field in the conversation's insight details panel.

![](https://cdn.kustomerhostedcontent.com/media/570fad9d9001bc1000163b28/e0dce48feab41503df6cbf31c4ca1d7d.png)

Admins can set up a business rule that automatically changes the conversation's priority when it matches specific criteria, such as when a VIP client contacts you. To do so:

1.  Go to **Settings > Platform > Business Rules**.
2.  Create a new rule.
3.  Add the criteria the conversation must match.
4.  Add an action that updates **Conversation Priority**.
5.  Choose the priority value you want to apply.
6.  Save the rule.

In this example, we are changing the conversation's priority to 4 when a VIP client sends a chat message.

![](https://cdn.kustomerhostedcontent.com/media/570fad9d9001bc1000163b28/3cfed77d595d97d87323596fc561dd8a.png)

### Sort conversations based on priority

You can sort conversations by priority while viewing a search. To do so:

1.  Open an existing search, or create a new one.
2.  Select **Change columns** ![](https://cdn.kustomerhostedcontent.com/media/570fad9d9001bc1000163b28/eddca17cbebe5258b9af0cac4f958fd5.png), select **Priority**, and Apply your changes.

Click on the Priority column to sort your conversations from lowest or highest.