Request prioritisation places messages into a work queue using explicit institutional rules. It should not depend simply on message length or an assistant's guess about a customer's emotions.
A routine pricing question and an uncertain order result need different follow-up. Yet treating every occurrence of “urgent” as the highest priority is also unreliable.
Use concrete signals
- The action the customer needs
- An existing order or support record
- Potential duplicate or incorrect processing
- Need for authorised human review
- The institution's operating and response rules
These are operational examples. Health, safety or legal issues require the appropriate human and emergency routes rather than an ordinary sales classification.
Start with a small set of categories
Useful starting categories include general information, an open transaction, human review and unclassified messages. Keep an uncertainty route so the assistant does not have to force every message into a confident label.
For each category, define the next action and owner. An unclassified request may need one clarification question or a handoff.
Separate priority from authority
Moving a request forward in a queue does not authorise refunds, price changes or disclosure of account details. Priority, data access and action permissions are separate design decisions.
The assistant should report only a verified state. A successful handoff is not the same as a resolved problem, and a promised response time must reflect approved business arrangements.
Test ambiguous cases
- A short but important transaction question
- A long routine product question
- A message containing several topics
- A request likely to be misclassified
- A repeat message about an existing case
Define the expected classification, next step and handoff condition before testing. Remove unnecessary personal details and keep test requests out of the live queue.
Common questions
Can AI know urgency with certainty?
No. Explicit rules and human oversight remain necessary.
Does high priority permit automatic resolution?
No. Action authority must be separately approved.
Discuss example requests and your team's workflow through the BE Soft English website.
