Agents are the people on your team who chat with visitors on your website. Before they can start, you need to create access for them in your Smartsupp account. In the dashboard, agents are called operators. This article covers how to invite agents, manage their access and activity, and handle advanced tasks like transferring ownership.
🟡 Good to know: The number of agents you can add depends on your plan. To see your current limit or add more seats, open the Billing section in your dashboard or contact our support team.
We've split this article into seven sections:
Who are agents?
Agents are the most important part of every live chat. They are the people who communicate with visitors on your website — answering questions or helping visitors find the product they're looking for. Before they can chat, you need to create access for them in your Smartsupp account.
How to invite a new agent
Inviting a new agent is simple. Go to Settings → Operators and click Invite operator.
Enter the agent's email address and they'll receive the invitation by email. The invitation link stays active for 7 days. After accepting it, the agent is redirected to Smartsupp, where they enter their agent name and create a new password.
Right in the invitation form, you can also choose the new agent's Access level — Full access or Limited access, with Full access pre-selected. The chosen level is applied once the agent accepts the invitation. On plans with a limited number of agent seats, when all seats are taken, Full access is greyed out, Limited access is selected automatically, and the form warns you that all seats are used.
💡 Note: If you're already logged in to Smartsupp, the invitation will redirect you to the dashboard instead. To accept an invitation while logged in, log out first or open the invitation link in another browser.
Can't invite an agent? (email already exists)
It's not possible to invite someone who already has their own standalone Smartsupp account. If you see an "Email already exists" error, the email is already registered as a separate Smartsupp account. To resolve it:
1. Ask the person to log in to their existing standalone Smartsupp account using the conflicting email address.
2. Have them delete that standalone account from within Smartsupp.
3. Once the standalone account is deleted, you can add the email as an agent to your account.
Alternatively, you can simply invite them using a different email address.
Edit operator info and access
To edit an agent's information (name, email, description), click the three dots in the agent's row and choose Edit operator.
You can also change the agent's access level in the same place:
Full access — can access all personal and company settings, including billing info, and can chat with visitors. Recommended only for senior employees or management.
Limited access — can only access conversations, visitors, and personal settings (profile, shortcuts, notifications), and can chat with visitors. Limited-access agents also don't see the dashboard's Home page.
Block or unblock agents
Every agent is either unblocked or blocked. You can see each agent's state in the operator list in Settings → Operators:
Unblocked: the agent can chat with your visitors. Only unblocked agents can edit automatic messages and Flows.
Blocked: the agent can't chat with visitors or access conversations, but can still view statistics and settings. Useful for an owner or manager who needs an overview or access to billing but doesn't chat.
To block an agent, click the three dots in the agent's row, choose Block operator and confirm with Block. To unblock them, choose Unblock operator in the same menu. Unblocking takes effect right away, without confirmation.
🟡 Good to know:
You can't block an agent if they're the only operator in your account.
Only the account owner can block or unblock the owner.
You can unblock an agent only if your plan has a free agent seat. If all seats are taken, free one up or add more seats in Billing first.
How access level and block status combine: These are two separate settings. Access level (Full or Limited) controls what an agent can see and change — Full includes company settings and billing, Limited is restricted to conversations, visitors, and personal settings. Unblocked/Blocked controls whether the agent handles chats — unblocked agents chat with visitors (and can edit Flows (formerly chatbots)/automatic messages), blocked agents don't chat and only view statistics and settings. For example, a manager can be Full access + blocked (full overview, no chatting), while a support agent is usually unblocked.
How many agents can I add?
The number of agents depends on your plan. To see how many agents you have — or to add more — open the Billing section in your dashboard or contact our support team via the chat widget.
Only unblocked agents count towards the number of agents on your plan. Blocked agents, for example an owner who doesn't chat, don't take up a seat. You can see how many seats you're using in Settings → Operators.
Advanced: transfer ownership & delete an agent
To delete an agent who is the current account owner, you must first transfer ownership to another agent. Follow these steps:
1. Contact our support team and tell us which agent should become the new account owner. Ownership can't be transferred self-service in the dashboard — we'll arrange the transfer for you.
2. After the transfer, the original owner becomes a regular agent.
3. Go to Settings → Workplace → Operators.
4. Find the agent you want to delete, click the three dots menu, and select Delete.
What's next?
Assign agent — route conversations to the right agent automatically.
Welcome message and handover to an agent — greet visitors and hand the chat over to a live agent.
Flow – handover features — pass Flow conversations to a live agent when needed.
💡 Need more help? Contact our support team — we'll be happy to help!