Design basic routing rule sets

Basic routing rule sets evaluate case data and route matching cases to a queue, user, or team. They provide deterministic, case-specific routing when an organization doesn't use unified routing for record distribution.

Microsoft recommends unified routing for automatic record routing. Basic routing remains useful for existing case processes and scenarios that don't require capacity, presence, skills, prioritization, or assignment methods.

Define a routing rule set

In Copilot Service admin center, go to Routing, and then select Manage for Basic routing rule sets. A routing rule set contains one or more ordered rule items. Each rule item defines:

• Rule criteria: Conditions that evaluate columns from the case or a related table, such as the associated account. Conditions can use AND or OR groups.
• Action: The destination when the criteria are true. The action routes the case to a queue, user, or team.

Basic routing rule sets apply to cases. For another queue-enabled table, use an appropriate Power Automate flow or the unified routing configuration covered later in the course.

When unified routing isn't enabled, only one basic routing rule set can be active at a time. Activating another set deactivates the currently active set. Deactivate an active set before editing it.

Order rule items from specific to general

Dynamics 365 evaluates rule items from top to bottom. When a rule item evaluates to true, Dynamics 365 applies its action and stops evaluating the remaining items. If no rule item matches, the rule set doesn't route the case.

Place narrow or high-priority conditions before broader conditions. Consider a rule set with these items:

1. Escalated gold cases: Service level equals Gold AND priority equals High.
2. Gold cases: Service level equals Gold.
3. Silver cases: Service level equals Silver.
4. Bronze cases: Service level equals Bronze.

If Gold cases appears before Escalated gold cases, every high-priority Gold case matches the broader Gold condition first. The escalation action never runs.

Activate and invoke routing

Creating and activating a rule set doesn't cause every new case to route automatically. The case-creation or user process must invoke routing.

Common invocation methods include:

• Selecting Save & Route when creating or updating a case.
• Selecting one or more existing cases and then selecting Apply Routing Rule.
• Using an automated process that creates the case and requests routing.

This distinction matters for email intake. An automatic record creation rule converts an eligible email activity into a case. Basic routing then evaluates the new case only when the intake process requests routing. Case creation and case routing are separate stages.

To make a rule set available, save its rule items, arrange them in evaluation order, and select Activate. Test cases that match each branch and at least one case that matches no branch before using the rule set in production.