Assignment Rules automate the assignment of record ownership when records are created or imported (Zoho CRM FAQs: Assignment Rules).
Key features:
- Criteria-based assignment: Define conditions (e.g., Lead Source = "Website" AND Country = "US") to filter which records the rule applies to.
- Round-robin distribution among a pool of users.
- Reorderable rule entries: Multiple rule entries are evaluated in order; the first matching rule wins.
- Modules supported: Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, and custom modules.
- Online-user filter: Assign only to currently logged-in users.
- Email notification: Notify the assigned user on assignment.
- Transfer related records: When ownership changes, optionally transfer associated activities/records to the new owner.
- Zia Assignment: AI-suggested assignments based on rep performance, geography, product expertise (Zoho CRM Zia overview).
Execution timing: Assignment rules execute first in the automation chain, before review processes, scoring, and workflows (Zoho CRM FAQs: Assignment Rules).