<!-- Source: https://docs.vinsi.ai/telephony/huntGroups -->
# Hunt Groups

Ring a team of people when one of your phone numbers is called — all at once, one at a time, or by skill.

Created: September 16, 2026

Updated: September 16, 2026

## Overview

A hunt group is a named set of team members that rings when a caller dials one of the phone numbers (DIDs) attached to the group. Members answer on their **softphone** in the VINSI dashboard or on their **desk phone**. If nobody answers before the ring timeout, the caller goes to the group's voicemail.

Hunt groups are managed in **CRM → Admin → Phone Settings → Hunt Groups**. Only organization administrators can create or change them.

### Hunt Groups vs. Queues

|                     | Hunt Group                                      | Queue                                                                       |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| When nobody answers | Caller goes to voicemail after the ring timeout | Caller waits on hold (music, position announcements) until an agent is free |
| Best for            | Small teams, front desks, departments           | Contact centers, support and sales lines with call volume                   |
| Agent status        | —                                               | Available / Unavailable with reason codes, wrap-up, dispositions            |
| Reporting           | Call logs                                       | Live wallboard, service level, agent and queue reports                      |

A phone number can go to **either** a hunt group or a queue, not both. See [Call Queues](https://docs.vinsi.ai/telephony/queues) for the queue setup guide.

## Before You Start

- **Members need a phone.** Each member should have a softphone and/or a desk phone set up in **Phone Settings → Member Phones** (use the **\+ Add Phone** button at the bottom).
- **You need a phone number.** Buy or port a number in **Phone Numbers**. Numbers already assigned to a single member, a desk phone line, a fax line, or an AI phone agent can't be attached to a hunt group — their own routing takes the call first.
- **For skills routing**, create your skills first (see [Skills-Based Routing](https://docs.vinsi.ai/telephony/huntGroups#huntGroups-skills)).

## Create a Hunt Group

1. Go to **CRM → Admin → Phone Settings** and open the **Hunt Groups** tab.
2. Click **\+ New Hunt Group** at the bottom of the panel. The hunt group editor opens.
3. Enter a **Group name** (for example _Front Desk_ or _Warehouse_).
4. Choose the **Strategy** and **Ring timeout** (5–120 seconds).
5. Choose what **Show on member phones** displays while ringing: the _caller's number/name_ (default) or the _hunt group name_ — useful when members belong to several groups and need to know which line is ringing.
6. Check the **members** who should ring.
7. Check the **DIDs that use this group**.
8. Set **Business Hours**, the after-hours destination, and voicemail options.
9. Click **Create Group**. Calls to the attached numbers ring the group right away.

### Ring Strategy

| Strategy         | How it rings                                                                                                                                               |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ring All**     | Every member rings at the same time. First to answer gets the call.                                                                                        |
| **Linear**       | One member at a time, always in the same order.                                                                                                            |
| **Round Robin**  | One at a time, rotating who rings first so calls are spread evenly.                                                                                        |
| **Longest Idle** | The member who has gone the longest without a call rings first.                                                                                            |
| **Skills**       | Members with the highest rating for the chosen skill ring first; the next rating tier rings after the ring timeout. Members already on a call are skipped. |

### Members

The member list shows each person's extension. Members ring on whichever devices they have — softphone, desk phone, or both (controlled per member in Member Phones). A member who has turned off inbound calls won't ring.

### Phone Numbers (DIDs)

Check every number that should ring this group. Several numbers can share one group. A number already in another hunt group shows _(in <group name>)_ — checking it moves it here when you save. Your organization's main line is marked and is pre-checked on new groups.

### Business Hours

| Option                          | Behavior                                                                            |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Use main business hours**     | Follows the organization-wide hours set on the Phone Settings → Settings tab.       |
| **Custom hours for this group** | Pick a start time, end time, and days for this group only (organization time zone). |
| **Always ring (24/7)**          | Ignores hours entirely.                                                             |

Outside business hours, calls go to **Voicemail** (using the group's greeting) or an **AI Phone Agent**.

After-hours routing to an **AI Phone Agent** currently works only when the hunt group's number is your organization's default (main) line. On other numbers, calls keep ringing the group.

### Voicemail

- **Greeting** — open the voicemail greeting editor from the hunt group, type the greeting, pick a voice, preview it, and save. It plays when nobody answers or after hours.
- **Notification email** — who is emailed when a voicemail is left. Add extra addresses in the CC list (type an email and press Enter).
- Voicemails also appear in **Phone Settings → Voicemails** for administrators.

## Skills-Based Routing

Skills let a group ring the best-qualified people first — for example, Spanish speakers for a Spanish line.

1. Open **Phone Settings → Skills** and click **\+ New Skill** at the bottom. Name it (e.g. _Spanish_) and click **Add skill**.
2. Go to **Member Phones**, click a member's **Skills** button, add the skill, and choose a proficiency:

| Proficiency   | Ring order                           |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Primary**   | Rings first                          |
| **Secondary** | Rings when no Primary member answers |
| **Training**  | Rings last                           |
3. Edit the hunt group, set **Strategy** to **Skills**, and pick the skill under **Rank members by skill**.

In the Skills tab, click _N members rated_ under a skill to see who is rated and at what level. Leaving **Rank members by skill** empty rings everyone, so a group is never left without people to ring.

## Edit, Search & Delete

- Click any hunt group card to open it, change settings, and click **Save Changes**.
- Use the search box at the top right to find a group by name.
- Click **Delete Group** in the editor to remove a group. Its numbers go back to the organization's default ring behavior.

## Troubleshooting

| Problem                          | What to check                                                                                                                                       |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A number isn't listed under DIDs | It's assigned to a member, a desk phone, a fax line, or an AI agent. Remove that assignment first.                                                  |
| A member's phone doesn't ring    | Check the member has a softphone or desk phone in Member Phones, the softphone is open and connected, and inbound calls aren't turned off for them. |
| Skills group rings everyone      | No skill is selected, or nobody is rated for it yet.                                                                                                |
| Calls go straight to voicemail   | The group is outside its business hours, or no members are reachable.                                                                               |