Building Custom Presence-Aware Routing Using the Routing API and User Presence Subscriptions

How-To-Articles
1

Building Custom Presence-Aware Routing Using the Routing API and User Presence Subscriptions

Executive Summary & Architectural Context

Standard Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) logic in most contact centers is binary: an agent is either “On Queue” (Available for work) or “Off Queue” (Unavailable). This legacy model is insufficient for modern knowledge-worker environments or “Tier 3” support teams where experts spend 50% of their time in meetings, research, or cross-departmental collaboration. In these environments, the goal isn’t just to find an agent who is “Idle,” but to find the best expert based on their granular System Presence (e.g., “Available,” “Busy,” “In a Meeting,” or custom states like “Analyzing Log Files”).

A Principal Architect builds a Custom Presence-Aware Routing Engine. This system goes beyond the standard ACD engine by subscribing to real-time presence updates for a pool of experts and using the Routing API to dynamically inject interactions only when the expert’s state meets specific business criteria. This allows for “Intelligent Interrupts” and reduces the “Wait-and-Hope” latency associated with traditional transfers.

This masterclass details how to architect an event-driven routing layer using the Genesys Cloud Notification API and the Routing API for precise interaction delivery.

Prerequisites, Roles & Licensing

Licensing & Permissions

  • Licensing Tier: Genesys Cloud CX 2 or 3 (Required for advanced Routing API and real-time Notification subscriptions).
  • Granular Permissions:
    • Presence > User Presence > View
    • Routing > Conversation > Communicate (to perform direct routing)
    • Analytics > Subscription > Add
  • Dependencies:
    • Middleware (AWS Lambda/Node.js): To process presence events and make routing decisions.
    • Service Discovery: A mapping of Expert IDs to their specific Skill sets.

The Implementation Deep-Dive

1. The Architectural Strategy: The “Shadow Queue”

Because standard queues only track “On Queue” status, we create a Shadow Routing Layer that monitors experts regardless of their queue status.

The Workflow:

  1. The Inbound Architect Flow identifies the need for an expert (e.g., “High-Value Technical Escalation”).
  2. Instead of a standard Transfer to ACD, the flow hits a Data Action that sends the ConversationId to your Custom Routing Middleware.
  3. The Middleware maintains a real-time cache (Redis) of the Current Presence of all experts in that category.
  4. The Middleware selects the expert who is currently “Available” or “Busy” (but not “On Break”) and uses the Routing API to perform a POST /api/v2/routing/conversations/{id}/users/{userId} (Direct Routing).

2. Implementing the Presence Subscription (Notification API)

Your middleware must stay perfectly in sync with the experts’ states.

Step 1: Open the WebSocket Channel

const channel = await axios.post('https://api.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/notifications/channels');
const ws = new WebSocket(channel.data.connectUri);

Step 2: Subscribe to Presence Topics

Subscribe to the presence topic for every expert in the pool:
v2.users.{userId}.presence

Step 3: The State Machine

When an event is received, update the experts’ status in your local state machine:

ws.on('message', (data) => {
    const event = JSON.parse(data);
    const userId = event.topicName.split('.')[2];
    const newPresence = event.eventBody.presenceDefinition.systemPresence;

    // Update expert_registry in Redis
    redis.hset('expert_presence', userId, newPresence);
});

3. Executing the Custom Route (Routing API)

Once the “Best” expert is identified, the middleware takes control of the conversation.

The Routing Request:

const routingApi = new platformClient.RoutingApi();
const conversationId = "your-interaction-id";
const userId = "selected-expert-id";

const body = {
    "userId": userId,
    "priority": 100 // Ensure this is a high-priority direct route
};

await routingApi.postRoutingConversationUsers(conversationId, body);

[!IMPORTANT]
Architectural Reasoning: By using Direct Routing via the API, you bypass the standard ACD “Fairness” algorithms. This is intentional. For expert escalations, “Best Match” (Expert Presence) is more important than “Longest Available” (ACD Logic).

“The Trap”: The “Meeting Interrupt” Friction

The Scenario: Your middleware sees that Expert A is “In a Meeting” (Calendar Sync) and decides they are the best person for a critical Escalation. It pushes the call.

The Catastrophe: Expert A is actually presenting to the CEO. The call interrupts their screen-share and audio. This leads to expert frustration and a “Ghosting” of the customer.

The Principal Architect’s Solution: The “Secondary Intent” Check

  1. Granular Presence: Use Genesys Cloud’s Custom Presence definitions.
  2. Experts should have a state: "In a Meeting - Do Not Disturb" vs. "In a Meeting - Interrupt for P1".
  3. Your middleware must check the Presence Definition GUID, not just the systemPresence string.
  4. The Logic: Only route to “In a Meeting” if the presenceDefinitionId matches the “Interruptible” variant.

Advanced: Predictive Availability (Queue Time Analysis)

What if NO expert is currently in an “Interruptible” state?

Implementation Pattern:

  1. Analytics Query: The middleware queries the /api/v2/analytics/users/aggregates/query for the experts’ history.
  2. Predictive Calculation: “Expert B has been in their ‘In a Meeting’ state for 55 minutes of a scheduled 60-minute block.”
  3. Queue Logic: Instead of failing, the Architect flow places the caller in a “Holding Pattern” for 5 minutes, playing: “Our specialist is finishing a session and will be available in less than 5 minutes.”

This “Micro-Wait” strategy is significantly better than a blind transfer to a generic queue or a forced voicemail.

Validation, Edge Cases & Troubleshooting

Edge Case 1: WebSocket Disconnection (Stale Presence)

The failure condition: The middleware loses its connection to the Notification API. It still thinks Expert C is “Available,” but they actually went “Off Queue” 10 minutes ago.
The root cause: Stale state in the Redis cache.
The solution: Every 60 seconds, the middleware should perform a “Bulk Presence Query” (POST /api/v2/users/presence/bulk) to resync its internal state with the Genesys Cloud source of truth.

Edge Case 2: Expert “Cherry Picking”

The failure condition: Experts realize they are being monitored by a custom engine and stay in “In a Meeting” to avoid calls.
The root cause: Lack of performance transparency.
The solution: Feed the Custom Routing events back into the Analytics API as User Observations. Create a report that compares “Scheduled Meeting Time” vs. “Custom Routing Delivery,” identifying experts who are using presence to avoid their primary responsibilities.

Reporting & ROI Analysis

Custom Presence-Aware Routing is a Utilization play.

Metrics to Monitor:

  • Expert Utilization: Total interactions handled by Tier 3 experts during non-standard “Available” windows.
  • Escalation Latency: Time from Tier 1 “Help” request to Tier 3 “Answer.”
  • Transfer Reject Rate: How often do experts reject a custom-routed call?

Target ROI: Expect a 20% increase in Expert Utilization and a 15% reduction in Escalation Loop Time, leading to faster resolution of complex customer issues.

Official References