While one person handles all the customer chats, access isn’t an issue. But once managers, an assistant and a marketer join Instagram and Telegram, risks appear: someone accidentally changes the agent’s settings, someone sees billing when they shouldn’t, and nobody in particular is responsible for replies to customers.

Roles solve this in advance: everyone sees what their work requires and can’t break what someone else is responsible for.

Five roles and what they do

Owner

Responsible for the whole business: sees everything, manages the plan and billing, invites the team and decides who gets which access. Don’t hand this role to anyone. Even your most trusted employee is better off with a separate role.

Setup specialist

Sets up the agent, the knowledge base and channels, works with chats and leads, sees analytics. Doesn’t see billing and doesn’t manage the team. This is the person responsible for the quality of the agent’s answers: they update prices, add corrections and test new scenarios.

Manager

Replies in chats, handles leads and the CRM, sees analytics. Can only read the knowledge base and doesn’t change the agent’s settings. A manager sells — and shouldn’t accidentally change how the agent answers every other customer.

Operator

Works only with chats. Can only read the knowledge base, so they give customers the same facts as the agent. The role suits first-line staff and employees filling in for someone.

Analyst

Sees only analytics and metrics — no chats, no customer contacts, no billing. The role suits a marketer or partner who needs the numbers but not customers’ personal data.

Who can do what: summary table

SectionOwnerSetup specialistManagerOperatorAnalyst
Chatsyesyesyesyesno
Leads and CRMyesyesyesnono
Knowledge baseyesyesreadreadno
Agent and channelsyesyesnonono
Analyticsyesyesyesnoyes
Plan and billingyesnononono
Teamyesnononono

How to assign roles: a practical order

  1. Start with tasks, not people. Write down what needs doing every day: replying to customers, handling leads, updating prices, reading reports.
  2. Give the least access that is enough. If someone only replies in chats, the operator role is enough. You can widen access at any time.
  3. Appoint one setup specialist. When three people edit the knowledge base, the agent’s answers start to contradict each other. Let one person own the knowledge base while the others send them corrections.
  4. Remove access on the day someone leaves. When an employee leaves, remove them from the team the same day.
  5. Write down responsibilities. A role in the workspace defines access, not duties. Agree separately who reviews night leads, who answers complaints and who updates prices, and keep that list where the whole team can see it.

Example: a training center team

Example At Gorizont, a fictional training center, the roles could be split like this. The director is the owner: plan, team, bottom-line numbers. The administrator is the setup specialist: keeps the schedule, course prices and knowledge base, and deals with tricky questions. Two front-desk employees are managers: they reply in chats, book trial lessons and move leads through the pipeline. A teacher who covers the front desk on Saturdays is an operator. A contract marketer is the analyst: sees how many inquiries and leads the ads brought, but not the chats or customers’ phone numbers.

Team security checklist

  • Every employee has their own account, no shared passwords.
  • Only the owner sees the plan and billing.
  • One responsible person changes the agent’s settings.
  • Analysts and contractors have no access to chats or customer contacts.
  • The team list is reviewed once a month.

Typical mistakes

  • One shared login for everyone. Nobody knows who replied or changed what, and a former employee keeps access until you change the password.
  • Maximum rights for everyone “just in case”. That is exactly how prices in the knowledge base change without the owner knowing.
  • Nobody responsible for chats waiting for a person. The agent hands over a conversation and nobody picks it up. How to set up handoff is covered in “When an AI agent should hand a chat to a person”.
  • A role “to grow into”. A newcomer on probation immediately gets the setup specialist role. Start with operator or manager and widen access once the person has settled in.

How it works in Mated

Team accounts with roles are coming to Mated soon. For now the account owner works in the workspace, with access to chats, leads, agent settings and billing. Once teams arrive, the owner will invite an employee from their workspace: enter a name and phone number and pick one of the roles described above. The employee will sign in with their own number and confirm the invitation with a one-time code from the owner. The role can be changed at any time, and removing someone from the team will end their access immediately.

Team size will depend on the plan: 2 accounts on Start, up to 5 on Business, no limit on Turnkey. Compare the plans on the pricing page and all workspace capabilities on the features page. How a team should handle leads is covered in “CRM for chat sales”. You can split duties right now using the checklist above, and sign up and set up the agent at any time.