Screen Pop
A screen pop is the automatic display of a Salesforce record or page on a service agent's screen the moment a call, message, or chat reaches them.
Definition
A screen pop is the automatic display of a Salesforce record or page on a service agent's screen the moment a call, message, or chat reaches them. The phone system passes the caller's number or other call data to Salesforce, which searches for matching records and opens the right one before the agent says hello.
Screen pops live inside Salesforce computer-telephony integration (CTI) and Service Cloud Voice. An admin decides what pops by configuring a softphone layout or an Add Screen Pop action in an Omni-Channel flow. The result is that an agent starts every conversation already looking at the customer, not at an empty search box.
How a screen pop decides what to show
What triggers a screen pop
A screen pop fires when work arrives at an agent. For voice, that is an inbound call hitting the softphone. For digital channels, it is a chat or message routed through Omni-Channel. The telephony adapter, built on the Open CTI APIs, hands Salesforce the data it collected about the interaction. The most common key is the caller's phone number, known in telephony as the ANI (automatic number identification). Adapters can also pass the DNIS (the number the customer dialed), a queue name, or a segment value gathered by an IVR menu. Salesforce takes that data and runs a search across the objects named in the softphone layout. The classic flow uses the Open CTI method searchAndScreenPop(), which searches the configured objects and pops a result based on your settings. A newer pattern skips the search step and pops a specific record straight from an Omni-Channel flow. Either way, nothing pops until the system has matched, or failed to match, the incoming data against real Salesforce records.
Single, multiple, and no-match behavior
The heart of screen pop configuration is what happens for each search outcome. A softphone layout defines three separate rules under screen pop settings: SingleMatch, MultipleMatches, and NoMatch. You set each one independently so the agent always lands somewhere sensible. When exactly one record matches, you usually want PopToEntity, which opens that record directly. A call from a known customer pops their Contact, so the agent greets them by name. When several records match the same number, popping any single one would be a guess, so the common choice is PopToSearch. That opens a search results page listing every match, and the agent picks the right person. When nothing matches, you have a decision to make. You can leave the agent where they are, pop an object home page, or pop a new record screen with PopToNewRecord so they can create a Contact or Case on the spot. Salesforce also supports PopToFlow to launch a screen flow and PopToVisualforce for a custom page. Choosing the right action per outcome is what makes screen pops feel helpful instead of jarring.
Softphone layouts: the classic control point
For Open CTI and most partner phone adapters, the softphone layout is where screen pop behavior is defined. You build it in Setup, then assign it to user profiles so different teams can pop different things. A layout has three call-type sections: Inbound, Outbound, and Internal. Each section gets its own screen pop rules, because an outbound call your agent placed needs different handling than an inbound call from a stranger. Inside a layout you also choose call-related fields to surface in the softphone, such as ANI, DNIS, SEGMENT, and QUEUE, and you list the objects to search and which of their fields to display. A setting called screenPopsOpenWithin controls whether pops open in the existing window or a new one, though Lightning Experience ignores the new-window option and always uses the existing window. Because the layout is assigned by profile, you can give a sales queue a Lead-first layout and a support queue a Case-first layout from the same call center. The developer method getSoftphoneLayout() lets an adapter read this configuration at runtime.
Service Cloud Voice and Omni-Channel flows
Service Cloud Voice brings telephony into Salesforce natively, with the call controls embedded in the Service Console. Screen pops still work, but the modern way to configure them is the Add Screen Pop action inside an Omni-Channel flow. When a voice call, chat, or message is routed to a rep, the flow can open a specific record or launch a screen flow for them automatically. This flow-based approach is more flexible than a static layout. The flow can branch on the channel, the queue, or any data attached to the work item before deciding what to pop. You might pop an existing Case for a returning caller, or a guided screen flow that walks a new rep through intake. Because it runs in a flow, you can mix the screen pop with other routing logic, like setting the owner or adding skills, in one place. For voice, this gives you a real-time pop tied to the same routing that delivered the call, so the record and the conversation arrive together.
The Open CTI methods behind the pop
Developers building or wiring up a phone adapter use the Open CTI JavaScript library to drive screen pops. Three methods do most of the work. searchAndScreenPop() takes a search string and a callType (inbound, outbound, or internal), searches the objects in the softphone layout, and pops a result that fits your settings. It can also defer, returning match data without navigating, so your code can decide what to do next. screenPop() pops a specific target without searching first. You pass a type and matching params: SOBJECT to open a record by ID, OBJECTHOME for an object's home page, SEARCH for a search results page, LIST for a list view, NEW_RECORD_MODAL to start a new record, or FLOW to launch a screen flow. A defaultFieldValues option pre-fills fields on a new record, which is handy when an inbound number had no match. getSoftphoneLayout() reads the assigned layout as JSON so the adapter knows which objects to search and how to behave. These methods are available in API version 38.0 and later.
Why screen pops matter for service teams
Without a screen pop, every call starts with dead time. The agent asks who is calling, spells the name back, types it into search, and waits. That ritual repeats hundreds of times a day across a contact center, and it happens while a live human waits on the line. A screen pop removes the lookup entirely for known callers, so handle time drops and the first words out of the agent's mouth can be a personal greeting. The benefit is not only speed. Seeing the customer's record, open cases, and recent history at the moment of contact lets the agent skip questions the customer has already answered elsewhere. That reduces the repeat-yourself frustration that drives down satisfaction scores. Screen pops also cut errors, because the agent works from the matched record instead of manually searching and possibly opening the wrong account. For a no-match call, popping a pre-filled new-record screen turns an unknown caller into a clean Contact or Case in a couple of clicks. Small per-call gains add up fast at contact-center volume.
Configure screen pops with a softphone layout
Here is how to set up screen pops with a softphone layout for an Open CTI or partner phone adapter. The layout decides what records pop for inbound calls, and you assign it to the profiles that should use it.
- Create or edit a softphone layout
In Setup, search for Softphone Layouts. Create a new layout or edit an existing one, and give it a clear name like Support Inbound. This is the object that holds your screen pop rules.
- Pick the call type and objects to search
Choose the Inbound section, since that is where screen pops apply to incoming calls. Add the objects you want searched by caller number, such as Contact, Lead, and Account, and select the fields to display in the softphone.
- Set the screen pop rules per outcome
Define what happens for a single match, multiple matches, and no match. A typical setup pops the matched record on a single match, a search page on multiple matches, and a new-record or object-home page when nothing matches.
- Assign the layout to profiles
Use the Softphone Layout Assignment to map this layout to the user profiles that should use it. Save, then test with a real inbound call to confirm the right record pops before rolling it out.
What pops when one record matches the call. Usually set to pop the matched record directly so the agent sees the customer.
What pops when several records share the number. Commonly a search results page so the agent chooses the correct record.
What happens when nothing matches. Options include doing nothing, popping an object home page, or popping a pre-filled new-record screen.
Controls whether pops open in the existing window or a new one. Lightning Experience always uses the existing window regardless of this setting.
The call data shown in the softphone, such as ANI, DNIS, SEGMENT, and QUEUE, which can also feed the search behind the pop.
- Lightning Experience ignores the New browser window or tab option for screen pops and always opens them in the existing window.
- Softphone layouts are assigned by profile, so a user with no assigned layout gets the default one, which may not pop what you expect.
- A pop only works if the caller number actually matches a stored record, so phone-number data hygiene directly affects single-match rates.
- For Service Cloud Voice, prefer the Add Screen Pop action in an Omni-Channel flow over a static layout when you need branching logic.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Screen Pop.
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Screen Pop.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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