# Standard queues and agent queues in your Amazon Connect contact center
Queues: standard and agent

There are two types of queues:
+ **Standard queues**: This is where contacts wait before they are routed to and accepted by agents.
+ **Agent queues**: These queues are created automatically when you add an agent to your contact center.

  Contacts are only routed to agent queues when explicitly sent there as part of a flow. For example, you might route contacts to a specific agent who's responsible for certain customer issues, such as billing or premium support. Or you might use agent queues to route to an agent's voice-mail. 

Contacts waiting in agent queues are higher priority than contacts waiting in standard queues. Contacts in agent queues have the highest priority and zero delay: 
+ Highest priority: If there's another contact in the basic queue, Amazon Connect chooses to give the agent the contact from the agent queue first.
+ Zero delay: If the agent is available, the contact immediately gets routed to them.

## Queues in metrics reports


In a [real-time metrics report](real-time-metrics-reports.md), you can monitor how many contacts are in standard queues and agent queues. The following image shows a sample real-time metrics Queues report where an Agents table and Agent queues table have been added. It shows:
+ **BasicQueue**, which is a standard queue. It shows one agent (John) is online.
+ **Agents** table, which shows the agent John has set his CCP to **Available** and is ready to take contacts. A supervisor can change an agent's status from here. For example, set to **Offline**.
+ **Agent queues** table, which shows John's agent queue. It shows John is online and can take contact from this queue, too.

![\[A queues report with Agents table and Agent queues table.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/rtm-standard-and-agent-queues.png)


When an agent gets a contact from a standard queue, the contact never appears in the agent queue. It just goes directly to the agent. 

In a [historical metrics report](historical-metrics.md), by default agent queues don't appear in a Queues table. To show them, choose the **Settings** icon, then choose **Show agent queues**. 

![\[The agent queues dropdown menu on the Table settings page.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/hmr-queues-settings-agent-queues.png)


**Tip**  
The metrics APIs don't support agent queues.

## Default queue: BasicQueue


Amazon Connect includes a default queue named **BasicQueue**. Along with the [default flows](contact-flow-default.md) and default routing profile (named **Basic routing profile**), it powers your contact center so you don't need to do any customization. This is what enables you to get started quickly.