Freshdesk allows you to configure automation rules that run immediately when specified conditions are met. Automation rules save both time and effort by performing repetitive tasks.

Types of Automation Rules

There are 3 types of automation rules available in Freshdesk.

Ticket Creation

These rules run on a ticket when it is created under specified conditions.

Examples:

• Set ticket priority to Urgent based on the contact/company
• Assign tickets to different agents based on the contents of the subject or description. For example, assign all tickets with the subject refund to the Refund team
• Delete spam, auto-replies, and out-of-office emails before they appear on your ticket list
• Assign tickets to different groups based on the ticket requester's timezone
• Send an email notification to customers raising a specific kind of request

Learn more:

• Setting up automation rules to run on Ticket Creation
• Automation Rules Examples: Ticket Creation

Ticket Updates

These rules check for events that update a ticket and perform actions based on the conditions.

Examples:

• Reassign a ticket once the ticket's priority is changed 
• Notify the manager when an agent receives a negative satisfaction rating
• Trigger webhooks (to send a text message to the agent when the requester replies and so on)
• Tag a ticket with Bug when the group is updated from support to development

Learn more:

• Setting up automation rules to run on Ticket Updates
• Automation Rules Examples: Ticket Updates

Time Triggers

These rules scan all tickets once every hour and check if a ticket has been under a condition for a specific period. Since these rules run once per hour, the time limit specified should always be greater than or equal to one hour.

Examples:

• Close resolved tickets after 48 hours if the customer hasn't responded
• Notify the manager when there are too many agent/customer interactions in a ticket that has been open for a long time
• Remind the agent to respond to a ticket that received a requester response from a specific some time ago

Learn more:

• Setting up automation rules to run on Time Triggers
• Automation Rules Examples: Time Triggers

Limitations, caveats, and workarounds

Keep the following in mind when working with automation rules:

1. Automation rules are executed in order from top to bottom. Arrange your rules based on your workflow.
2. You cannot send attachments via automation rules, but you can send URLs.
3. You cannot export your automation rules as a list. However, you can get them as part of an account export.

For additional support, contact support@freshdesk.com.