Create a rule to automate tickets
Build a When, If, Then rule that tags, assigns, prioritises, snoozes or answers tickets automatically, test it on recent tickets and switch it on.
Last updated 2 min read
Rules do the routine work for you: tag refund requests, raise urgent tickets, assign new chats or close tickets that went quiet. Each rule reads like a sentence: When something happens, If the ticket matches, Then do this.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins.
- Plan: all plans.
- What you need: a clear idea of the job, such as "tag every email mentioning a refund". Create the tags, teams or macros the rule will use first.
- Time: about five minutes.
Step by step
- Open Workflows and choose Rules.
- Press Create rule and pick Start from scratch or a template. See Start from a rule template.
- Type a name under Name this rule.
- When: choose one or more triggers: A ticket is created, The customer replies, An agent replies or Time passes.
- If: add conditions, such as Customer message contains "refund". Choose all of these or any of these. With no conditions, "the rule runs on every ticket".
- Then: add actions, such as Add tag "refund". Up to 20 actions.
- Check the Test against recent tickets panel, which updates as you edit and says how many recent tickets would match. See Test a rule before turning it on.
- Press Save rule. A message confirms Rule created.
What happens next
The rule appears in the list with a readable summary and its switch on. From the next matching event, it runs in its place in the run order. Each time it fires, the ticket's history records the rule's name and what it did.
How rules run
- Rules run top to bottom. Each rule sees changes from the rules above it.
- Rule actions never trigger other rules, so there are no loops.
- A rule that closes a ticket must fill required fields, or the close is skipped. "Closing needs the required ticket fields (e.g. Outcome). Set them in this rule, or time-based rules close as “no reply”."
- Reply with a macro "Sends to the customer automatically. Use with care."
Tips
- One job per rule makes rules easy to read and to switch off.
- Put tagging rules above routing rules, so routing can use the tags.
- Use Add internal note to explain to agents why a rule acted.
Troubleshooting
"Give the rule a name"
Type a name.
"Pick when the rule runs"
Choose at least one trigger.
"Add at least one action"
A rule needs something to do.
"Set how long to wait for the time trigger"
Time rules need after how long and from which moment.
"Only admins can change workflows"
Ask an owner or admin.
"Fix this rule before turning it on"
The saved rule cannot be read, for example a missing tag or macro. Open it, fix it and save.
Frequently asked questions
What can a Hushdesk rule do?
A rule watches for something to happen, checks the ticket against your conditions and then acts. It can add or remove tags, set the status, priority, team, queue or a ticket field, assign a person or use round robin, snooze, add an internal note, reply with a macro or merge into a recent ticket.
Who can create rules?
Owners and admins. Rules change tickets for the whole team, so agents and viewers can open the Rules page and read each rule's summary, but only admins can create, edit, reorder, switch on or off, duplicate and delete rules. Every change is recorded in the audit log.
Do rules run on tickets that already exist?
Rules run when their trigger happens, such as a new ticket or a customer reply, so creating a rule does not change old tickets at once. Time-based rules check open tickets every minute, so they can act on existing tickets whose moment has passed, once per moment per ticket.
Can one rule trigger another rule?
No. Actions taken by rules never set off other rules, which prevents loops. Within one event, though, rules run in order from top to bottom, and each rule sees what the rules above it changed, such as a tag added by an earlier rule.
How do I know if a rule ran on a ticket?
Turn on Show all events in the ticket's More actions menu. Each time a rule fires, the ticket shows an event with the rule's name and what it did, for example a tag it added. Use Test against recent tickets before saving to see which tickets it would match.
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Related articles
- Rule triggers, conditions and actions referenceEvery trigger, condition field, comparison and action available in the Hushdesk rule builder, with what each one does and an example of when to use it.
- Start from a rule templateFive ready-made rules to start from, auto-assign new tickets, close after no reply, tag by keywords, prioritise urgent words and auto-merge follow-ups.
- Test a rule before turning it onThe rule builder checks your conditions against the last 200 tickets as you edit, so you see which would match before you save. Nothing changes.
- Order, switch off, duplicate and delete rulesManage your rules list. Change the run order by dragging, switch rules on and off, duplicate a rule to try a variation and delete rules you no longer need.
- Run rules after time passesUse the Time passes trigger to act hours or days after a ticket was created, the customer's last message, the agent's last reply or the last message.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.