Automations in Zendesk Explained!

Introduction.

In the world of customer support, that every ticket is promptly addressed is crucial. However, there may be instances where a ticket is ensuring without an assignee or with a blank contact person. This can lead to delays in response times and potentially unsatisfied customers .

To mitigate this, Zendesk, a leading customer service software, offers a powerful feature - Automations. In this blog post, we will walk you through how to create an automation in Zendesk that notifies a specific user (in our case, Ms. Pooja) whenever there's a ticket with no assignee.

Automations in Zendesk Explained!

Automations and triggers in Zendesk share similarities as they both involve defining conditions and actions that alter ticket properties and can optionally send email alerts to customers and agents. However, the key difference lies in their execution timing. Automations are activated when a time event takes place after a ticket property has been set or updated, unlike triggers which are activated immediately after a ticket is created or updated.

Automations operate once every hour on all tickets that are not closed, executing or firing on all tickets that meet the specified conditions.

Here are some key points to remember about automations:

• Automations are time-dependent, meaning they act when a time event happens, not instantly after a ticket is created or updated.
• Automations operate every hour, but not necessarily at the start of the hour; they will begin at some point within the hour.
• Automations do not execute or fire on closed tickets.
• An automation must include a condition that is true only once or an action that negates at least one of the conditions.
• Like all business rules, automations must be less than 65kb in size.
• All active automations must be distinct. They can share some conditions, but they cannot be exactly the same.
• There is a limit of 500 active automations at any given time.

Getting Started with Automations!

For this demo consider the following Scenario:

Create an automation in Zendesk that notifies a specific user (in our case, Ms. Pooja) whenever there's a ticket with no assignee.

Here are the following steps to create the above:

• Log into your Zendesk account.

• Navigate to the Automations page.
  • Click on the  Admin icon (the gear symbol) on the left sidebar.
  • Under  Business Rules, select  Automations.

• Create a new automation.
  • Click on the  Add Automation button.

• Set up the automation details.
  • Enter a name for the automation in the  Name field, such as "Notify for Unassigned Tickets".
  • (Optional) You can also add a description in the  Description field to provide more details about the automation.

• Define the conditions for the automation.
  • Under  Meet ALL of the following conditions, click on  Add condition.
  • Set the first condition as  Ticket: Assignee Is -.
  • Click on  Add condition again and set the second condition as  Ticket: Status Less than Solved. This ensures that the automation only triggers for active tickets.

• Define the actions for the automation.
  • Under  Perform these actions, click on  Add action.
  • Set the action as  Email user (notify target).
  • In the  User dropdown, select  Ms. Pooja.
  • In the  Email subject, enter  {{ticket.title}}. This will automatically insert the ticket's subject into the email subject.
  • In the  Email body, enter  Please review the following ticket: {{ticket.link}}. This will automatically insert the ticket's link into the email body.

• Save the automation.
  • Click on the  Create button to save and activate the automation.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, Zendesk's automation feature is a powerful tool that can significantly streamline your customer support process. By setting up automations, you can ensure that no ticket goes unnoticed, even if it initially lacks an assignee or has a blank contact person.

Remember, the steps may vary slightly depending on your Zendesk version and configuration. Always refer to the official Zendesk documentation for the most accurate information.

With the right setup, automations can help you improve response times, increase efficiency, and ultimately, provide better service to your customers. Happy automating!