Are you struggling to manage increasing ticket volumes while keeping your support costs under control? You’re not alone. According to Zendesk’s CX Trends Report, ticket volumes have surged by 30% compared to previous years. For support teams, that means more requests, more follow-ups, and more time spent on repetitive tasks.
But what if you could offload the busy work? Zendesk automations streamline ticket management, taking care of routine updates so your team can focus on helping customers instead of getting buried in admin work.
With automations, you can automatically follow up on unresolved tickets, update statuses, and trigger notifications all without lifting a finger. And if you need even more flexibility, tools like eesel AI can enhance Zendesk automations with smarter routing, advanced workflows, and better ticket categorization.
What are Zendesk automations and how do they work?
Zendesk automations are time-based workflows that automatically perform actions on tickets based on specific conditions. Unlike triggers, which react immediately to ticket events, automations run on a scheduled basis typically every hour to check for tickets that meet certain criteria. This makes automation ideal for managing ongoing processes, follow-ups, and time-sensitive updates.
For example, you can set up automations to:
- Send follow-up reminders for unresolved tickets.
- Close inactive tickets after a set time.
- Escalate high-priority issues if no action is taken.
Why automations matter for support teams
Understanding how automations work is key because they’re not just about saving time, it’s creating a smarter, more responsive system that improves the experience for both your team and your customer.
| Benefit | Impact |
|---|---|
| Time Savings | Reduce manual tasks by up to 30% through automated ticket updates and follow-ups |
| Consistency | Ensure standardized processes and responses across all customer interactions |
| Scalability | Handle increasing ticket volumes without proportional staff increases |
| Cost Efficiency | Lower support costs while maintaining or improving service quality |
While Zendesk’s native automation capabilities simplify many workflows, many teams enhance them with specialized tools like eesel AI to add intelligent routing, advanced workflow capabilities, and multi-bot collaboration features. This combination helps create more advanced automation setups without increasing costs.
Pro Tip: Start with simple automations focused on your most repetitive tasks. According to research by McKinsey, support teams can automate up to 40% of their routine activities, freeing up valuable time for complex customer interactions.
Zendesk automations vs triggers compared
Automations and triggers both do different jobs, they serve distinct purposes in Zendesk. Understanding these differences is crucial for implementing effective automation strategies.
Core differences
The fundamental distinction lies in when and how these tools execute:
| Feature | Triggers | Automations |
|---|---|---|
| When they Run | Instantly when a ticket meets the condition | Hourly, scanning for qualifying tickets |
| Event type | Ticket creation, updates, or user actions | Based on time elapsed or ticket status |
| Best for | Immediate actions (e.g., notifications, routing) | Scheduled updates (e.g., follow-ups, SLA management) |
| Execution limit | No limit per trigger | Processes up to 1,000 tickets per hour |
According to Zendesk documentation, triggers fire immediately when ticket conditions are met, while automations run on an hourly schedule to check for conditions that need attention. While automations check for conditions on a set schedule.
When to use each
Use triggers for:
- Sending immediate customer notifications (e.g., “your ticket has been received.”)
- Routing tickets to appropriate teams (e.g., sending a new sales inquiry to the sales pipeline.)
- Adding tags or updating fields instantly
- Initiating urgent workflows
Automations work better for:
- Following up on pending tickets (e.g., sending a reminder email after 24 hours.)
- Escalating unresolved issues
- Closing inactive tickets (e.g., marking solved tickets as closed after 48-72 hours.)
- Managing SLA breaches
Pro Tip: While Zendesk’s native automation capabilities are powerful, tools like eesel AI can enhance your workflow with intelligent triage and custom API actions, especially for complex conditional logic that goes beyond basic automation rules.
How automations and triggers work together
Automations and triggers complement each other to create an ideal workflow. By combining these tools, you can manage both immediate actions and time-based tasks seamlessly.
In this scenario, triggers handle the immediate actions, like acknowledging the ticket and assigning it to the right team, while automations take care of the follow-up tasks that happen later, such as checking the ticket status after 24 hours.
Getting started with Zendesk automations
Understanding the building blocks of Zendesk automations is essential for creating effective workflows. Let’s break down the key components:
Setting up automation conditions
Conditions are the “rules” that decide when an automation kicks in. There are two types you’ll use: time-based and ticket property-based conditions.
Time-based conditions focus on when things happen. For example, you can set automations to act a certain number of hours since a ticket was created, updated, or when its status changes. You can also create scheduled intervals, like checking tickets every 24 hours.
Ticket property conditions, on the other hand, focus on the details of a ticket. You can set rules based on its status (like new, open, or pending), priority level, group assignment, or even custom fields you’ve added.
Pro Tip: When setting up time-based conditions, use “greater than” instead of “equals” to avoid missing the exact hour mark, as automations run at varying times within each hour.
Configuring automation actions
Once you’ve set your conditions, it’s time to decide what happens next. Actions are the “what” in your automation.
For example, you can set automations to update tickets by changing their status, adjusting priority levels, adding or removing tags, or even modifying custom fields. You can also use actions to send notifications, like emails to customers, alerts to agents, or even trigger webhooks to connect with other tools you use.
For more sophisticated automation needs, eesel AI’s custom API actions can extend these capabilities by:
- Integrating with external systems
- Performing complex data lookups
- Executing multi-step workflows
- Handling conditional logic across multiple platforms
Important: Zendesk automations can process up to 1,000 tickets per hour. For higher volumes, consider using eesel AI’s scalable automation features to handle the overflow efficiently.
How to create your first Zendesk automation
Let’s be real, setting up automations in Zendesk isn’t always as easy as it should be. With so many settings and conditions to configure, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But once it’s up and running, automations can take a huge load off your team. Let’s walk through the setup process while highlighting common pitfalls so you can avoid mistakes and get the most out of your automation.
- Access automation settings Navigate to Admin Center > Objects and Rules > Business Rules > Automations. Click ‘Add Automation’ to begin.
- Define your automation conditions This is where things can get tricky. Zendesk requires you to set conditions that determine when your automation will run, but misconfiguring them can cause unintended results.
- Choose ‘Meet ALL’ or ‘Meet ANY’ to define how multiple conditions interact.
- Select from different categories, like ticket properties, user attributes, or organization details.
- Set specific parameters, such as time delays or ticket status changes.
- Configure actionsOnce your conditions are set, you decide what happens next. You can:
- Update ticket properties (change status, adjust priority, add/remove tags).
- Send notifications to agents or customers.
- Trigger external integrations to sync data with other tools.
- Test your automation Before activating, don’t skip testing! Errors in automation setup can cause major workflow issues.
- Use ‘Preview match for the conditions’ to see which tickets will be affected.
- Create a test ticket to check if the automation runs correctly.
- Review automation logs to catch any errors before going live.
Pro Tip: When testing complex automations, consider using eesel AI to simulate different scenarios and validate your automation logic before going live. eesel AI’s testing capabilities can help identify potential issues before they affect real tickets.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Automation not running: Verify that conditions are achievable and not conflicting
- Unexpected behavior: Check for overlapping automations or triggers
- Performance issues: Monitor automation execution times and optimize conditions
Zendesk automation examples & use cases
These automations help reduce manual work, improve response times, and ensure tickets are handled efficiently. Below are some real-world examples of how Zendesk automations can streamline customer communication and ticket workflows.
Customer communication examples
| Automation Type | Conditions | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Follow-up reminder system | 48 hours after a ticket is marked as pending | – Notify the agent via email – Add a “follow-up needed” tag |
| SLA breach prevention | 4 hours after a high-priority ticket remains open | – Increase priority level – Notify the team lead |
| Customer satisfaction surveys | 24 hours after a ticket is marked as solved | – Send a CSAT survey to the customer – Add a “satisfaction requested” tag |
Ticket workflow examples
| Automation Type | Conditions | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-close resolved tickets | 96 hours after a ticket is marked as solved | – Set ticket status to Closed – Add an “auto-closed” tag |
| Priority escalation | 8 hours after a normal-priority ticket has no updates | – Change priority to High – Notify the supervisor |
Pro Tip: While these automations are powerful, combining them with eesel AI’s intelligent routing can enhance their effectiveness. eesel AI can automatically categorize and route tickets based on content analysis, ensuring your automations work with accurate ticket data.
How AI enhances Zendesk automations
What if your support tools could think, learn, and adapt just like a human or even better? That’s the promise of AI. By combining Zendesk automations with AI, your workflows can become smarter, faster, and more intuitive, helping your team deliver exceptional support effortlessly.
Integrating AI into Zendesk automations unlocks new possibilities for support teams. While Zendesk native tools offer automation features, third-party tools like eesel bring added functionality at a lower cost, including smarter ticket routing and predictive analytics.
1. Intelligent ticket routing
AI analyzes ticket content and context to ensure every ticket is assigned to the right person or team. It can prioritize tickets based on urgency or sentiment and match them with agents who have the right skills, saving time and improving response quality.
2. Automated response generation
With AI, you can generate context-aware replies that help agents respond faster. You can also create customizable templates for consistent messaging or use AI to handle customer inquiries in multiple languages. Let’s take eesel, for instance, it supports over 100 languages, making it easier to connect with customers worldwide.
3. Predictive analytics
AI identifies patterns and trends to help your team stay proactive. It flags recurring issues, predicts potential problems, and provides insights to optimize workflows, ensuring smoother operations over time.
Modern AI-powered automations can handle complex workflows that would otherwise take time-consuming effort. Here’s how to leverage these capabilities:
| Automation Type | What AI Does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-step automations | Automates follow-ups, escalations, and updates without manual input. | – Follows up on pending tickets after 24 hours. – Escalates urgent tickets if no response is received. – Updates multiple systems when a ticket status changes. |
| Cross-platform integrations | Connects Zendesk with external platforms to keep information in sync. | – Pulls order details from an e-commerce store. – Updates customer records in a CRM system. – Syncs data between Zendesk and internal databases. |
| Custom API actions | Expands automation capabilities by fetching, sending, or modifying data across systems. | – Retrieves real-time customer data from an external database. – Sends ticket updates to a third-party app. – Automates status changes based on API responses. |
Zendesk automation best practices
To get the most out of your Zendesk automations and avoid common pitfalls, regular maintenance, and optimization are key. Here are some best practices to keep your automations running smoothly.
Regular automation audits
Set aside time every month to review your automation setup. Look for outdated conditions, redundant rules, and conflicts that could slow down workflows. Monitoring execution times and tracking resource usage can also help identify inefficiencies. If certain automations are no longer useful, update or remove them to prevent unnecessary system load.
Resource management
Since Zendesk automations have processing limits, it’s important to use them efficiently. Try to keep automations under 100 updates per ticket and avoid exceeding 500 active automations. Keeping automation rules under 65KB in size prevents unnecessary processing delays. Using tags strategically can also help streamline workflows by making it easier to organize and track tickets.
Common mistakes to avoid:
| Mistake | Impact | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Infinite loops | High resource usage | Include nullifying conditions |
| Missing time checks | Multiple executions | Add proper time-based conditions |
| Redundant rules | Slower performance | Consolidate similar automations |
| Complex conditions | Processing delays | Simplify and split into multiple rules |
When implementing these best practices, consider using AI-powered tools like eesel AI can help identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements. By analyzing patterns in your workflows, eesel AI spots potential issues before they disrupt operations, allowing you to optimize automations proactively.
Next steps with Zendesk automations
As you begin implementing Zendesk automations in your support workflow, keep this essential checklist handy:
- Audit current workflows: Document your existing processes and identify automation opportunities
- Start small: Begin with one or two simple automations, like ticket closing or follow-ups
- Monitor performance: Track key metrics like resolution time and ticket backlog
- Refine and optimize: Regularly review and refine your automations based on performance data
Zendesk’s automations can be tricky to get right, but once polished it can be a useful tool. The complexity of some of their conditions and triggers may confuse some or use of time resources that most teams would rather spend on more important things. Third party tools and AI can help reduce that upfront cost.
For teams looking to take their automation strategy further, consider exploring AI-enhanced solutions like eesel AI. These tools can complement your Zendesk automations by adding intelligent ticket routing, automated responses, and advanced workflow capabilities.
