Auto-reply to new tickets
Send one automatic reply when a customer opens a ticket, during or outside business hours.
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Send one automatic reply when a customer opens a ticket, during or outside business hours.
Send one automatic reply when a customer opens a ticket, during or outside business hours.
An auto-reply tells a customer that their new ticket arrived. Each inbox has two messages: one for business hours, and one for outside them. Email, WhatsApp, and Telegram on that inbox share the same pair.
If business hours have not been saved, initdesk treats the organization as open at all times. New customer tickets use the during-hours message. The outside-hours message does not send, even when its switch is on.
A new ticket opened by a customer gets at most one auto-reply. These do not get one:
Account owners and admins can change this. It is per inbox, not for the whole organization.
Under each message, initdesk says whether that message would be sent right now. You can preview it as Email, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
| When the ticket is created | During hours on | Outside hours on | What is sent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business hours are not set, so the organization is open at all times | On | On or off | During-hours message |
| A schedule is saved and the organization is inside its open hours | On | On or off | During-hours message |
| A schedule is saved and the organization is closed, including a closed exception | On or off | On | Outside-hours message |
If the switch for that window is off, nothing is sent.
With no schedule saved, the outside-hours message does not send even if its switch is on. If you save a schedule and close every day, only the outside-hours message can send. Closing every day is not the same as leaving business hours unset.
When both switches are on and a schedule is saved, every new customer ticket gets one auto-reply: the message for the window it arrived in. When business hours are not set, both switches on still sends only the during-hours message, because the organization is open at all times.
During business hours is sent while the organization is open. Outside business hours is sent while it is closed, including a closed date exception.
Each message can be up to 4,000 characters. Insert a placeholder from the buttons above the box:
| Placeholder | What the customer sees |
|---|---|
{{ customer.name }} |
The customer’s name |
{{ customer.email }} |
The customer’s email. On WhatsApp this is often empty, so the placeholder is blank. |
{{ ticket.id }} |
The ticket’s public ID. WhatsApp leaves this blank. |
{{ organization.name }} |
Your organization name |
{{ business_hours.next_open }} |
The next opening, in the organization’s Working language. This is the same text as on Settings → Business hours. |
Any other placeholder is left blank when the message is sent.
The during-hours and outside-hours defaults do not include the ticket number or the next opening. Insert those placeholders when you want them. Helpdesk is separate: it shows a ticket reference on customer messages. See Ticket numbering and customer interaction style.
If a message box is empty, initdesk fills it with the default for the organization’s Working language (Settings → General): English, Español, Português (Brasil), Français, or Nederlands.
Saving stores the text that is on screen. Changing Working language later does not rewrite a message you already saved. The language in your profile does not change it either.
English defaults:
Does every customer message get an auto-reply?
No. Only a new ticket opened by a customer, and only one auto-reply on that ticket.
Can email and Telegram use different text?
No. One pair of messages covers email, WhatsApp, and Telegram for that inbox. Use another inbox when those conversations need different text.
What if business hours are not set?
initdesk treats the organization as open at all times. The status line says Open all week. Only the during-hours message can send. The outside-hours message stays off until you save a schedule under Settings → Business hours.
Does WhatsApp include the ticket number?
No. {{ ticket.id }} is left blank on WhatsApp.
If a customer did not receive the message you expected, tell us the inbox, whether the ticket was new, and which switch was on, using Open a ticket at the bottom of this page.