Help Desk How-To Guide

Setting Up Email Auto-Responder Workflows

Last updated: March 14, 2026 2 min read Intermediate

Email Auto-Responder Pattern

A common help desk setup involves two workflows working together: one that converts incoming emails into tickets, and a second that sends an automatic confirmation email when a ticket is created. This gives requesters immediate acknowledgment that their message was received.

Workflow 1: Email to Ticket

Follow the steps in Setting Up Email-to-Ticket Workflows to create the first workflow. This workflow triggers on Email Created and uses the Create Help Desk Ticket action to generate a ticket from the incoming email.

Workflow 2: Ticket Confirmation Email

Create a second workflow that sends a confirmation email whenever a new ticket is created:

  1. Navigate to the Workflow Builder in the top nav bar under account settings and click Add.
  2. Name it (e.g., “Ticket Confirmation Auto-Reply”).
  3. Set the Trigger Entity to Ticket.
  4. Set the Trigger Event to Created.
  5. Optionally add conditions to limit which tickets trigger the reply (e.g., only tickets with channel “Email”).

Configure the Send Email Action

  1. Add a Send Email action.
  2. Select the mailbox to send from.
  3. Set the recipient using the requester’s email address.
  4. Set the subject (e.g., “We received your request: {{trigger.subject}}”).
  5. Write the email body with a confirmation message. You can include placeholders like {{trigger.reference}} for the ticket reference number and {{trigger.subject}} for the ticket subject.

The Two-Workflow Flow

  1. An email arrives in the connected mailbox.
  2. Workflow 1 fires on the Email Created event and creates a help desk ticket.
  3. The ticket creation triggers Workflow 2, which fires on the Ticket Created event.
  4. Workflow 2 sends a confirmation email to the requester with the ticket reference number.

Tips

  • Add a condition on Workflow 2 to check the ticket channel equals “email” so that manually created tickets or phone tickets do not trigger auto-replies.
  • Keep the confirmation email concise. Include the ticket reference number so the requester can track their request.
  • Test both workflows by sending a test email to your connected mailbox and verifying that a ticket is created and a confirmation reply is sent.

Feature

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