What Are Automation Rules?
Automation rules let you define if this, then that logic that runs automatically when tickets arrive or are updated. Instead of manually routing every ticket, tagging requests, or sending acknowledgment emails, you write the rule once and HelpCanvas handles it forever.
Well-designed automation reduces repetitive work, speeds up response times, and ensures consistency. This article covers everything you need to know to build effective automation rules for your team.
Anatomy of a Rule
Every automation rule has three components:
Trigger: The event that causes the rule to evaluate. For example, "when a ticket is created" or "when a ticket is updated".
Conditions: Filters that determine whether the rule should run. You can combine multiple conditions with AND / OR logic. For example, "the email channel is Billing Support AND the subject contains the word refund".
Actions: What happens when all conditions are met. You can execute multiple actions in a single rule. For example, "assign to Agent Sarah" and "add label Billing" and "set priority to High".
Available Triggers
Ticket Created
Fires once when a ticket is first created. Use this trigger for initial routing, acknowledgment messages, and tagging based on channel or content.
Ticket Updated
Fires whenever a ticket is modified — status changes, new replies, reassignment, etc. Use this for escalation rules, follow-up reminders, and status-based actions.
Time-based (Business hours elapsed)
Fires after a ticket has been open for a specified amount of time without a response. Use this to send reminders to agents about unaddressed tickets, or to automatically escalate stale tickets.
Condition Types
Condition | Operators | Example |
|---|---|---|
Email subject | contains, does not contain, equals, starts with | Subject contains "invoice" |
Email body | contains, does not contain | Body contains "urgent" |
From address | equals, contains, ends with | From ends with "@enterprise-client.com" |
Channel | is, is not | Channel is "Sales Inbox" |
Priority | is, is not | Priority is "Urgent" |
Status | is, is not | Status is "Open" |
Assignee | is, is not, is unassigned | Assignee is unassigned |
Label | includes, does not include | Label includes "VIP" |
Time since created | greater than | More than 2 hours old |
Action Types
Assign to agent: Set a specific agent as the ticket owner.
Set priority: Change the ticket priority to Low, Medium, High, or Urgent.
Add label: Apply one or more labels to the ticket for filtering and reporting.
Remove label: Remove a specific label.
Change status: Move the ticket to Open, Pending, Resolved, or Closed.
Send reply: Send a public message to the customer. Useful for automated acknowledgments.
Add note: Add an internal note to the ticket. Useful for flagging context for the assigned agent.
Send email notification: Send a notification email to a specific address. Useful for alerting managers about high-priority tickets.
Building Your First Rule: Auto-Acknowledge New Tickets
One of the most popular use cases is automatically sending customers a confirmation that their request has been received. Here is how to set it up:
Go to Settings > Automation and click New Rule.
Name the rule something descriptive, like "Auto-acknowledge new tickets".
Set the trigger to Ticket Created.
Leave conditions empty if you want this to apply to all tickets, or add conditions to restrict it (e.g., only for a specific channel).
Add the action Send Reply and write your acknowledgment message. Something like: "Thanks for reaching out! We have received your request and will get back to you within one business day."
Save and enable the rule.
Building Your Second Rule: Route Billing Inquiries
Create a new rule named "Route billing tickets".
Trigger: Ticket Created.
Conditions: Subject contains "billing" OR Subject contains "invoice" OR Subject contains "payment".
Actions: Assign to Agent [Billing Specialist], Add label "Billing", Set priority "High".
Save and enable.
Rule Execution Order
When multiple rules have the same trigger and conditions match, they are executed in the order they are listed on the Automation page. You can drag and drop rules to reorder them. This is important when rules might conflict — for example, one rule sets priority to High and a later rule sets it to Low.
Testing and Debugging
New rules are created in a disabled state. Before enabling a rule in production, test it by creating a sample ticket that matches your conditions and manually triggering the rule from the rule's settings page. The rule execution log shows what ran and why, helping you identify any misconfigurations.
Common pitfalls to watch out for:
Conditions that are too broad (catching more tickets than intended)
Conflicting rules that override each other's actions
Rules that create infinite loops (e.g., a rule that updates a ticket and another rule that fires on ticket update, both triggering each other)
HelpCanvas has safeguards against infinite loops, but it is still good practice to design rules carefully.
Plan Limits
Automation rules are available on Pro and Business plans. Pro plans can have up to 25 active rules. Business plans have no limit. If you need more rules than your plan allows, consider combining conditions within a single rule rather than creating multiple rules for similar scenarios.