Messaging triggers run when a customer requests or interacts with a conversation through a messaging channel. Conditions can include user data (like account status), conversation data (such as the time of day a conversation is started), and agent data (such as queue size). When conditions are met, the triggers "fire" and perform the specified actions through that same messaging channel (such as sending an automated message to the conversation).
In addition to the standard messaging triggers, admins can create custom messaging triggers.
Creating messaging triggers
Messaging triggers are created on the Messaging trigger page in Admin Center.
To create a messaging trigger
- In Admin Center, click
Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Business rules > Messaging triggers.
- Click Create trigger.
- Enter the basic information for your new trigger:
- Name. Use a consistent naming convention to help you recognize similar types of triggers.
- Description (optional). You can provide details about what the trigger does for other agents and admins. You'll be able to search for triggers based on description.
- Activate this trigger. Select this option if you want the trigger to be active immediately after creating it.
- Run only once per ticket. Select this option if you want the trigger to run on the ticket only the first time the conditions are met.
- Select Visual to build the trigger using the visual editing tool, or Developer to edit trigger definitions directly in JSON format.
- Use the Run trigger dropdown to determine the
event that initiates the trigger. The trigger is not
acted upon unless the conditions are met.
- When a customer requests a conversation initiates the trigger when the conversation is passed to an agent.
- When a message is sent initiates the trigger when a customer sends a comment in an existing conversation.
- Create at least one condition:
- Choose whether the trigger must meet All or Any of the conditions before it is run.
-
Select a Condition, Field operator, and Value for each condition you add.
The field operator determines the relationship between the condition and the value. For example, if you select the field operator "Is", your condition will need to be equal to the value. Different conditions will contain different field operators. - Click Add condition and repeat these steps if needed.
- Create at least one action:
-
Select an Action, then enter the action information.
The required information is determined by the action selected. For example, if you select Wait, you’ll need to enter the time (in seconds) before the next action is performed, or the next trigger fires.
-
Click Add action and repeat these steps if needed.
-
- Click Create.
Once created, the trigger is listed on Messaging triggers admin page and can be modified as needed.
14 comments
Megan Oksendahl
The copies text below does not exist.
I did read that chat triggers will not work for messaging, so I am assuming you should just use Business rules > Triggers, then select messaging as a channel when building the trigger. Is this correct?
How do I select the option "Run only once per ticket"?
In general, there have been so many changes to messaging, even in the recent months, that I find a lot of zendesk articles out of date.
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Audrey Ann Cipriano
Hi Megan Oksendahl, the Messaging triggers are being moved to the Admin Center in phases, it's most likely that your account isn't moved yet and you can set up the Messaging triggers in your Chat dashboard. Please see below screenshot :)
![](/hc/user_images/01HDD470R0ZNTR9MQX62PYMRJN.png)
You may also check our article About Messaging triggers in the Chat dashboard for more info.
I do understand the frustration that some of our articles are out of date and it will take some time for our team to update them, so sorry for this! If ever you come across an outdated article, do let us know and we'll send it over to our documentations team. Thank you!
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Naomi Greenall
What is the purpose of separating messaging triggers from regular triggers in Zendesk. This has left me confused and no articles seem to cover the difference.
1
Leo Ostigaard
Naomi Greenall messaging triggers have unique conditions and actions regular triggers don't have. For example, normal triggers recognize “comments” while messaging triggers recognize “messages” and they are classified differently by Zendesk. Messaging triggers can send messages in the web widget while normal triggers can only send messages via email/text (or zendesk integration). That being said, messaging triggers are new and are very limited right now
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Rachel G.
Are the actions for messaging triggers defined anywhere? Looking for an article on that.
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Leo Ostigaard
Rachel G. This article contains an overview of messaging trigger actions: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5973077601562-About-messaging-triggers-in-Admin-Center
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Jahn
Hello Aimee Spanier Audrey Ann Cipriano - we have this condition below customer served>is>false to ensure that the messaging trigger will only fire if the customer is unserved by an agent unfortunately, the trigger still fires even though the customer is already connected and exchanging messages to an agent.
Run Trigger is: When a customer request for conversation
Meet All condition: customer served>is>false
Action:
Wait>is>120secs
Send message to the customer>Wait in queue spill.
Expectation: to only send to those unserved customers
Reality: firing even the customer is already chatting with an agent.
Is there any article that defines all of the conditions in the messaging trigger?
2
WENDY YELSIK
Jahn - Thanks for asking the question. I am having the same issue as you with Meet All condition: customer served>is>false. Aimee Spanier
4
Dean Cuthbert
I'm also having issues with this…
I want to send an automatic message to a customer who has not yet been served but has been waiting 10 mins or more, so basically when the ticket goes inactive.
However, I've set similar parameters as Jahn and the message just sends right away instead of waiting.
1
Jahn
WENDY YELSIK Dean Cuthbert - I just confirmed from Zendesk support that as soon as the customer is already transferred to an agent even they are technically “Unserved” yet and still waiting on the queue - this is already considered as “Served” hence the trigger is already firing.
0
Moss
Are there any plans to add a “business hours condition” to these? It's a major oversight not to have that included within the trigger options already. As it stands, the options to build these triggers are very barebones and disappointing.
2
Stephanie Schober
I 100% agree with Moss! Thanks :)
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Krithiga Karunanithi
Hi there, when my colleague Ashley Taylor and I creating a messaging trigger, and sending a messaging to the customer we're unable to also set the icon - is this possible? We have built our messaging experience for our customers with consistent branding and want this to also align.
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Jahn
I am conducting a project where this messaging trigger needs to send the message to the unserved custmers only.
Just like WENDY YELSIK and Dean Cuthbert's cases.
Would there be a function to recognize the customers are served even after trigger has been fired?
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