Workflow: Automatically create side conversations based on intent with Copilot

Customers who manage multiple stores need to route tickets to the right store or team. Manual assignment delays responses and increases workload. With Copilot, you can automatically create side conversations based on a ticket’s intent or other trigger conditions. This workflow shows you how to set up automation so relevant teams get notified as soon as a ticket meets specific intent criteria.

Note: Side conversations are available only on specific Zendesk plans. For more information, see Ticket trigger conditions and actions reference.

This workflow includes these steps below.

Step 1: Configure Copilot to identify intent

To create a custom intent:

1. In Admin Center, click AI in the sidebar, then select Intelligent triage > Intent
2. Click Create intent
3. Enter a clear, descriptive Name for the intent that matches a single reason a customer might contact you
4. Add a concise Description that specifies what’s included and excluded, with examples of typical customer wording
5. Choose an existing Category and Subcategory, or create new ones to structure your intents
6. Click Create custom intent

Step 2: Create a trigger that detects intent conditions

To create a trigger: 

1. In Admin Center, go to Objects and rules > Business rules > Triggers and click Create trigger
2. Name your trigger, for example, Create side conversation for Store Requests
3. Under Trigger category, select the appropriate category based on your desired set up
4. Under Conditions, define the logic that initiates automation. For example, under Meet ALL of the following conditions, add:
   • Ticket > Ticket | Is | Created or Updated
   • Ticket > Intent | Is | Select your chosen intent
   • Ticket > Status category | Less than | Solved

Note: Use unique intent keywords so the correct trigger fires without overlap.

Step 3: Add an action to automatically create a side conversation

Now that the trigger can detect the ticket’s intent, configure it to create a side conversation automatically:

1. In the Actions section of your trigger, select:
   • Ticket > Side conversation via child ticket or email depending on your setup
2. Add placeholders and contextual details in the message body. For example, include ticket ID, requester name, store summary, and intent type
3. Specify the recipients:
   • For store-specific intents, select the corresponding store address, group email, or Slack channel
   • If you use email side conversations, address the correct store mailbox
4. Click Create trigger

Tip: Use placeholders like {{ticket.id}}, {{ticket.requester.name}}, and {{ticket.intent}} to ensure the side conversation includes context automatically.

Step 4: Test and validate the workflow

To test the workflow:

1. Create a few test tickets with known intent expressions
2. Verify that Copilot assigns the correct intent value
3. Check that the trigger creates the correct side conversation and routes it to the appropriate destination
4. In ticket events, confirm that the trigger executed and the side conversation was sent
5. Adjust trigger order or intent rules if you see duplicates or gaps in side conversations

For more information, see Personalizing intelligent triage by creating custom intents and About side conversations.