Automation Rules

Automation rules let you define workflows that run automatically when specific conditions are met. Instead of manually assigning conversations or tagging them, rules handle these tasks in the background so operators can focus on responding to visitors.

Overview

Each automation rule has three parts:

• Type: what the rule does (auto_assign, auto_tag, or auto_close)
• Condition: when the rule triggers (keyword match, language detection, or inactivity threshold)
• Action: the specific parameters for the rule (which operator, which tag, what close message)

Rules can be enabled or disabled without deleting them, making it easy to pause a rule for testing and re-enable it later. Deleting a rule requires admin role.

Rule Types

Auto Assign

Route conversations to a specific operator automatically when the condition matches. Use this to direct technical questions to the engineering team or sales inquiries to the right account manager.

{
  "name": "Route billing questions to Sarah",
  "type": "auto_assign",
  "condition": {
    "field": "keyword",
    "value": "invoice billing payment"
  },
  "action": {
    "operatorId": "op-uuid"
  },
  "enabled": true
}

Auto Tag

Apply a tag to conversations matching the condition. Tags help you categorize conversations for reporting and filtering without manual effort.

{
  "name": "Tag refund requests",
  "type": "auto_tag",
  "condition": {
    "field": "keyword",
    "value": "refund money back"
  },
  "action": {
    "tag": "refund"
  },
  "enabled": true
}

Auto Close

Automatically close conversations after a period of inactivity. This keeps the conversation list clean and prevents stale conversations from cluttering operator queues.

{
  "name": "Close inactive conversations after 48 hours",
  "type": "auto_close",
  "condition": {
    "field": "inactivity",
    "hours": 48
  },
  "action": {
    "message": "This conversation has been closed due to inactivity. Start a new chat if you need further help."
  },
  "enabled": true
}

Conditions

Conditions determine when a rule fires. Three condition types are available:

Keyword Match

Triggers when the first message in a conversation contains any of the specified keywords. Matching is substring-based within the message content.

{
  "field": "keyword",
  "value": "invoice billing payment"
}

Multiple keywords in the value field are space-separated. The rule triggers if any one of them appears in the message.

Language Detection

Triggers based on the detected language of the visitor's message. Use this to route international visitors to operators who speak their language.

{
  "field": "language",
  "value": "pl"
}

The language value should be an ISO 639-1 code.

Inactivity

Triggers when a conversation has had no new messages for a specified number of hours. Only applies to the auto_close rule type.

{
  "field": "inactivity",
  "hours": 48
}

Creating a Rule

POST /api/automation-rules

{
  "name": "Route technical issues to dev team",
  "type": "auto_assign",
  "condition": {
    "field": "keyword",
    "value": "bug error crash technical"
  },
  "action": {
    "operatorId": "op-uuid"
  },
  "enabled": true
}

Listing Rules

GET /api/automation-rules

Returns all rules for the organization, ordered by most recently created:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "rule-uuid",
      "name": "Route billing questions to Sarah",
      "type": "auto_assign",
      "condition": {"field": "keyword", "value": "invoice billing"},
      "action": {"operatorId": "op-uuid"},
      "enabled": true,
      "createdAt": "2025-03-15T10:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Updating and Disabling Rules

Update any property of a rule, or toggle the enabled flag to temporarily disable it:

PATCH /api/automation-rules/:id

{
  "enabled": false,
  "condition": {
    "field": "keyword",
    "value": "updated keywords"
  }
}

Only the fields you include in the request body are updated. Omitted fields keep their existing values.

Deleting Rules

DELETE /api/automation-rules/:id

This requires admin role. The rule is permanently removed.

API Reference

All endpoints require authentication. Deletion requires admin role.

Related

• Chatbot Rules Engine: automated response rules for the AI chatbot
• Operator Scheduling: combine with auto- assign for time-based routing
• Team Management: manual and round-robin assignment strategies