Overview

The Rules automation reduces the need for manual intervention by performing different actions when certain triggers and conditions occur. Repetitive tasks, such as tagging conversations and messaging customers, or more advanced functionalities, such as prioritizing a conversation based on identified keywords or forwarding to a specified channel, are examples handled by Rules, saving agents time and effort and increasing the team’s overall efficiency.

This guide covers the principles of the Rules module, followed by a detailed explanation of all available components.

Key terms:
Every Rule has a trigger, a condition, and an action.
Trigger: An event you choose that sets the rule into motion.
Condition: A requirement that the trigger must meet for the rule to work.
Action: An event that occurs due to the trigger and condition being met.
A Rule Set is made up of a few Rules that are activated together.

Rules are executed in the order they appear and may require prioritization within the rule set.
An example:
Rule #1: When a customer starts a new conversation [trigger] in the support's team email channel [condition 1], and the subject contains "refund" [condition 2], then tag the conversation with a “Finance” tag [action 1] and transfer the conversation to the Email Refunds channel [action 2].
Rule #2: When a new tag “Finance” is added [trigger] in the Email Refund channel [condition 1], and the body contains "Bad service" [condition 2], then set priority to 1 [action 1].

Since Rule #1 is processed first, the conversation will be tagged, which allows for Rule #2 to be triggered and the conversation to be prioritized at the designated channel.

Creating a new Rule Set

1. Click the Automation Hub icon on the main menu sidebar and select the Rules tab, or alternatively, navigate to Settings and click the Rules module.

2. Click Create Rule Set at the top corner to establish a group of rules.
   

3. Enter a name for your new Rule Set and click Create.
   

Creating a new Rule

To create a new Rule, you’ll need to select a trigger, relevant conditions, and desired action.

1. In the chosen Rule Set, click Add Rule at the top corner of the screen.

2. At the Rules Details pane, select the trigger for this rule.
   

The trigger could be one of the following:

• New Conversation: A customer starts a new conversation on one of the communication channels.
• New Visitor: A new visitor to the website where the Chat app. is embedded. This trigger can work even before the customer clicks on the Chat icon.
• An Agent Has Been Unresponsive: During a conversation on one of the communication channels, the agent became unresponsive for a period of time defined by the rule.
• A Customer Has Been Unresponsive: During a conversation on one of the communication channels, the customer became unresponsive for a period of time defined by the rule.
• Tag Is Added: A tag is added during a conversation on one of the communication channels.
• Routed Conversation Arrival: This trigger only activates rules on existing conversations (not new) coming into the specified channel(s).

3. For the chosen trigger, click Add Condition and select a relevant Condition from the dropdown list. The condition(s) will have to take place in order for the rule to be activated.

4. Select the Actions that will take place once all the conditions are satisfied.
   Suggestion: Create separate rules if conditions are not related.

5. Save the setting by clicking Save & Publish at the top of the page.

Available Conditions

Select from the following conditions:

A. In channels

Specify the communication channel(s) for the rule and click Add.

Note:

• This field is mandatory for the New Conversation and Unresponsive Agent/Customer triggers.
• A new visitor trigger only works with the Chat channels, Navigator, and Contact Us Apps.

B. Those Keywords Exist

List the keywords mentioned by the customer that will activate an action and click Add.

• Keywords in email channels are identified in the email’s title and body separately. In all other channels, keywords are identified within the message body.
• A comma should follow terms or a group of words.
  For example:
  Entering "new driver," will activate the rule only if both words appear as a phrase.
  Entering "new, driver," will activate the rule if one or both words appear in the conversation.
• Capitalization is not an affecting factor.

C. The Conversation is from

You may enter multiple email addresses or phone numbers (for WhatsApp and Text/SMS channels) separated by a comma and click Add.
For the whole domain, enter an asterisk followed by the domain ending. Ex: *@domain.com

D. The conversation was addressed to

Enter the email address or the phone number the communication was sent to and click Add.
You may enter multiple email addresses or phone numbers (for WhatsApp and Text/SMS channels) separated by a comma. For the whole domain, enter an asterisk followed by the domain ending. Ex: *@domain.com

E. Conversation has an attachment

Toggle On to mark all conversations with an attachment. Toggle Off to mark all conversations with no attachments.

F. Conversation's Current Status is X

Select from available statuses.

G. Was tagged with

Select the specific tag that when it is tagged to a conversation, the rule is triggered.
You may search for specific tags by name or click on the tag categories to show/hide related tags.

Note: Only one tag can be selected per rule.

H. Custom Trigger

Visitors to the website can take a designated action that will trigger the rule. For example, when the customer sends the 3rd item to the shopping cart, the rule will activate an action such as opening the chat, tagging the visitor, etc.
In this example, the module is “cart,” the name is “item,” and the value is 3.

For this condition to work, the JavaScript-embedded code must be configured in the Chat or Interactive Navigator module. Navigate to Settings > Chat and click the Installation button at the end of the line of the relevant channel.

Do not hesitate to contact your CS for help with this matter.

I. URL

This condition sets the URL from which the app (e.g., Chat) was launched. Select Exact Match and enter the exact URL, select Contains and includes partial URL content, or select Regex (Regular Expressions) and enter the relevant value. Click Add to set the condition.

J. Time on Page

When a new customer is idling on the web page (before starting the chat conversation) for an x number of seconds, select this condition to trigger an action (for example, activate the chat).

K. Channel State

Select the Availability Status (Busy, Off Hours, etc.) that will set off the rule.

• Active – The channel is activated.
• Inactive – The channel is deactivated at the module level.
• Busy – Channel is activated, but all agents have maximum assigned conversations.
• Out of business hours – The Channel is activated, but the service location is currently closed.

L. Unresponsive Agent / Customer

(mandatory for the Unresponsive Agent/Customer triggers)
This condition defines the unresponsiveness of the agent/customer. Enter the amount of time (from 30 seconds to 2 weeks) that will pass before the rule is triggered and the agent/customer becomes “unresponsive”.

Note that the time will be recorded in seconds.

Available Actions:

Select one or more of the following options:

A. Add Tags

Click on the relevant conversation tags to add them to the conversation (visible to the agent only). Click again on the chosen tag to unassign it.

B. Auto Message

Enter the message the customer receives when the condition(s) are satisfied.

C. Change Status

Select the status the conversation should change to if the condition(s) are satisfied.

D. Forward to

Enter the email address that will be used to send a message to and write the content of that message. Toggle On to allow the recipient of the message to reply.

In this example, Eddie Doe receives an email from agent Tommy Lee with the conversation details below. Eddie Doe can respond to the agent (the Click here button) if the Allow comment reply is toggled on. The response to the agent will appear as a system comment in the conversation.

E. Transfer to Channel

Select the channel and subchannel the conversation should go to.

F. Set Conversation Priority to

Set the priority of the conversation (1 – the highest, 10 – the lowest).
Adjusting a conversation's priority alters its ranking compared to other scored conversations, making it more likely to be assigned ahead of those with lower priority.

G. Open Application

With this action, visitors to the website will not have to click on the Chat icon to start a chat conversation. It also works with Interactive Navigator and Contact Us apps.

Editing Existing Rules

1. Navigate to Settings > Rules and select the desired Rule Set.

2. Click on the Rule you want to edit and open the Rule Details.
   

3. To change the order of the rules, move the cursor to the beginning of the line and drag the Rule to a new position. The other rules will move accordingly.
   

4. Click Save and publish at the top.