Actions
Create case
Let your agent open a case for work that continues after the chat, and give the customer a case number to refer back to.
The Create case action lets your agent open a case when a customer's request needs follow-up work from your team after the chat: a refund to process, a bug to investigate, or anything that can't be finished in the conversation. The agent gives the customer the case number, for example CASE-1042, so they can refer back to it later.
Every case the action opens is set up for you:
- The customer becomes the requestor, so the agent never has to guess who the case is for.
- The conversation is linked to the case.
- The case starts in your default state, at the priority you choose.
- If you link a case type, the case gets that type and the agent can fill its fields.
You can add several Create case actions, each with its own name, instructions, case type and priority. For example, a Refund request action that opens refund cases, and a Bug report action that collects the device and steps to reproduce.
Before you start
- You need to be a workspace owner or admin.
- Each Create case action counts toward your plan's action limit, and every case it opens counts toward your plan's case allowance. See Plans and limits.
- To use case types, set them up first in Settings → Cases. See States and types.
Set up a Create case action
Add the action
Go to Actions and click Add action. Choose Create case and click Continue.
Name it and write the instructions
Give the action a Name, such as "Refund request". The starter Instructions tell your agent to open a case when a request needs follow-up work after the chat, to understand what the customer needs first, and not to open cases for questions it can answer itself. Make them specific to this kind of case.
Choose a case type
Under Case, pick a Case type, or leave it as No type to use your base fields only.
Choose a priority
Set the Priority every case from this action starts at: Low, Normal, High or Urgent. Your team can change it on the case.
Decide which fields the agent fills
Fields the agent can fill lists the custom fields these cases carry, each marked collected or not collected. Click Collect the missing fields to add a detail for every field that isn't collected yet, with a matching answer type. You can also add details by hand in Details to collect.
Choose what happens next
Under When it's done, choose whether your agent keeps chatting, closes the conversation, or hands it to your team once the case is open.
Create the action
Click Create action.
How details become case fields
Your agent always writes a short title and a description of what the customer needs, the details they've given, and what it has already tried.
On top of that, each detail you collect is matched to case fields by name:
- A detail whose name matches a case field, such as Order number, is saved to that field.
- Any other detail is added to the case description.
- Fields without a matching detail are left empty for your team to fill in.
If your cases don't have any custom fields yet, everything the agent collects goes into the description.
Linking a case type makes cases far easier to work. A Refund request type with Order number and Reason fields means your team sees the key facts at a glance instead of reading through the description.
If the case type is deleted
If you delete the case type an action uses, the action keeps working but opens cases without a type. The form tells you so: choose another type, or save to keep it untyped.
When your case allowance is used up
If your plan's allowance of new cases for the billing period is used up, no case is opened. Instead, the conversation is passed to your team, and the agent tells the customer the team has their request and will follow up. It doesn't mention plans or limits, and doesn't give a case number. Upgrade your plan, or wait for the next billing period, to open cases again.
Testing in the Playground
In the Playground, Create case checks the details but doesn't store a case, and doesn't use up your allowance. The agent replies as it would to a real customer, using CASE-0000 as the case number.
Create case and Escalate to Human
A case is for work that outlives the chat. Escalate to Human is for when a person needs to answer the chat right now. They work well together: your agent can open a case and hand the conversation to the team in the same reply.