Automations

Automate repetitive tasks and never miss important actions again. ClearFeed automations allow you to respond to requests, escalate issues, and keep your team organized without manual effort.

Why use Automations

Automations help your team:

• Reduce manual work and repetitive tasks

• Escalate urgent requests automatically

• Keep internal teams aligned and informed

• Trigger external actions like ticket creation or Okta actions or HubSpot actions

• Use AI to extract information or respond to requests

How Automations Work

Every automation has four simple parts:

Real Example: When a request contains "urgent" then send Slack alert to #support-team

Quick Start: Create your first Automation

Let's build a simple automation to send a "follow-up reminder" if a request is pending for 24 hours.

• Create Automation: Navigate to More → Automate → Create Automation

• Set Up the Rule

  • Name: "Follow-up Reminder"

  • When (Trigger): Request Updated

  • If (Condition): Status is "Pending"

  • Wait (Delay): 24 hours

  • Then (Action): Send message to assignee

• Activate: Map to your collections and enable the toggle.

Complex Automation Examples

Real-world scenarios that combine multiple conditions and actions:

🚨 Escalation Automation

Scenario: Auto-escalate high-priority requests during business hours

Name: "Priority Escalation"
Trigger: Request Created
Conditions: 
- Priority is "High"
- Trigger time is inside business hours
- Channel is one of ["#support", "#urgent"]
Actions:
1. Set Field: Assignee to Naveen
2. Send Message to Slack Channel #escalation-management:
    "🚨 High priority request needs attention: {{request.web_url}"

Advanced Configuration Guide

Choose Your Trigger

Pick what event starts your automation:

• Request Triggers (Available with Integrations & External HelpDesk Product Edition)

  • Created → New request submitted

  • Updated → Status, priority, or field changes

  • Message Added → New reply or comment

  • CSAT Submitted → Customer rating received

  • Reaction Added → Emoji reaction (you pick which one)

• Ticket Triggers (All Product Editions)

  • Created → New ClearFeed ticket

  • Updated → Field changes

  • Message Added → New message

  • CSAT Submitted → Customer feedback

  • Reaction Added → Emoji reactions

Add Conditions

Filter when your automation runs with smart conditions:

Standard Fields Use conditions on Status, Priority, Assignee, Channel, Team, or Message Author:

• is set to / is not set to

• is one of / is not one of Business Hours Time-based conditions that respect your workspace timezone:

• Trigger time is inside business hours

• Trigger time is outside business hours

Business Hours Configuration: Business hours are configured at the Collection level. Learn more about Business Schedule

Custom Fields Different field types support different operators:

Set Delay

Add a wait period before actions execute:

• Default: Instant (0 delay)

• Maximum: 29 days, 59 minutes, 59 seconds

• Format: Days, hours, minutes

Advanced: Invariance Settings

Specify fields to monitor during the delay to control automation cancellation.

• If a selected field is part of the automation's Conditions, the automation will only be canceled if a change to the field causes the condition to fail.

• If a selected field is not part of the Conditions, any change to the field will automatically cancel the automation.

Example: Let’s say you're setting up an automation to send a follow-up message to the Assignee if the Status of the request remains "Open" for 3 days. You set a delay of 3 days before sending the message.

• Invariant Field is part of Conditions: You choose to monitor the Status field (since it is part of the condition for triggering the action). If the Status changes to "Resolved" within the 3-day delay, the automation will cancel because the condition (Status = "Open") is no longer true. However, if the Status remains "Open," the automation will proceed and send the follow-up email after 3 days.

• Invariant Field is not part of Conditions: Now, let’s say you also monitor the Priority field (which is not part of the automation's Conditions). If the Priority field is updated during the delay (e.g., from "Medium" to "High"), the automation will cancel, regardless of whether the Status remains "Open" or not, because you set the Priority field to automatically cancel the automation on change.

Choose Actions

The fun part—what should happen when your automation triggers?

Action Execution Flow:

1. Actions execute in the order you define (top-to-bottom)

2. Each action can have its own condition.

3. If any action fails, subsequent actions are skipped

4. Previous successful actions are NOT undone when later actions fail

5. All execution steps and failures are recorded in execution logs

Below are the actions that are supported in Automations:

Webhook

Send request/ticket data to external systems (Zapier, custom APIs, etc.). Read more about formatting the message with Request Parameters here.

Default Webhook Payload Structure:

{
    "id": "{{request.id}}",
    "web_url": "{{request.web_url}}",
    "status": "{{request.status}}",
    "priority": "{{request.priority}}",
    "assignee": {
        "id": "{{request.assignee.id}}",
        "name": "{{request.channel.name}}"
    },
    "channel": {
        "id": "{{request.channel.id}}",
		"name": "{{request.channel.name}}"
    },
    "title": "{{request.title}}",
    "request_message": {
        "ts": "{{request.request_message.ts}}",
		"thread_ts": "{{request.request_message.thread_ts}}",
        "text": "{{request.request_message.text}}"
    },
    "csat_survey": {
        "status": "{{request.csat_survey.status}}",
		"response": {
		"value": "{{request.csat_survey.response.value}}",
		"max_value": "{{request.csat_survey.response.max_value}}",
		"survey_type": "{{request.csat_survey.response.survey_type}}",
		"comment": "{{request.csat_survey.response.comment}}"
        }
    }
}

Set Field

Update Status, Priority, Assignee, or Custom Fields automatically

Send Message

Post formatted messages to:

• Slack channels or triage channel

• Teammates via ClearFeed app

• As public replies or private comments

• Direct to assignee

Trigger Ticket Creation

Create a ticket based on collection settings

Auto-fill Fields

The Auto-fill Fields action lets you use AI to automatically extract or generate values and then either:

• Save the output directly into a Custom Field on the request/ticket, or

• Store the output as an Automation Variable that can be reused in conditions or downstream actions.

  

How It Works

When an automation is triggered, ClearFeed’s AI can:

• Parse the request/ticket content

• Apply your configured prompt

• Return structured output in the format you specify

• Save it to a Custom Field or store it as an Automation Variable

Example use cases:

• Extract product names from support requests to populate "Product" field

• Identify urgency keywords to set priority automatically

• Parse customer information to populate user details

• Categorize requests based on content keywords

Configuration Steps

1. In your Automation, choose Auto-fill Fields as the action.

2. Write Instructions

   • Provide a natural-language prompt telling the AI what you want extracted.

   • You can reference request/ticket variables for context.

     Tip: Learn how to write effective instructions

3. Under Output Configuration, define whether AI output should go into Custom Fields or Automation Variables.

   1. Option 1: Save to Custom Fields

      • Select Fields: Choose one or more custom fields for AI to auto-populate.

      • AI Instructions Check: If any selected field doesn’t have AI instructions defined, you’ll see a warning.

      • Required Setting: Mark a field as Required if AI must always extract this value before proceeding.

      • Field Types Supported: Text, Single Select, Multi Select.

   2. Option 2: Save as Automation Variables: For every variable, you must specify:

      • Variable Name – unique identifier (e.g., extracted_priority).

      • Data Type – only Text and Number are supported.

      • Description – short explanation of what the variable represents.

      • Required – mark if AI must always extract this value before proceeding.

      • Multiple Variables Supported: You can create several variables in the same action.

      • Use in Automations: These variables can be referenced in conditions (e.g., if sentiment = Negative) or downstream actions.

4. Test the Prompt

   • Run the prompt against an existing request/ticket to validate results.

   • Refine the prompt as needed and re-test before finalizing.

5. Save & Activate

   • Once the mapping looks correct, save the automation.

   • If the field doesn’t exist, the system will suggest creating it.

Invoke AI Agent

You can use an AI Agent in two key ways within ClearFeed Automations:

1. Generate Structured Responses The AI Agent can produce structured replies based on incoming inputs. These responses can be passed to subsequent steps in your automation workflow — such as:

   1. Updating a custom field

   2. Sending a Slack message

   3. Triggering a webhook or action

2. Respond to Incoming Requests The AI Agent can directly respond to user queries by retrieving relevant information from connected Knowledge Sources.

This enables you to build intelligent workflows that either operate silently behind the scenes or respond to users in real time — powered by AI.

Configuration Options

• Instructions – Provide the AI Agent with a prompt. You can use request or ticket variables inside the prompt for context. Example: “Summarize the user’s message and rate its urgency from 1 to 5.”

• Output Schema (Optional) – Define the expected structure of the AI's response using variables. This helps downstream steps consume the AI’s output reliably.

Example Use Case

Prompt:

Summarize the request and rate urgency from 1–5

Output Variables:

{
  "summary": "User can't log in",
  "urgency_score": 5
}

You can then use the AI-generated values in your automation:

• Condition logic

  If urgency_score > 3 → escalate or route to IT

• Message or Webhook

  Slack message: “Issue summary: {{agent_output.summary}}”

• Set a Custom Field

  Set field: Urgency = {{agent_output.urgency_score}}

Okta Actions

If your ClearFeed workspace is integrated with Okta, you can trigger user lifecycle operations as part of automation workflows. These actions help streamline IT and HR processes by automating common administrative tasks directly from Slack-based requests or ticket updates.

Supported Actions

Configuration Notes

• Each action requires the email address, typically passed as a placeholder like {{request.requester.email}}.

• For Activate User and Reset Password actions, you need to specify whether an email should be sent to the user’s configured email address when the action is executed.

• Placeholders are available dynamically from the request or ticket context.

• You can add conditions to control when the action is triggered (e.g., “if Request Type is Offboarding”).

• These actions can be part of a multi-step automation and combined with delays, AI agent outputs, or webhook calls.

HubSpot Actions

If your ClearFeed workspace is integrated with HubSpot, you can trigger CRM operations as part of automation workflows. These actions help streamline Sales, Marketing, and Support processes by automating common updates directly from Slack-based requests or ticket events.

Supported Actions

• Create Task – Creates a new task in HubSpot. Fields:

  • Title (string) – Short summary of the task.

  • Body (string) – Description or details of the task.

  • Due Date (date) – When the task should be completed.

  • Priority (Dropdown) - Importance level. By default set to "Medium"

  • Status (Dropdown) - Current progress status. By default set to "NOT_STARTED"

  • Task Type (Dropdown) - Category or type of task. By default set to "TOD"

• Create Contact - Adds a new contact to HubSpot. Fields:

  • Email (string) – Primary identifier for a contact.

  • First Name (string) - Contact’s first name.

  • Last Name (string) - Contact’s last name.

  • Phone (string) - Contact’s phone number.

  • Company (string) - Company name associated with the contact.

• Create Deal - Creates a new deal record in HubSpot. Fields:

  • Deal Name (string) – Title of the deal

  • Amount (currency) - Value of the deal.

  • Close Date (date) – Expected close date of the deal.

  • DealStage (string) – Stage of the deal within the pipeline.

  • Description (string) - Additional details about the deal.

• Add Note to Deal - Attaches a note to an existing deal. Fields:

  • Search Term (string) – Search term to to match against deal name and description.

  • Note (string) – The body of the note.

• Add Note to Contact - Attaches a note to an existing contact. Fields:

  • Search Term (string) – Search term to to match against deal name and description of the target contact.

  • Note (string) – The body of the note.

• Add Note to Company - Attaches a note to an existing company. Fields:

  • Search Term (string) – Search term to to match against deal name and description of the target company.

  • Note (string) – The body of the note.

Configuration Notes

• Entity identifiers like Contact Email, Deal ID, or Company ID can be dynamically populated using placeholders (e.g., {{request.requester.email}}).

• For creation actions, you may map values from the request context, form inputs, or AI agent outputs.

• Placeholders are available dynamically from the request or ticket context.

• You can add conditions to control when the action is triggered (e.g., “if Request Type is Sales Inquiry”).

• These actions can be combined with other automation steps such as delays, AI agent outputs, or webhook calls.

  

Map Collections

Use the button Map Collections to choose the Collection that should use the Automation and click on the toggle to enable the automation.

• You can select Email and Portal Collection to let the Automations act on Tickets originating from these sources.

Adding Parameters in Messages

You can add Request/Ticket parameters such as the Request ID, URL, Status, Priority, values of other custom fields, etc. when configuring the payload sent via Webhook Action or a Sent Message action.

1. In the message box, type {{ to invoke the parameters dropdown.

2. Select and enter the relevant parameters in your messages

Checking Automation Execution Logs

You can see the detailed execution logs for each automation, helping you track and troubleshoot how automations are behaving in real time.

Accessing the Execution Log:

To view the execution log for any automation:

• Navigate to the Automations section in the ClearFeed web app.

• Click on the 3 dots icon corresponding to the automation you want to inspect and click on "Execution Log"

What You’ll See in the Execution Log

Each automation execution includes:

• Status of the run

• Original Request ID

• Timestamp of execution

You can:

• Click the Request ID to open the related request in a new tab.

• Click anywhere else on the row to view detailed Execution Steps along with their status.

Execution Status Types

You may see one of the following statuses for each automation run:

• Done – The automation executed successfully.

• Failed – The automation encountered an error.

• Cancelled – The execution was stopped because an invariant field was modified, the automation was disabled or deleted, or the automation trigger was updated while the request was in the wait state within the automation flow.

• Running – The automation is currently in progress.

• Skipped – The automation was skipped because the defined condition was not met.

Coming Soon

• More Trigger Events - Eg. External Webhooks, APIs.

FAQs

1. How are Automations different from Workflows? Answer: Workflows are special cases of automation that are designed to solve the following use cases:

   • Escalation notifications to specific users/teams in case of no response to users - After sending a notification, workflows also manage the state of the triggered notification. Eg. there automatically get dismissed in case the messages are replied to. This is not the case with notifications triggered via automation.

   • Automated reply on request or ticket creation. These messages can be dismissed by users on Slack.

2. How does ClearFeed check for invariance of triggers and conditions during the delay period in automation? Answer: During the delay period in automation, ClearFeed checks for the invariance of the "status" property only. For all other properties defined in the automation, the trigger and conditions are evaluated only at the time of the initial trigger. This means that changes to properties other than "status" during the delay period do not affect the automation's execution.

3. Can we Clone or Delete an Automation? Answer: Yes, it is possible to clone an automation. Simply go to Automations and click on the three-dot button. It will expose the options to Clone or Delete the Automation.

   
4. Can we set Automations to trigger for our business hours? Answer: Yes, it is possible to only trigger Automations inside or outside your business hours. You can do this by: Adding a Condition and Selecting the Trigger Time option to be Inside or Outside Business Hours.

5. Can a ticket be automatically created when certain predefined keywords are detected in the request content? Answe: Yes, this can be achieved. Clearfeed automatically sets the priority to High when a request contains certain predefined keywords (Learn more here). You can then create an automation that triggers ticket creation whenever the priority is set to High. Make sure the Trigger mode is set to Manual Mode under the Collection's Ticketing Settings.