Using an External Ticketing System
Manage customer support in Slack while syncing with your existing ticketing system (Zendesk, Jira Service Management, Salesforce, etc.)
This guide helps you set up ClearFeed to manage customer conversations in Slack while keeping everything synced with your existing ticketing platform.
Sign Up & Connect
Go to ClearFeed Web App
Sign up with Google, Microsoft, or Email (use your Slack workspace email)
During onboarding, select:
Primary use case: Supporting Customers
How to use ClearFeed: Integrate with External Ticketing System
Authorize ClearFeed when prompted to connect to your Slack workspace
Connect Your Ticketing System
Choose your external ticketing system and complete the authorization flow:
Zendesk
Jira Service Management
Salesforce
Linear
Freshdesk
And more...
Understanding Your Setup
ClearFeed asks you to create two key channels during signup:
Request Channel
Your request channel is where customers post questions and issues. When a message is posted:
ClearFeed automatically creates a ticket in your external system
The ticket syncs bi-directionally between Slack and your ticketing platform
Customers see their conversations in Slack without technical ticket details
Triage Channel
Your triage channel is your team's command center. Here you'll see:
All incoming requests with status, assignment, and ticket IDs
Real-time updates from your external ticketing system
AI-powered answer suggestions from your knowledge base
Note: Most teams can start working immediately with these default channels. Only add more channels or collections if you need to separate different customer segments or support queues.
Create and Manage Requests
From Slack
Create a request:
Post a message in your request channel (e.g., "How do I reset my password?")
ClearFeed automatically creates a ticket in your external system
Add 🎫 emoji to manually ensure ticket creation if needed
Manage requests:
Reply in the triage channel thread → syncs to your ticketing system
Update status, priority, or assignment → reflects in external system
Add internal notes (prefix with configured emoji) → visible only to your team in both Slack and external system
FAQ: How do I stop creating requests from my own messages? You can configure ClearFeed to ignore messages from specific users or turn off auto-responders for team members. Go to Settings > Request Settings to configure responder exclusions.
From Email
If you've configured email support:
Customers can email your support address
ClearFeed creates tickets in your external system
Email threads sync with Slack conversations
Responses from Slack appear as email replies to customers
Convert Requests to Tickets
Requests automatically become tickets in your external system. Use the 🎫 emoji on any message to manually trigger ticket creation if auto-creation is disabled.
AI Agent Setup
ClearFeed comes with an AI Agent pre-configured with ClearFeed documentation:
How It Works
The AI Agent monitors your triage channel
When it finds relevant answers in your knowledge sources, it posts suggestions privately to your team
Your team can review and send the answer to customers with one click
Try It Out
Type this in your triage channel: "What is a collection in ClearFeed?"
Watch the AI Agent provide a helpful answer from the documentation!
Customize AI Agent for Your Use Case
Make the AI Agent more helpful by adding your own documentation. You can either create a new AI Agent or edit the existing one.
Step 1: Connect Your Knowledge Sources First, add your documentation as knowledge sources. ClearFeed supports various Knowledge Sources. Learn more here
Step 2: Configure Your AI Agent
Go to Settings > AI Agent
Either create a new AI Agent or edit the existing one
Select the knowledge sources you connected in Step 1
The AI will now suggest answers from your content
Additional Setup
Once you're comfortable with the basics, explore these features:
Customize Your Workflow
Modify Triage Settings - Show only tickets (hide non-ticket messages)
Set up SLA rules - Configure response time targets
Create automation rules - Auto-assign, escalate, or respond based on conditions
Configure forms - Collect structured information with custom fields
Setup Out of Office Responses - Automatic responses when your team is unavailable or outside business hours
Integrate More Tools
Web Chat Widget - Add live chat to your website that flows into Slack
Custom Email Domain - Use [email protected] for customer emails
Customer Portal - Give customers a self-service portal to view their tickets
Task Management Integration - Create tasks in tools like Asana or Monday.com from tickets
Expand Your Channels
Add more Slack channels to handle different customer segments or product lines
Create collections to group related channels together
Each channel can map to different queues or projects in your external system
Next Steps
Your ClearFeed setup is ready to use! Start by:
Inviting your team to the triage channel
Testing a few customer requests
Exploring the AI Agent suggestions
Customizing settings to match your workflow
Need help? Contact our team for personalized onboarding.
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