Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “answer the same customer questions over and over”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

120 min
typically, every day
65%
of the time can be automated
Some setup
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Let an AI agent answer the common questions from your help center

Fin by Intercom, Zendesk AI agents, Freshdesk Freddy, Gorgias AI Agent, Salesforce Agentforce and HubSpot's customer agent answer routine questions from your own articles and hand off the rest to a person.

Typically saves about 40% of the time4 h to set up
  1. 1Check what your helpdesk offers; most now charge per resolved conversation.
  2. 2Make sure the top 20 help articles are current, because the AI answers from them.
  3. 3Turn it on for one channel (chat or email) and one topic set first.
  4. 4Review a sample of its conversations weekly and fix the articles behind wrong answers.
  5. 5Set clear handoff rules for billing disputes, complaints and anything sensitive.

Tools: Fin by Intercom · Zendesk AI agents · Freshdesk Freddy AI · Gorgias AI Agent · Salesforce Agentforce · HubSpot Customer Agent (Breeze)

Fix 2 of 2

Software feature

Turn your most-typed answers into macros

Macros (saved replies) fill in the answer, set the tags and change the status in one click. Most helpdesks can now suggest the right macro too.

Typically saves about 35% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Pull a report of your top 15 ticket reasons.
  2. 2Write one macro for each, with placeholders for the customer's name and details.
  3. 3Have each macro also set tags and status.
  4. 4Turn on macro suggestions if your helpdesk has them, and review macros quarterly.

Tools: Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Gorgias, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub or Salesforce Service Cloud

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Does an AI agent answer your common customer questions before they reach you?
Tools like Fin by Intercom, Zendesk AI agents or Gorgias AI Agent reply to routine questions using your help articles, and pass anything tricky to a person.
Do you use macros that fill in the answer and set the tags in one click?
A macro is a saved reply that also updates the ticket fields. Setting up your top 15 can save several minutes on each common ticket.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.

Other common tasks for Customer Support Agents