Your inbox called; it wants less clutter

Your inbox called; it wants less clutter


Inbox full of ghosts? Let Auto-Close do the haunting.

Ever stared at your support inbox wondering why half the chats are just… sitting there? No reply, no closure, just hanging like unread messages from a advertising company.

Let’s fix that.

With Auto-Close, you can set a timer to close inactive conversations automatically. It keeps your inbox clean and helps your team stay focused on what matters.

What is Auto-Close? 

Think of it like the support team’s version of putting the dishes away after dinner.

When a conversation goes quiet (no response from the customer), Auto-Close steps in, waits for a set time, and wraps it up for you. You decide how long is “too long.” Could be 10 minutes. Could be 24 hours. Either way, once the clock runs out, Auto-Close quietly shuts the door. No mess. Just a cleaner inbox.

Why use Auto-Close?  

Save your team’s time. No more manually closing chats that have gone cold.
Set expectations. A clear close message shows customers you’re not ignoring them, you’re just staying efficient.
Stay compliant. Platforms like WhatsApp only allow replies within 24 hours. Auto-close helps you stick to the rules.
Spot trends. Auto-closed chats give you insights into where customers drop off.

Auto-Close isn’t a one-size-fits-all feature.

You can adapt to the platform, the agent, and even the bot.

Let’s break it down:

You’ve got a WhatsApp chat going. The customer asks something, and your agent replies. But then… silence. You’ve set the auto-close timer to 30 minutes. The countdown begins. If the customer doesn’t respond by then, poof! The conversation closes.

For bots, the clock starts as soon as they send a message. You can choose from presets like 5, 10, 15 minutes or 24 hours. If the user doesn’t reply, the bot closes the chat.

Different businesses, different beats.

Let’s say you run:
  • An e-commerce store: Sometimes it's clear people want quick answers to specific questions like “Where’s my order?” or “What’s your return policy?” Use short timers like 5–10 minutes in these cases to keep your queue fresh.
  • A SaaS company or IT support desk: Users might need time to try your suggestions. Give them breathing room with timers between 30–60 minutes.
  • A healthcare or financial service: The stakes are higher here. A customer might pause mid-chat to check a report or talk to someone else. Use conservative timers, 60 minutes or more, and send occasional re-engagement messages like, “Still there? We’re here to help.” 

You’ve got the feature. Now make it work smarter.

  • Keep WhatsApp chats within the 24-hour window.
  • Use short timers for FAQs, longer ones when handling complex questions.
  • Always give a gentle nudge before closing: “We’ll close this chat in 10 minutes. Reply to keep it going!”
  • Review your auto-closed chats regularly. You might spot patterns like when people usually drop off, or which agents get longer pauses.

FAQ time


Can agents override auto-close?
Absolutely. Closed chats can be reopened anytime from the Closed section.

What if I reply just before the chat auto-closes?
The timer resets! The chat stays open as long as the conversation is active.

Can I set different timers for each channel?
Yes. WhatsApp, Messenger, LINE; you can set up timers for each to match their rules.

What happens if a chat is manually turned into a ticket before auto-close?
Let’s say a customer chats with you, and you manually convert it to a ticket before auto-close kicks in. That conversation becomes part of a new ticket. When auto-close runs later, it closes the chat thread, not the new ticket. The chat and ticket are now separate.
   

Let’s hear from you  

Do you have a sweet spot for your timers? Or a clever workaround your team uses? Maybe a bot trick that saved the day?

Share your Auto-Close success stories (or disasters turned into lessons) in the comments.

Your tweak might just be someone else’s "aha!” moment.


      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Topic Participants

          • Raj R

          • Sticky Posts

          • Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences

            Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynote
          • WhatsApp pricing changes: Pay per message starting July 1, 2025

            Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message billing. That means every business-initiated message you send will count. Not just the first one in a 24-hour window. Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business Platform
          • Live Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration

            Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few tools
          • Apple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users

            Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to help
          • Zoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End

            Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Company details and emails

                                    Our company has recently been rebranded and we have new email address - How do I update information for users. I have tried to re invite users with new email but it sends me to organization and there is no where I can change the email or invite with new
                                  • Linking Resale Certificates to Customer Locations

                                    Florida Resale Certificates must be on every customer invoice. We have customers with multiple locations and each location has a seperate FL Resale Certificate. The FL Resale Certificate makes the transaction EXEMPT from Sales Tax. Can FL Resale Certificate
                                  • Notebook App Not Opening

                                    I love this app but for the last 2 days it recuses to open. My phone tells me the app is bugged and I must wait for a new update. Is anyone else having this problem or is something going on with me? I have many important notes that I can't necessarily
                                  • Admin and Dispatcher Users show as Field Technicians in Dispatch Module?

                                    Hi Zoho, Our Admin and Dispatch user both show up as Fied Technicians / Field Agents in the Dispatch module, but they most certainly should not be assigned to any of the work orders and service appointments. These users are NOT service resources. How
                                  • Copy Sales Order Reference# to Purchase Order#

                                    Hello, We use our customer's purchase order number as the order number on our purchase order to the supplier.  We direct ship everything from our suppliers and the customers then see their PO number on the packing notes (instead of a sequentially-generated one). Therefore, is it possible to use automation to copy the Sales Order Reference# (customer PO) to the respective Purchase Order# (our PO) when converting the Sales Order to a Purchase Order?
                                  • Free webinar: Zoho Sign in Q2 2025: A quick walkthrough

                                    Hi there! We’re halfway through the year—and Zoho Sign has some exciting enhancements to show for it! Join us in our upcoming webinar to discover what's new and what you can look forward to. What will this session cover? Explore the newest features introduced
                                  • Using a Webhook as an Action

                                    I have been able to setup where I can use a webhook as a Trigger, but I am wondering how I can use a webhook as an Action. In the Zoho Flow Builder when using Zoho CRM as a trigger, I do not see a way to invoke a URL to POST json data that can be used
                                  • Adding commas to a numeric value

                                    Hi, I want to add commas to numeric values so that they look like money E.g 1234.56 to 1,234.56 12345.67 to 12,345.67 12345678.90 to 12,345,678.90 How do you do that in Deluge? Thanks for the help
                                  • Pushing Zoho People leave into Microsoft calendar: how to chose how "event" is shown (busy, free etc)

                                    Hi, how can I select how a "leave" event is pushed into Microsoft calendar? I want for leave "working elsewhere" to show as working elsewhere and NOT as busy.
                                  • Tiktok and Instagram Carousel with Music

                                    Is it possible to add music or sound (can be downloaded or uploaded or attached) when we upload carousels in IG and Tiktok?
                                  • [Product Update] Locations module migration in Zoho Books integration with Zoho Analytics

                                    Dear Customers, As Zoho Books are starting to support an advance version of the Branches/Warehouses module called the Locations module, users who choose to migrate to the Locations module in Zoho Books will also be migrated in Zoho Analytics-Zoho Books
                                  • Once again, non-admins can no longer revise the site map

                                    Not sure when this change happened, but it's a problem now. This appears to be a regression on this issue: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/bug-non-admins-can-no-longer-revise-the-site-map ... which was solved. That issue was also a regression.
                                  • Detail View in Mobile without Labels

                                    Zoho creator 6. I have been trying to acheieve this but not able to. I have a quick view of my articles using custom layout for mobile. When i tap on an article it opens in detail view on my mobile which has two cols. Left displays label and right the
                                  • Updating task using excel file

                                    Hi, Is there a way to update existing tasks using excel file import?  Thanks
                                  • Cross module filtering is now supported in CRM

                                    Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: This enhancement is being released in phases. It is now available in AU, JP, and CN DCs. Help resource: Advanced filters The Cross-module filtering enhancement is now available to all CRM accounts in the following
                                  • Before Going To The Qc stage , site ready ness file upload mandtoty how to achive this in the blue print transition

                                    Before Going To The Qc stage , site ready ness file upload mandtoty how to achive this in the blue print transition On click of the Predelivery transition can we show site ready ness file upload mandtoty or on click of the QC show the alert message site
                                  • Note cards are duplicating

                                    Hi, I've been using this app for some time and love it. Recently I've noticed that upon closing a note card, it creates a duplicate. If I exit the notebook it's in and go back, everything is back to normal. Not a major issue but still a little annoying.
                                  • Where is the (Bulk) Notes Export function from Notebook ???????

                                    I have seen various threads over the last two years on this and basically no action from ZOHO at all ! BTW having to go to an individual note and export to PDF (which now doesn't even work ) or some sort of zoho format is by no means the answer ! I still can't see any sort of bulk (or even individual) export function across notes. This is really poor for a notes product that is nearly 4 years old from a "major vendor".  I now have a large number of notes (some with images) that I want to export and
                                  • Again about the backlighting of the search query when searching in a client for Linux

                                    Some time passed, I installed a client for Linux version 3.4.0, but I still did not receive the promised search with the backlighting of the search query how it was implemented in the client for android. In the previous topic, you told me that this function
                                  • Important! ZipRecruiter Sponsored Posting Plan Changes in Zoho Recruit

                                    Greetings, We’re reaching out to inform you about an important upcoming change to the ZipRecruiter Sponsored job board integration within Zoho Recruit. What’s Changing? Starting June 1, 2025, Zoho Recruit will be updated with ZipRecruiter's latest pricing
                                  • In the Blue Print Transition requirement received it will show 8 check field in pop up if they any one of this field then only move to next stage Ist quote

                                    In the Blue Print Transition requirement received it will show 8 check field in pop up if they any one of this field then only move to next stage Ist quote Pls help how i fix this
                                  • Linking Multi-UOM Barcodes to Products in Zoho Books

                                    Greetings, I'm using Zoho Books for retail shop and I'm running into a bit of a challenge with products that have multiple Units of Measurement (UOMs) and corresponding barcodes. For example, I sell cigarettes both as individual packets and in cartons
                                  • Convert Item to composite item

                                    When using Zoho CRM integrated with Zoho Inventory/Books, the item creation process is a little messy. After a few years of trial and error, we have settled on creating items in CRM, which are sync'ed to Zoho Inventory using Zoho's own internal integration.
                                  • Mapping “Account Name” from CRM to Campaigns

                                    I’m syncing our Contacts list to Campaigns and want to select “Account Name” as an available field. Account Name does not appear in the drop down menu for CRM field even though Account Name is a field in our standard layout. How can I make it availa
                                  • Zoho Campaigns to Zoho Analytics Sync Fails – Field Mapping Shows But Not Applied

                                    I’m facing a persistent issue with the Zoho Campaigns integration to Zoho Analytics in my workspace. Here’s a detailed description of the problem: Under Edit Setup, I see a field mapping summary that shows: DataField Mapping: Most Recent Login However,
                                  • Host in US Data Centre

                                    I humble apply to be registered on US Data centre
                                  • Multiple images, one record

                                    I have a form that is used to capture the following info: -Facility Name -Origin -Shipment # -Picture of Damaged Pallet (Image field) I want to be able to capture multiple pictures without having to create a new record, as there might be multiple damaged pallets on the shipment. Obviously, one never knows how many damaged pallets might be on a shipment so I'd prefer not to create 20 image fields and have most of them unused.  I'd prefer that they have an option to add another image only if they need
                                  • how to dynamically upload multiple images for single record?

                                    Is the use of dynamic multiple images in a single record supported? I've searched but have not found the answer. If it is supported, how is it done? I saw 1 suggestion to add a sub-form but that doesn't seem to be the answer. I don't want to add a set number of image fields. Each record would have a different number of images. I want the addition of images to be dynamic. thanks
                                  • Multi-upload field

                                    Hi I need to include a file upload field that allows the user to select multiple files and upload all at once. I hope I can do this with HTML, I'm new to merging HTML and deluge... Can I trigger a hidden file upload window to appear On User Input of a field in an embedded form? Thanks! Levi
                                  • is it possible to add multiple attachments to a record?

                                    Hello, I'm trying to add functionality so that a record can have several associated attachments. I obviously added a File Upload field to my form, but that appears to only allow one total. Is there a way around this? Thanks, - Kevin
                                  • multiple upload files in zoho form

                                    Hi,  I need upload multiple files  in a single upload field thkns
                                  • Keeping Track of Email Threads

                                    Hi, Z CRM is great for tracking all the activities one would want to track whilst qualifying leads, converting to customers, closing deals etc etc, however.... ....although I can use Z CRM to send an email to a lead/contact and have that recorded as an activity for other team members to see, there is no way of capturing an inbound email from that lead. Assume my lead replies to my email sent from ZCRM, in my case, the response arrives in my ZMail account. However I can't get it back into ZCRM to
                                  • Zoho Creator invokeUrl to retreive PDF

                                    I'm trying to retreive a record PDF to send to Print Node. Tried with and without the zoho_creator_connection. pdf_content = invokeurl [ url :"https://creatorapp.zoho.com.au/<org_namespace>/<app_link_name>/record-pdf/<report_link_name>/" + input.ID type
                                  • Bulk upload image option in Zoho Commerce

                                    I dont know if I am not looking into it properly but is there no option to bulk upload images along with the products? Like after you upload the products, I will have to upload images one by one again? Can someone help me out here? And what should I enter
                                  • Zoho App Builder

                                    I’m looking for a Zoho Creator developer to build a simple app for tracking site expenses for a construction company. Key features: mobile form, dropdowns for projects and expense types, photo attachment for invoices, auto-calculated totals, and Excel
                                  • Captcha can't be enabled conditionally

                                    Hi Problem: captcha on a form can't be enabled conditionally. Why is this a problem: Because I use the same form on our website (public) in the portal and mobile app. In the portal it works but in the mobile app it doesn't. So there should be a way to
                                  • ACH Returns Don’t Trigger Dunning or Reverse Payment in Zoho Subscriptions

                                    Zoho Billing marked an ACH payment as successful and kept the subscription active — even though the payment was later returned by the bank (NSF). There was no update to the invoice or subscription status, and I had to manually clean it all up. For credit
                                  • Zoho Sheet - Split cell diagonally fill half color

                                    is it possible to split a cell diagonally, fill different text in each half and ideally color them differently as well?
                                  • Calling Token API in Postman returning "error: invalid_client"

                                    Hello, I've been working on setting up an API to get data from zoho crm into a third-party application. I'm currently testing the setup in Postman, but I'm getting an error from the API to retrieve the access token. It keeps returning "error: invalid_client".
                                  • How to handle this process need using a Blueprint?

                                    See one minute screen recording: https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/external/eb743d2f4cde414c715224fc557aaefeb84f12268f7f3859a7de821bcc4fbe15
                                  • Next Page