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.
Recent Topics
Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM
Release update: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. Hello everyone, We are pleased to share with you that Zoho CRM's Layout Editor now includes two new field formats—
POP mailbox limits
If I am accessing a remote POP mail server using Zoho Mail is there a mailbox quota for the account or is it all related to my mail account storage limits?
Warranty Service and Repair in Zoho FSM
Hi There, We are a retail store that sells products and also performs installations and repairs. Our field technicians handle this work. Some repairs are covered by manufacturers, who reimburse us for both parts and labour. In these cases, we perform
Create Receipt of a Donation (not a sale)
We are a non-profit organization that receives general donations. How do I create a receipt of payment for the donor and categorize the payment as a Gift? I tried the method of creating an invoice; however that automatically created a "Sales" transaction
Zoho Sheet for Desktop
Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
WhatsApp phone number migration
Hi @Gowri V and @Pheranda Nongpiur, Thanks for implementing the promised enhancements to the integration between Zoho CRM and WhatsApp. The previous discussion has been locked, so I'm opening this new one. I am copying below a specific
What are the create bill API line item requiered fields
While the following documentation says that the line items array is requiered it doesn't say what if any files are requiered in the array. Does anyone know? API documentation: https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/bills/#create-a-bill I'm trying to add
How do I create an update to the Cost Price from landed costs?
Hi fellow Zoho Inventory battlers, I am new to Zoho inventory and was completely baffled to find that the cost price of products does not update when a new purchase order is received. The cost price is just made up numbers I start with when the product
Price Managment
I have been in discussions with Zoho for some time and not getting what I need. Maybe someone can help explain the logic behind this for me as I fail to understand. When creating an item, you input a sales rate and purchase rate. These rates are just
Actual vs Minimum
Hi all, I am sure I am not the only one having this need. We are implementing billing on a 30-minute increment, with a minimum of 30 minutes per ticket. My question is, is there a way to create a formula or function to track both the minimum bill vs the
Generate leads from instagram
hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead
Kaizen #234 - Automating Deal Handoff with Zia Assistant API, Workflow, Deluge, and Widget in Zoho CRM
Hello all! Welcome back to a fresh Kaizen week. In this post, we will explore how to automate the deal handoff process in Zoho CRM using Zia Assistant API + Workflow + Deluge + Widgets. Here’s how the final output looks when a deal is reassigned 1. Deal
How do you print a refund check to customer?
Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.
Ability to assign Invoice Ownership through Deluge in FSM
Hi, As part of our process, when a service appointment is completed, we automated the creation of the invoice based on a specific business logic using Deluge. When we do that, the "Owner" of the invoice in Zoho FSM is defaulted to the SuperAdmin. This
All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. Latest
Enhancement to ICR’s field prompting: Preferred data extraction using advanced field prompting
Dear Customers, We hope you’re well A quick background Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) comes as part of Zia’s optical recognition capability called Zia Vision. When we introduced it last April, the data extraction was training-based and was applicable
See a list of all records enrolled in a cadence?
I am looking for a way to see a list of all leads or contact currently enrolled in a cadence. I do not see any way to do this through the cadence UI.
Limitation in chart of accounts
There is a limitation of 4000 accounts in chart of accounts Zoho needs to remove this limit
How do I change the account bank charges are charged to?
I want bank charges charged to my Credit Card Fees account. Is there a way to do this?
Real signature in Zoho Expense PDF report ?
Hello ! Is there a way to put a real signature on the signature line when a PDF report is generated in Zoho Expense? Through Zoho Sign or another way? Can't seem to make it work.
Copy paste settings
Hello all i have 2 organizations running in ZOHO books in one organization i have customised Tax rates, codes and customized templates instead of manually doing again in org 2 can i have some shortcut to copy paste or export and import??
Custom TDS on Vendor Credits via API
Hi, We are using Zoho Books APIs for posting Bills and vendor credits. We are unable to post custom TDS amount posting vendor credits. Can you please share the API spec and Payload that need to be sent for Custom TDS for Vendor Credits.
"Unlink" Advance from Bill without Deleting the Payment Record
I am writing to highlight a significant workflow issue in Zoho Books (India Edition) regarding Vendor Advances and Bills. The Scenario: I recorded an Advance Payment to a vendor. I matched/reconciled this payment in the Banking module. I received a Bill
Advance Payment Record Removed When Deleting Applied Credit from Bill
Hello, So while working with vendor advance payments, I noticed that removing the applied credit from a bill also removes the corresponding entry from the Payments Made section. What I did : Recorded an advance payment to a vendor through Payments Made.
What is the best way to convert MSG file to Word format?
The best way to convert MSG files to Word format is by using a reliable and professional tool Aryson MSG file Converter. Manual methods are often time-consuming and may not preserve email formatting, attachments, or metadata accurately. In contrast, Aryson
Address Typeahead Extension for Zoho Books
I installed the Address Typeahead extension for zoho books but when I went to configure it, it said that that version was deprecated. Is there a newer version somewhere?
How to create a new Batch and update Stock via Inventory?
Hi everyone, We are building an automation where a user enters batch details (Batch Number, Mfg Date, Expiry, and Quantity) into a Custom Module. I need this to trigger an API call to Zoho Inventory to: Create the new batch for the item. Increase the
Zoho Projects : Task should auto-update to 'In Progress' if timer started
Namaskaram. Right now, if a Task's timer is started, the Task stays in 'Not Started' status. One has to manually update it to 'In Progress'. From a #uxdesign standpoint, it is an unnecessarily two step process to start working on a task. It would be better that, if I start the timer on a task, it should automatically change to 'In Progress' status. Crafted with ❤️ Zoho Gurus | Zoho One Practice Team @ CubeYogi Zoho Authorised Partner | 7+ Yrs | 200+ Projects | 100+ Customers
Invoice template with sales tax totals
Hi everyone, I am trying to edit my invoice template so that only the total sales tax collected for my tax group shows up. Right now, under by sub total, each individual tax shows up and that takes up a lot of unnessary space, so I just want the one
Zoho Delayed Posting & Loss of Article Thumbnails on BlueSky
Hello! I am wondering if anyone else has had the either of the following issues when posting to socials via Zoho and if there is a fix? 1. Post says it is scheduled or it is live when sent off via Zoho but it doesn't show up on socials till some time
Connection Not Secure (Certificate Mismatch) Error
Hi, Just a fyi, when you go to https://bigin.zohocloud.ca/bigin/Home you get a "Your Connection Is Not private" error. (Certificate mismatch to domain.) I get to that page after I have signed up and signed in as a customer and select the Access Bigin
Recording the Investment
Hello, - One Investor Invested to our company, So how do we record investment which we received in our bank in the Zoho books ? - How do we record if we provide shares to the investor in the Zoho books? Thanks
Export Invoices to XML file
Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunities
Client and Vendor portal at the same time
We have companies that serve both as clients and vendors and they are linked. However, we have a problem giving them access to the vendor/client portal. If they accept the invitation from the client portal, when we try to invite them to the vendor portal
Integrate Multiple ZohoBooks organization with zoho projects
We have successfully connected our Zoho Books with Zoho Projects for synronizing timesheet data. Our Business specialty is, that the staff of the Main company (A) is working on several projects, but the Clients are sometimes contracted and paying to a
ZOHO CRM Button Integration
Hi Team, I’m currently working with Zoho CRM along with a custom application where I fetch deal details from the CRM and use them based on my requirements for each deal. Now, I want to enhance this setup. I plan to create a button on the Deal Detail page
Ways to calculate the difference form two years or months
Hi to everyone I have this request: I need to show the difference or variation from two periods (years or months) whether using a Pivot View or a graph, in this is case is better in a Pivot view. In the pivot view I will have the amount or results from
Zoho CRM strips whitespace in text fields
When editing field text with multiple spaces: CRM - both UI and API trim / compress the whitespace to a single space when saving: Is this known / expected / documented behaviour?
Career site URL - Suggestion to modify URL of non-english job posting
Hi, I would like to suggest making a few modification to career sites that are not in english. Currently, the URL are a mix of different languages and are very long. It makes for very unprofessional looking URLs... Here is an example of one of our URL
Uplifted homepage experience
Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:
Next Page