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.

    • 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
    • Recent Topics

    • Get Cliq Meetings in my O365 calendar

      Hi, we are currently evaluating to replace the Teams Messaging and Meetings with Cliq. We currently still have all our email and calendars in O365. What i want to achieve is, to create a (ZOHO) meeting from Cliq and have this meeting added to my Outlook/O365
    • Custom Button to convert a Deal to a Custom Module?

      Hello Community I am in process of building out a custom CRM for my team and part of this is looking at building out a Custom Button or function of some sort where when a Deal is marked Closed Won the system will allow for a "Convert to Job" option to
    • Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

      Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient
    • Emails Failing with “Relaying Issues – Mail Sending Blocked” in ZeptoMail

      Hello ZeptoMail Support Team, We are facing an email delivery issue in our ZeptoMail account where emails are failing with the status “Process failed” and the reason “Relaying issues – Mail sending blocked.” Issue Details Agent Name: mail_agent_iwwa From
    • Change eMail Template for Event-Invitations

      Hello ZOHO-CRM Team How I can change the eMail Template for Event-Invitations? I work with the German Version of the Free Version. I know how I can modify eMail alerts or Signature Templates, but where I can other eMails modify you send out? Thank you
    • Workdrive Oauth2 Token Isn't Refreshing

      I have set up oauth for a bunch of zoho apis and have never had a problem with oauth. With workdrive i am using the exact same template i usually use for the other zoho apps and it is not working. All requests will work for the first hour then stops so
    • How can I import OLM to Yandex Mail easily?

      For migrating Mac Outlook OLM data to Yandex Mail efficiently, the Aryson OLM Converter is a reliable professional tool that ensures complete data integrity throughout the process. Unlike manual methods, which can risk inconsistent formatting or missing
    • 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—
    • Is it possible to setup bin locations WITHOUT mandating batch tracking?

      Hi fellow zoho users, I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar issue to me? I only have some products batch tracked (items with shelf life expiry dates) but I am trying to setup bin locations for my entire inventory so we can do stock counting easier.
    • Implementing Inventory Process

      I am just starting to create an inventory system through Zoho for a nonprofit. We receive in-kind donations of items for kids, and utilize them in 2 or 3 different programs. Then families come in and take the items. I'm thinking of this structure: Our
    • Best way to start zoho inventory with bulk openning stock

      We are already using zoho book since long time for cars trading company. Now to streamline more, would like to import the excel data of closing stock of inventory to zoho inventory and to start on. Since we need to track each VIN (unique vehicle id number)
    • Service Reports.

      Hello Team, I have a requirement to create multiple service reports for a single AP. That means, in one AP I have 5 service line items, and all line items are linked to assets. Once I complete the AP, I want to generate 5 individual service reports, one
    • Blueprint enhancements - Parallel and multiple transitions, and more

      Last modified on Sep 4, 2023: All Zoho CRM users can now access these enhancements. Initially, these features were available only on an early access basis and by request. However, as of August 2, 2023, they have been made available to all users in all
    • Item Bulk Edit - Allow for Reorder Level

      We're implementing a process for using the Reorder Level field for Items, and I have to go through and add this value to a huge chunk of our Items. It's driving me bonkers that I have to do this individually through the UI rather than bulk updating. It
    • Zoho CRM || Unable to Bulk Assignment of Territories for Contacts

      Dear Zoho CRM Support Team, I hope this email finds you well. We recently performed a bulk upload of Contacts into Zoho CRM using the official sample Excel template downloaded from the CRM. The upload itself was completed successfully; however, we encountered
    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | August – October 2025

      Hello customers, The last quarter has been incredibly productive! We've released a powerful slate of new features and enhancements in Zoho Inventory designed to give you better control, greater efficiency, and expanded functionality across your inventory
    • Disable Zoho Inventory Tracking / Delink Zoho Books & Inventory

      We have integrated zoho inventory with zoho books? Now after a long time, we want to disable inventory tracking and delink these 2 modules. Zoho says we cant do it. Anybody else going thru the same ? Any possibility at all? Why does zoho not allow to
    • Tracking Non-Inventory Items

      We have several business locations and currently use zoho inventory to track retail items (sales and purchase orders). We were hoping to use zoho inventory to track our non-inventory items as well (toilet paper, paper towels, etc). I understand that we
    • 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
    • Set Warehouse based on Vendor

      Greetings. I would like to set automaticaly the Warehouse based on the Vendor. Context: I am working on an adaptation of a Purchase Order to be used as a Quotation. I have defined that when a user has to raise a quote the Vendor will be "PROCUREMENT" I would like to set the Warehouse to a predefined value when "PROCUREMENT" is set as Vendor. I have tried to do with the Automation feature using the Field Update option, but Warehouse does not is listed as a field. Can you help? Thanks in advance.
    • How to add interviews through API

      I'm trying to add an interview without much luck. The documentation gives examples of adding just about everything except an interview. However, the issue might be the way I'm formatting it, because the documentation is unclear to me. It seems as if the xml should be passed in the url, which seems unusual. I've tried the data as both plain and character escaped, but nothing seems to work, nor do I even get an error response. https://recruit.zoho.com/recruit/private/xml/Interviews/addRecords?authtoken=***&scope=recruitapi&version=2&xmlData=<Interviews> <row
    • Auto tagging

      Some of the articles I enter into Notebook get there when I enter them in Raindrop.io and IFTTT copies the articles in Notebook. When this happens the notes are tagged but instead of useful one word tags with topic the tag pertains to the specific article
    • How do I save audio files to my PC that I record into Zoho Notebook from my phone?

      I was thinking of using Zoho Notebook as a way to store composition ideas, as well as for other things if it can handle this. For this to be useful for me though, I need to be able to have an easy way to download those audio files to my PC, either individually
    • Search mails in shared mailbox

      Hi everyone, is there a way to search mails in shared mailbox's? Search in streams or mail doesn't return anything from mails in shared mailboxes. Thanks! Rafal
    • Kaizen #186 : Client Script Support for Subforms

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post on Client Script! In this edition, we’re taking a closer look at Client Script Support for Subforms with the help of the following scenario. " Zylker, a manufacturing company, uses the "Orders"
    • Writing SQL Queries - After Comma Auto Suggesting Column

      When writing SQL Queries, does anyone else get super annoyed that after you type a comma and try to return to a new line it is automatically suggest a new column, so hitting return just inputs this suggested column instead of going to a new line? Anyone
    • Introducing Multiple Sandbox Types and Support for Module's Data Population

      Register here for the upcoming Focus Group webinar on Multiple Sandbox | Help documentation to learn more about the new enhancements Hello everyone,  Sandbox in CRM is a testing environment for users to create and test new configurations like workflow
    • Convert invoice from zoho to xml with all details

      How to convert an Invoice to XML format with all details
    • Importing into the 'file upload' field

      Can you import attachments into the file upload field. I would expect it to work the same way as attachments do, But can't seem to get it to work.
    • Sync your Products Module for better context.

      In customer support, context is everything. The integration between Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM helps your sales and support teams function as one, delivering better customer experiences. With the latest update to this integration, you can now sync the Product module in your Zoho CRM with your Zoho Desk portal. This feature enables products from Zoho CRM to reflect in the "product" field in Zoho Desk. This can save your support team valuable time and effort.    Some things to note when syncing the two:
    • Where is the desktop app for Zoho Projects???

      As a project manager, I need a desktop app for the projects I manage. Yes, there's the web app, which is AWESOME for cross browser and platform compatibility... but I need a real desktop app for Projects that allow me to enter offline information where
    • CRM verify details pop-up

      Was there a UI change recently that involves the Verify Details pop-up when changing the Stage of a Deal to certain things? I can't for the life of me find a workflow or function, blueprint, validation rule, layout rule ect that would randomly make it
    • Does Zoho Writer have Dropdowns

      I want to add a drop down field in Zoho writer. Is this possible?
    • Multiple header in the quote table???

      Hello, Is it possible in Zoho CRM to add multiple headers or sections within the Quote product table, so that when the quote is printed it shows separate sections (for example “Products” and “Services”)? To clarify, I’m asking because: This does not appear
    • openUrl in blueprints

      My customer wants to open a URL at the end of a blueprint transition. Seems this isn't possible right now but it would be very useful. In this thread, https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/openurl-not-working the Zoho agent said that it's logically
    • Dropshipping Address - Does Not Show on Invoice Correctly

      When a dropshipping address is used for a customer, the correct ship-to address does not seem to show on the Invoice. It shows correctly on the Sales Order, Shipment Order, and Package, just not the Invoice. This is a problem, because the company being
    • Prepayment of a sales order

      How does everyone handle this common (at least it is common for us!) situation? We require all our orders to be fully prepaid before shipment since we manufacture made to order, custom products. Since ZOHO does not allow a sales order to be prepaid, we are forced to create an invoice at the time an order is placed to allow the customer to pay it. Our sales category is therefore skewed, since the sale was actually booked at the time an order was placed, rather then at the time it is shipped, which
    • Access to Specific Zoho Desk layout for external parties

      Hi, We have a partner who handles for us sales requests from specific markets. He is not a Zoho Desk user. But we want him to b part of a specific Zoho Desk layout to handle inquiries.  How to achieve it in the easiest way possible?
    • Deposit on a Sales Order

      Good day, 100% of my business is preorders, no inventory. I am trying to run away from QB for one of my businesses, but I require two options that I don't seem to find with Zoho Books. 1 - If there is a way to apply a deposit on a sales order, as with
    • How Does Knowledge Base Search and Article Recommendation Work?

      Hello, I would like to understand how the Knowledge Base search engine works. Specifically, does it search based on: The article title only? The full article content? Both, the article and the content? Keywords? Tags? Also, how does the system determine
    • Next Page