How do I automatically close or reopen inactive cases?
Table of Contents
The Case Auto Close setting helps ensure timely closure of inactive cases. By reducing the need for manual monitoring, agents can focus on conversations that require their action.
What is Case Auto Close?
Case Auto Close allows Care Managers to set a threshold of inactivity for cases. When that threshold is reached, the case is automatically closed. This ensures cases that no longer need attention are closed efficiently, while still maintaining accurate metrics in reporting.
For auto closing cases, inactivity is defined as:
- No inbound messages
- No outbound messages
- No changes to the case status
Case actions such as logging an internal comment, applying a tag, or even re-assigning a case to a different agent do not affect the inactivity timer on a case.
This feature is available on the Advanced plan and Enterprise plans.
To enable or edit Case Auto Close, users must have the Manage Case Settings permission.
How to Enable Case Auto Close
- Navigate to Case Settings under Inbox and Reviews in your Settings
- Locate the Auto Close Inactive Cases
- Toggle the feature On
- Click Configure
- Set your preferred inactivity time (from 1 hour up to 21 days)
- Select which case statuses Auto Close should apply to
Auto Close is off by default. We recommend enabling it during setup to ensure cleaner case management workflows.
Cases created after Auto Close is enabled will follow the inactivity timer you set, and existing cases will not be auto closed unless new qualified activity (inbound, outbound, or status change) occurs after the feature is enabled.
What are Auto Status Changes?
Case Status Changes allow Care Managers to set a threshold for a case to automatically reopen if there is an incoming message with in the toggle-able threshold.
The new auto-reopen feature helps ensure continuity when a customer responds to a recently closed case. If a customer replies within the configured timeframe (the default is 4 days), the case will automatically reopen. To provide the best experience, we'll try to reassign the case to the same agent who last worked on it, provided they are online and available. If the agent is offline or at capacity, the case will return to the queue for another agent to pick up.
Reporting & Agent Credit
The agent assigned at the time of auto close receives credit for the case closure. If no agent is assigned, no agent credit is given. The following metrics reflect auto closed cases:
- Case Completion Rate
- Same Period Cases Closed
- Total Cases Closed
- Average Handle Time (based on the auto close timestamp)
Things to Keep in Mind
- Auto Close does not bulk close cases that existed before the feature was enabled.
- Internal comments or applying tags do not reset inactivity timers, only inbound/outbound messages or status changes do.
- Auto Close applies across all queues (queue-level configuration is not yet supported).
FAQ
What’s the minimum and maximum inactivity threshold I can set?
The minimum is 1 hour. The maximum is 21 days.
What happens if I change the inactivity threshold after enabling?
- Increasing the threshold: Only cases meeting the new, longer timeframe will be closed. Cases closed under the previous setting remain closed.
- Decreasing the threshold: Cases falling within the new shorter timeframe will be considered for closure in the next scheduled auto close job.
Will I get notified when a case is auto closed?
No. Auto closed cases are excluded from the Case Closed notification.
Are auto closed cases visible in reporting and logs?
Yes. Auto closure can be tracked in a few ways:
- The case activity feed will note that a case was closed due to inactivity along with the timestamp of when it was closed.
- Auto closed cases can also and can be traced via the Customer Audit Trail (CAT) logs.
- Auto closed cases appear in Care Reports although they are not separated from manually closed cases.
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