A complete guide to Freshdesk time triggers: What you need to know

Automating parts of your customer support just makes sense. It saves your team a ton of time, keeps everything running consistently, and frees people up to work on the tricky problems that actually need a human brain. Help desks like Freshdesk have built-in tools to help with this, including some handy rules designed to handle repetitive, time-sensitive tasks.

This guide is a deep dive into Freshdesk's time-based automation. You might know it by its old name, "Time Triggers," but these days they’re called "Hourly Triggers." We're going to cover everything you need to know: what they are, how to use them, and how they function within your support setup. By the end, you'll have a clear picture of how they work and see how a complementary AI tool can further enhance your workflows.

What are Freshdesk Time Triggers?

Let's clear up the name first. What many people still call Freshdesk Time Triggers are now officially named "Hourly Triggers" inside the Freshdesk platform. This name clearly describes how they function within the system.

At their core, hourly triggers are reliable automation rules that scan all of your tickets once every hour. If a ticket matches a specific time-based condition you’ve set, the rule automatically performs an action. It's a solid "if this happens, then do that" system that runs on a predictable schedule.

The logic is straightforward:

• Condition: The rule looks for a time-based property. For instance, "Hours since resolved" is greater than 48, or "Hours since created" is greater than 24.

• Action: If the condition is met when the hourly check happens, it performs a task, like "Set status as Closed" or "Send email to agent."

It’s a useful feature for digital housekeeping, and it is designed to run on tickets that have been created or updated within the last 30 days. This keeps the automation focused on your most relevant and recent tickets.

Common use cases for Freshdesk Time Triggers

Hourly triggers are highly effective for routine tasks that keep your helpdesk organized. They handle the kind of manual cleanup that ensures your queue stays current and nothing gets overlooked.

Here are a few of the most common ways teams put Freshdesk Time Triggers to work.

Automatically close resolved tickets

This is a popular use for hourly triggers. Freshdesk even includes a pre-built rule for this when you sign up. The idea is simple: if a ticket has been in "Resolved" status for 48 hours and the customer hasn't written back, the trigger automatically changes its status to "Closed." This keeps your active queue clean and ensures your performance reports reflect accurately completed work.

Send automated follow-up reminders

Sometimes you need information from a customer to solve their problem. Instead of manually tracking these tickets, you can set up an hourly trigger to handle it. For example, you could create a rule that sends a friendly reminder email if a customer's ticket has been sitting in a "Pending" status for more than 72 hours. It's a helpful nudge to move the conversation along without adding more work to your team's plate.

Escalate tickets based on time

When a ticket requires attention based on your Service Level Agreement (SLA), an hourly trigger can help automate that escalation. You can set up a rule that bumps a ticket's priority to "Urgent" if it's been open for a certain period. To ensure it reaches the right team, you can also have the rule assign the ticket to a specific manager or an escalations group. It's a reliable way to ensure important issues are highlighted automatically.

Understanding the workflow of Freshdesk Time Triggers

While hourly triggers are excellent for general housekeeping, it is helpful to understand their specific workflow to best align them with your team's needs. If you're managing a high volume of tickets, knowing how these triggers operate helps you plan your automation strategy.

The hourly schedule

One characteristic of Freshdesk Time Triggers is that they run once per hour. This means there is a scheduled interval between when a condition is met and when the automation takes action.

For example, if a ticket becomes overdue at 10:05 AM, and the hourly trigger last ran at 10:00 AM, it will be processed during the next run at 11:00 AM. This predictable schedule is ideal for non-urgent tasks like status updates or routine reminders.

graph TD A["10:00 AM: Hourly trigger runs"] --> B["10:05 AM: High-priority ticket becomes overdue"]; B --> C["10:05 AM - 11:00 AM: Ticket processed in next cycle"]; C --> D["11:00 AM: Next hourly trigger runs and performs the action"];

Focus on ticket properties and calendar hours

Freshdesk's hourly triggers are designed to look specifically at ticket fields. This makes them very efficient for managing ticket states and ensuring that workflows based on ticket data are followed consistently.

Additionally, the rules run based on calendar hours. This provides a consistent automation rhythm, ensuring that your helpdesk maintenance continues around the clock, which can be particularly useful for global teams or those providing 24/7 coverage.

Specialized automation logic

These triggers are built to follow specific rules based on time and ticket fields. This mechanical precision ensures that your housekeeping tasks are performed exactly as defined, without variation.

For instance, while a customer might reply with "Thanks!" which might reopen a ticket, Freshdesk provides additional specialized features like the "Thank you detector" to handle these nuances. This shows how Freshdesk offers a suite of tools that work together to manage different aspects of the customer conversation.

| Feature | Freshdesk Time Triggers | eesel AI | | :--- - | :--- - | :--- - | | Response Speed | Hourly (scheduled scans) | Real-time, instant | | Logic | Based on fixed time and ticket fields | Understands intent and context | | Knowledge Sources | Freshdesk tickets | Connects to multiple sources (Docs, Confluence, etc.) | | Testing | Live environment | Safe simulation on past tickets |

Going beyond the built-in Freshdesk Time Triggers

For teams that want to expand their automation capabilities, adding a modern AI layer provides additional speed and flexibility. Tools like eesel AI integrate seamlessly into your Freshdesk environment to complement your existing rules.

Real-time, intelligent assistance

You can complement your hourly schedules with real-time AI. eesel AI's AI Agent reads and understands tickets the moment they arrive. It analyzes the customer's request, determines the intent, and can pull information from your entire knowledge base to assist agents or respond instantly. It works alongside Freshdesk to ensure your support is as responsive as possible.

Connect your knowledge sources

While native triggers focus on ticket data, eesel AI helps bridge the gap between Freshdesk and your other tools. It connects to your Google Docs, Confluence, Notion, or internal wikis. This means your automation is supported by your company's full knowledge base, making your Freshdesk setup even more powerful.

Test your workflows with confidence

Adding eesel AI to your Freshdesk ecosystem allows you to test automation strategies safely. With simulation mode, you can test AI responses on past tickets before they go live. This allows you to refine your approach and ensure your automated support meets your quality standards, providing a high level of confidence as you deploy new features.

Freshdesk pricing in 2026

To help you plan your budget for 2026, here is an overview of how Freshdesk prices its plans. Freshdesk offers tiered plans to match different team sizes and needs, ensuring you only pay for the features you require.

Here’s a look at the main plans for 2026 (billed annually):

• Free: $0 for up to 10 agents. Includes basic ticketing and a knowledge base.
• Growth: $15 per agent, per month.
• Pro: $49 per agent, per month.
• Enterprise: $79 per agent, per month.

Freshdesk's advanced AI features, branded as Freddy AI, are available as powerful add-ons:

• Freddy AI Copilot: Provides agent assistance for $29 per agent, per month.
• Freddy AI Agent: Designed for customer-facing automation, starting at $100 for every 1,000 "sessions."

Enhancing your support with Freshdesk Time Triggers

Freshdesk Time Triggers are an essential tool for any team using the platform. They provide a mature and reliable way to handle routine tasks, keeping your helpdesk running smoothly and ensuring your agents can focus on high-impact work.

By combining the reliable scheduling of Freshdesk's hourly triggers with the real-time capabilities of a tool like eesel AI, you can create a truly comprehensive support experience. This approach allows you to maintain the structured maintenance your helpdesk needs while delivering the fast, context-aware support your customers expect.

See how you can enhance your Freshdesk support today and provide the efficient service your team is capable of with eesel AI.