How to set up Gorgias automation to reopen a ticket when a customer replies on SMS

Let's be honest, managing SMS conversations in Gorgias can get a little tricky. It's a fast, direct channel, which is great, but when a customer replies to a conversation you've already closed, you need to be sure that message doesn't fall through the cracks. One missed follow-up can quickly turn a happy customer into a frustrated one.

The tricky part? Gorgias has its own way of deciding whether a reply reopens an old ticket or creates a new one, and it's not always intuitive. If you don't have a system to manage it, you risk agents missing the context of a conversation or, worse, missing the follow-up entirely.

This guide will show you exactly how to use Gorgias's built-in Rules to handle these replies. We'll go over how to deal with reopened tickets, catch follow-ups that sneak in as new tickets, and talk about what to do when you need more control than the platform offers out of the box.

What you'll need to get started

Before we jump in, let’s make sure you have everything ready to go. It’s a pretty simple process, but you’ll want to have these three things handy:

• An active Gorgias account with admin access. You'll need it to create and tweak the Rules.

• The Gorgias SMS channel installed and ready. If you haven't set it up yet, you can grab it from the Gorgias App Store.

• A rough idea of how your team should handle these SMS follow-ups. Who gets them? How fast do you want to reply?

How to set up Gorgias automation for SMS replies

Alright, let's get into the nitty-gritty of using Gorgias Rules to get your SMS follow-ups under control.

Step 1: Understand Gorgias's default ticket reopening behavior

First, you have to get a handle on how Gorgias works by default. Gorgias uses something called a "reopen window," which is a set amount of time after a ticket is closed. If a customer replies within that window, their message reopens the same ticket. If they reply after that window has closed, Gorgias creates a completely new ticket.

This window isn't always the same. Some integrations, like Postscript, have a 24-hour window. For other channels, it's a system setting that you can't really change. For example, a reply to an email ticket after 10 days will always create a new ticket.

Here’s the most important thing to remember: You cannot use a Gorgias Rule to change the length of this reopen window. The logic is built into the platform. So, our goal isn't to fight the system, but to create Rules that react to whatever Gorgias does automatically. This way, you can manage the outcome and keep your team on the same page.

Step 2: Create a rule for reopened SMS tickets

Let's tackle the most common situation: a customer replies within the reopen window, and the old ticket suddenly reappears in your queue. You want to make sure it gets seen and sent to the right person immediately.

Here’s how to build a Rule for that:

1. Head over to Settings > Automation > Rules in your Gorgias dashboard and click Create Rule.

2. Set up the trigger that tells the Rule when to pay attention.

   • WHEN "Ticket is updated" IF "Message is created".

3. Add the conditions to narrow it down to the exact situation you're looking for.

   • IF "Channel is SMS"

   • AND IF "Ticket status WAS Closed"

   • AND IF "Tags DO NOT CONTAIN reopened-sms-handled" (This part is super important. Think of it as a "guard tag" that prevents the rule from running in an endless loop on the same ticket).

4. Tell Gorgias what to do when the conditions are met.

   • THEN "Add tag reopened-sms"

   • THEN "Assign to team SMS Support" (or whatever team is best).

   • THEN "Send auto-reply message". You can write whatever you like, but something simple like, "Thanks for following up! We got your message and will be back with you shortly," is perfect.

With this Rule in place, any time an old SMS ticket is reopened, it gets tagged, assigned correctly, and the customer knows you’ve seen their message. No more lost replies.

A screenshot showing the rule creation interface in Gorgias, which is essential for the Gorgias automation to reopen ticket when customer replies on SMS.

Step 3: Create a rule for replies that create a new ticket

Now for the other, more annoying scenario. A customer replies after the reopen window has closed. Gorgias creates a new ticket, and your agent has zero context for the conversation. They can’t see the previous messages without digging around for them.

This Rule will flag these potential follow-ups so your team knows there's more to the story.

1. Back in the Rules section, click Create Rule again.

2. Set the trigger for this one.

   • WHEN "Ticket is created".

3. Add the conditions to spot these specific tickets.

   • IF "Channel is SMS"

   • AND IF "Subject contains the customer's name" (Gorgias tends to do this automatically for new SMS tickets, so it's a pretty reliable filter).

4. Define the actions to give your team a heads-up.

   • THEN "Add tag new-sms-follow-up-check"

   • THEN "Add internal note" with a helpful prompt for your agent, like: "Hey! Just a heads-up, this might be a follow-up to a recent ticket. Might be worth checking this customer's history."

This doesn't merge the tickets for you, but it acts as a big, flashing sign for your agents to look for the original conversation. That way, they can get the full picture and give a helpful response instead of asking the customer to repeat information.

Pro tips for mastering Gorgias SMS automation

Getting these basic rules set up is a huge step forward. But if you want to really fine-tune your SMS support, there are a couple more things to think about.

The challenge with Gorgias rules: Context-blindness

You'll pretty quickly run into a big limitation with Gorgias Rules: they're based on simple triggers, not what the customer is actually saying.

For instance, a simple "Thanks!" from a customer will reopen a ticket, assign it to a team, and send an auto-reply, just like a detailed follow-up question would. This creates extra work for your agents, who now have to go in and manually close a ticket that never needed action. On the flip side, when a real question comes in after the window closes, it creates that disconnected ticket we talked about, forcing agents to play detective.

Gaining control over your automation with AI

So how do you get smarter than a simple trigger? This is where tools that use AI can make a world of difference. Instead of just reacting to an event, an AI tool can understand the message's intent. A tool like eesel AI plugs right into Gorgias and can analyze the SMS content to make much smarter decisions on its own.

Here's how that gives you a level of control that native rules just can't offer:

• Intelligent Triage: eesel AI can read an SMS reply and know if it's just a "Got it, thanks!" and automatically close the ticket again. If it's a real question, it can reopen and assign it. If it's a brand new problem, it can create a new ticket and tag it properly from the get-go.

• Total Control: You're no longer handcuffed to a fixed reopen window. With eesel AI's fully customizable workflow engine, you can build rules based on what the message says, the customer's history, or any other logic your business needs. You get to decide exactly how follow-ups are handled.

• Go Live in Minutes: This isn't some massive, months-long project. Connecting eesel AI is a one-click process that fits right into your current Gorgias setup without causing any chaos. You can be up and running in minutes.

A screenshot of the eesel AI workflow engine, showing how to customize Gorgias automation to reopen ticket when customer replies on SMS.

Keep your SMS auto-replies short and sweet

Nobody wants to read a novel in a text message. A simple, friendly confirmation like "Got it! We're on it and will text you back here shortly" is all you need. It manages expectations perfectly without being overwhelming.

Next steps for your Gorgias SMS automation

We've covered how to use Gorgias Rules to bring some sanity back to your SMS queue, from understanding the platform's quirks to setting up rules that tag and route tickets. These steps will absolutely help you get more organized.

But as you've seen, Gorgias Rules are reactive. They can't understand the context of a conversation, which means your team still has to spend time cleaning up the noise and connecting the dots.

For teams that want to really scale their support, make their agents' lives easier, and give customers a truly seamless experience, adding a layer of intelligence is the natural next move.

Ready to stop worrying about rigid timers and automate your support based on what customers actually say? See how eesel AI gives you complete control over your Gorgias workflows.

Start a free trial to see it for yourself or book a demo with our team to learn more.