Triage inbound WhatsApp messages into Zendesk and Slack
When a customer messages you on WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, or Instagram, classify the conversation, open a Zendesk ticket, and ping your team in Slack.
Build a webhook-triggered agent workflow that triages every inbound customer message we receive through Heyy (WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, and Instagram). At setup, instruct me to register the workflow's webhook URL with Heyy by calling Heyy's Create API Webhook operation for the inbound_message event so events actually arrive.
When the webhook fires, read the incoming message text plus the contact metadata in the payload (display name, channel of origin, phone or handle, and any labels). Classify the conversation into exactly one of: support, billing, sales, feedback, or spam. Write a one-line summary of what the customer needs and a suggested first reply that an on-call rep could send.
If the classification is anything other than spam, call Zendesk Create Ticket. Use the summary as the subject, put the original customer message and the channel of origin in the ticket body, fill in the requester's name and (where available) email or phone, set priority to high for urgent support or billing issues and normal otherwise, and tag the ticket with both the channel (whatsapp, sms, messenger, or instagram) and the classification (support, billing, sales, or feedback).
Then call Slack Send a Message in a designated triage channel that the user picks at setup. The Slack message should include the customer's display name, the channel of origin, the classification, the urgency, the suggested reply, and a direct link to the newly created Zendesk ticket. If the message was classified as spam, skip the Zendesk step and post a short spam note in Slack without a ticket link.
Important constraint: do not send any reply back to the customer through Heyy. This workflow is task-specific, triage and draft only. The suggested reply is shown to the human rep, never auto-sent to the customer, so we stay aligned with WhatsApp's policy against open-ended automated chat.
Inputs the agent should ask me for at setup: which Slack channel to post triage alerts in, which Zendesk group (if any) tickets should be assigned to, and an optional mapping from classification to Slack channel or Zendesk group if I want to route categories separately.
Additional information
What does this prompt do?
- Listens for new customer messages coming in through Heyy on WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, and Instagram.
- Classifies each conversation as support, billing, sales, feedback, or spam, and writes a one-line summary plus a suggested first reply.
- Opens a Zendesk ticket with the customer details, priority, and channel tags so the conversation lands in your helpdesk queue.
- Posts a Slack alert in your triage channel with the customer name, classification, urgency, the suggested reply, and a link to the new ticket.
What do I need to use this?
- A Heyy account with WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, or Instagram channels connected to your workspace.
- A Zendesk account where new tickets should be created.
- A Slack workspace and the name of the channel where triage alerts should land.
How can I customize it?
- Change the categories (for example, add VIP or refund) and pick which ones should skip ticket creation.
- Route different classifications to different Slack channels, or tag tickets with different Zendesk groups by category.
- Tune the suggested reply tone (formal versus casual), or turn the draft reply off entirely if your team prefers to write from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
Does the customer get an automatic reply on WhatsApp?
What happens to spam messages?
Does this work for Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger, not just WhatsApp?
Can different categories go to different Slack channels or Zendesk groups?
How quickly does a new message get triaged?
Related templates
Stop triaging WhatsApp messages by hand.
Connect Heyy, Zendesk, and Slack once, and every inbound customer message gets classified, ticketed, and announced in seconds.