Use this article to set up a Workflow that detects when a teammate has stopped replying to a conversation and automatically sends a holding message, reassigns the conversation to another inbox, and tags it for follow-up. This is for teammates and workspace admins on any Intercom plan that includes Workflows.
Check out the video walkthrough below for an overview of how to set up this Workflow.
Step 1: Start a new workflow
Navigate to the Workflow section of your workspace here.
Click the + New Workflow button, typically located in the top-right corner of the screen.
From the options presented, choose to build your Workflow from scratch.
Step 2: Select your trigger
Choose the trigger from Internal process: If teammate has been unresponsive. The Internal process category contains triggers that fire based on teammate or team activity inside the Inbox, rather than on customer-facing events.
This Trigger activates the Workflow every time a teammate stops replying, not just the first time.
Step 3: Configure trigger rules
Configure the following trigger rules to control when the Workflow fires:
Inactivity Timer: The Inactivity Timer is the amount of time that must pass without a teammate reply before the Workflow fires — for example, 4 hours or 1 day. The timer resets each time the assigned teammate sends a reply. Set this to match your team's expected response time.
Audience: Add filters for the conversations if you'd only like the workflow to trigger for certain conversations
This ensures the Workflow only runs if the conversation matches the filters.
Channels: Select which Inbound channels (e.g., Messenger, Email, WhatsApp) you want this Workflow to apply to.
Step 4: Build the Workflow
You are now in the auto reassign Workflow builder. Click the + Add Step button to add actions. Use the following steps to build the recommended reassignment sequence:
Build the reassignment sequence using these steps:
1. Add a Message step to send a holding message to the customer — for example: "Thank you for your patience. We'll get back to you as soon as possible." Alternatively, add the Show expected reply time step, which sends an automated message with your office hours. If you want the assigned teammate to keep the conversation and reply when back online, you can end the Workflow here.
2. Add a Mark as priority action and a Tag conversation action — for example, tag it 'delayed response'. These make the conversation easier to identify and triage in the Inbox (the shared view where teammates manage and respond to conversations).
3. Add an Assign conversation action to route the conversation to a different inbox — for example, a general support inbox or a team inbox. An inbox is a shared queue in Intercom where conversations are grouped for a specific team or purpose.
Add an Assign conversation action to route the conversation to your chosen inbox.
Note: The 'If teammate has been unresponsive' trigger fires based on the assigned teammate's inactivity and is not affected by Fin changing the conversation state. If no teammate is available in the target inbox when the Workflow fires, the conversation will appear unassigned within that inbox until a teammate picks it up.
Step 5: Set the workflow live
Your auto reassign Workflow is now complete: when a teammate is unresponsive for the duration you set, it will send a holding message, mark the conversation as priority, tag it, and reassign it to your chosen inbox. You will see an overview of the trigger and the configured actions.
To activate it, simply click the Set it live button.
Your Workflow is now active. To verify it is working, find a conversation assigned to a teammate and wait for the Inactivity Timer duration you configured — the holding message should appear and the conversation should move to the target inbox. You can also check the Sent tab on the Workflow to see every conversation it has fired in.
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