Note: SLA Workflow triggers are available on the Expert plan and are currently in beta. To turn them on for your workspace, contact Intercom Support.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) set the response and resolution times your team commits to. With SLA Workflow triggers, you can run a Workflow automatically based on those targets — either a set time before a target is due to breach, or when it breaches — so your team can act before a customer is affected.
There are two triggers, both found under During a conversation triggers in the Workflow builder:
Before SLA breach — runs a chosen amount of time before an SLA target is due to breach.
When SLA breaches — runs the moment an SLA target is missed.
SLA targets you can trigger on
Both triggers work with any of the four SLA targets your workspace measures:
First Response Time — time to the first reply.
Next Response Time — time to each follow-up reply.
Resolution Time — time to resolve the conversation.
Time to Close — time to close the conversation.
The trigger can only fire on targets your SLA policy actually defines.
Set up a “Before SLA breach” Workflow
Go to Automation → Workflows and create a new Workflow.
For the trigger, choose the During a conversation category, then select Before SLA breach.
Choose the SLA target to watch (for example, First Response Time).
Set the lead time — how long before the breach the Workflow should run (for example, 10 minutes).
Add the actions you want to run — assign the conversation, notify a teammate or Slack channel, add a tag, leave a note, and so on.
Set the Workflow live.
The Workflow now runs the chosen lead time before that target is due to breach, on every conversation that matches.
Set up a “When SLA breaches” Workflow
Go to Automation → Workflows and create a new Workflow.
For the trigger, choose the During a conversation category, then select When SLA breaches.
Choose the SLA target to watch.
Add the actions you want to run when the target is missed.
Set the Workflow live.
There’s no lead time for this trigger — the breach moment is the moment it runs.
Set the lead time shorter than the SLA target
For the Before SLA breach trigger, the lead time must be shorter than the SLA target’s duration, or the Workflow won’t run.
If the lead time is the same as (or longer than) the SLA target, the conversation is already due to breach the instant the SLA starts — so there’s no “before” window for the Workflow to run in.
SLA target | Lead time | Result |
5 minutes | 5 minutes | Won’t run |
10 minutes | 5 minutes | Runs about 5 minutes in |
15 minutes | 10 minutes | Runs about 5 minutes in |
Tip: Leave at least a minute or two between your lead time and the SLA target.
Timing
Intercom checks SLAs about once a minute, so a Workflow runs within roughly a minute of the target time, rather than to the exact second.
A Workflow runs while the conversation is still open and the SLA is still active. If a teammate replies, snoozes, or closes the conversation before the trigger point, the Workflow doesn’t run.
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