Auto-close stale Gorgias tickets using Rules and timed Macros

Prerequisites

Overview

Gorgias Rules can trigger actions based on ticket age and status. By combining a timed Rule with a closing Macro, you can automatically send a follow-up message to the customer and close the ticket if they haven't replied within your chosen window. This keeps your queue clean without any external tools.

Step 1: Create a closing Macro

Go to Macros in the left sidebar → Add macro.

Macro name: Auto-close: Follow-up

Message body:

Hi {{ticket.requester.firstname}},
 
Just checking in — did our previous reply resolve your question? If you still need help, simply reply to this message and we'll pick things right back up.
 
If we don't hear from you, we'll close this ticket in the next 24 hours to keep things tidy. You can always open a new conversation if something comes up later.
 
Best,
{{ticket.assignee.firstname | default: "The Support Team"}}

Set the Macro type to Public reply so the customer sees it.

Step 2: Create a Rule for the follow-up message

Go to Settings → Automation → Rules → Add rule.

Rule name: Auto-close: Send follow-up after 48h

When: Ticket status updated (or on a scheduled cadence if your plan supports it)

Conditions (ALL must match):

• Ticket status is pending (agent has replied, waiting on customer)
• Last message sender is Agent (confirms the customer hasn't responded)
• Hours since last update is greater than 48
• Ticket does not have tag vip
• Ticket does not have tag escalated
• Ticket does not have tag auto-close-sent

Actions:

• Apply macro: Auto-close: Follow-up
• Add tag: auto-close-sent

The auto-close-sent tag prevents the Rule from firing a second time on the same ticket.

Step 3: Create a Rule to close after the follow-up

Create a second Rule that closes the ticket if the customer still hasn't replied after the follow-up.

Rule name: Auto-close: Close after follow-up

When: Ticket status updated

Conditions (ALL must match):

• Ticket has tag auto-close-sent
• Last message sender is Agent
• Hours since last update is greater than 24
• Ticket status is pending

Actions:

• Set ticket status: closed
• Add tag: auto-closed
• Remove tag: auto-close-sent

Step 4: Handle reopened tickets

When a customer replies to an auto-closed ticket, Gorgias automatically reopens it. Create one more Rule to flag these:

Rule name: Auto-close: Flag reopened

When: Ticket created (re-opened counts as a status change)

Conditions:

• Ticket has tag auto-closed
• Ticket status is open

Actions:

• Add tag: reopened
• Remove tag: auto-closed

This makes it easy to create a View for reopened tickets and track whether your auto-close timing is too aggressive.

Step 5: Create monitoring Views

Set up two Views for ongoing quality control:

View 1: Auto-close pending

• Filters: Tag is auto-close-sent, Status is pending
• Purpose: See which tickets have received the follow-up and are waiting to be closed

View 2: Reopened after auto-close

• Filters: Tag is reopened
• Purpose: Track how many customers come back after auto-close — if this number is high, increase your wait time

Step 6: Exclude specific ticket types

Add exclusion conditions to both auto-close Rules for tickets that should never be auto-closed:

• Tickets tagged vip, escalated, or priority
• Tickets assigned to specific teams (e.g., billing, legal)
• Tickets with a specific channel (e.g., phone — those often need follow-up calls)

Review your exclusion list monthly as your support workflow evolves.

Cost

Macros and Rules are included in all Gorgias paid plans at no additional cost.