Alert your team in Slack when a VIP customer opens a Gorgias ticket using native Rules

Prerequisites

Why Gorgias Rules?

Gorgias Rules are the fastest way to alert Slack on VIP tickets. Everything runs natively — no external tools, no API calls, no LLM costs. Rules fire the moment a ticket is created and send an HTTP POST to your Slack Incoming Webhook within seconds. Setup takes under 15 minutes.

The trade-off is VIP detection. Rules can only check customer tags — they cannot dynamically calculate LTV or look up order count from Shopify at alert time. You must pre-tag VIP customers manually or via bulk import. If you want dynamic VIP detection based on spend thresholds, use the n8n or Claude Code approaches.

How it works

• Customer tags identify VIPs — applied manually, via bulk import, or synced from your CRM
• Rule fires when a ticket is created by a customer tagged vip, triggering an HTTP POST to Slack
• Slack Block Kit payload includes customer name, ticket subject, message preview, and a direct link to Gorgias
• Additional actions apply a vip-escalation tag, assign to the Senior Support team, and set priority to Urgent

Overview

Gorgias Rules can fire an HTTP action when a ticket is created — this is what powers the native Slack integration. You'll tag VIP customers in Gorgias, then create a Rule that fires whenever a tagged customer opens a ticket, sending a formatted message to your Slack escalation channel.

Step 1: Create a Slack Incoming Webhook

In Slack:

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps → your app (or create a new one)
2. Go to Incoming Webhooks → toggle on → Add New Webhook to Workspace
3. Choose your escalation channel (e.g., #support-vip)
4. Copy the webhook URL — it looks like https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../...

Step 2: Tag VIP customers in Gorgias

Gorgias lets you apply tags directly to customer profiles (not just tickets). Tag your high-value customers with vip.

Option A: Manual tagging Open a customer profile → Tags → Add vip. Do this for your top customers during setup, then maintain it as new VIPs emerge.

Option B: Bulk import Export your customer list from Shopify or your CRM, filter by LTV threshold, and bulk-import tags via the Gorgias CSV import (Settings → Import/Export).

Step 3: Create the escalation Rule

Go to Settings → Automation → Rules → Add rule.

Rule name: VIP Customer — Slack Escalation

When: Ticket is created

Conditions (ALL match):

• Customer tag is: vip

Actions:

• Add tag: vip-escalation
• Assign to team: Senior Support (or your best-available agent team)
• Send HTTP request (see Step 4)

Step 4: Configure the HTTP action

In the Rule's action list, add a Send HTTP request action:

• URL: Your Slack Incoming Webhook URL
• Method: POST
• Content-Type: application/json
• Body:

{
  "text": "🚨 *VIP Customer Ticket*",
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "header",
      "text": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "🚨 VIP Customer — New Support Ticket"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "section",
      "fields": [
        {
          "type": "mrkdwn",
          "text": "*Customer*\n{{ticket.requester.name}}"
        },
        {
          "type": "mrkdwn",
          "text": "*Subject*\n{{ticket.subject}}"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "section",
      "text": {
        "type": "mrkdwn",
        "text": "*Message*\n{{ticket.last_message.body_text | truncate: 300}}"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "actions",
      "elements": [
        {
          "type": "button",
          "text": { "type": "plain_text", "text": "View in Gorgias" },
          "url": "https://your-store.gorgias.com/app/ticket/{{ticket.id}}",
          "style": "primary"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Replace your-store with your Gorgias subdomain.

Step 5: Test the Rule

1. Find a customer tagged vip (or temporarily add vip to a test customer)
2. Create a test ticket from that customer
3. Check your Slack channel — the alert should appear within seconds
4. Click the "View in Gorgias" button to verify the link resolves correctly

Step 6: Set ticket priority

Add one more action to the Rule:

• Set priority: Urgent

This moves the ticket to the top of your agents' queues regardless of arrival time.

Common questions

How do I bulk-tag existing VIP customers?

Export your customer list from Shopify (or your CRM), filter by LTV threshold (e.g., $500+), and use the Gorgias CSV import (Settings > Import/Export) to apply the vip tag. For ongoing maintenance, periodically re-export and update tags as new customers cross your threshold.

Which Liquid variables work in Gorgias HTTP actions?

The most reliable ones are {{ticket.id}}, {{ticket.subject}}, {{ticket.requester.name}}, and {{ticket.requester.email}}. Variables like {{ticket.last_message.body_text}} may not resolve in HTTP request bodies. Always test your Rule on a real VIP ticket before relying on it.

Can I differentiate between VIP tiers in the Slack alert?

Not directly with a single Rule. Create separate Rules for different VIP tiers — e.g., vip-gold and vip-silver customer tags — each posting to a different Slack channel or with a different emoji header. This gives your team at-a-glance tier visibility.

Cost

Gorgias Rules and HTTP integrations are included on all paid plans. No additional cost.