Macros in Zoho Desk let support teams bundle repetitive ticket actions into a single, on-demand operation — saving time and ensuring consistent responses across every interaction.
What is it
Macros in Zoho Desk are predefined sets of actions that agents can apply to support tickets with a single click. These action sets can include sending emails, creating tasks, and updating ticket fields to specified values. Rather than manually performing the same sequence of steps on every similar ticket, agents invoke a macro and let Desk execute all the steps at once. This makes it straightforward to enforce consistent workflows even when multiple teams and departments are handling a high volume of tickets daily.[2]
When to use it
- Acknowledging a new ticket type — when a specific category of request always requires the same opening email and a status field update, a macro ensures neither step is skipped.[2]
- Escalating tickets — when a ticket meets escalation criteria, a macro can simultaneously reassign the ticket, update its priority field, and notify the relevant team via email in one action.[2]
- Closing resolved tickets — agents can apply a macro that marks a ticket as closed, sends a customer satisfaction follow-up email, and logs a closing task, all at once.[2]
- Onboarding new agents — standardised macros give new team members a reliable way to handle common ticket types correctly from day one, reducing training overhead.[2]
- Handling high-volume repetitive requests — organisations processing large numbers of similar tickets (billing queries, password resets, shipping updates) can apply macros to process them consistently and quickly.[2]
- Cross-department consistency — when multiple departments share a Desk instance, shared macros ensure that the same actions are taken regardless of which team handles a ticket.[2]
How to access it
Macros in Zoho Desk are managed under the Setup area of your Desk account. Navigate to Setup → Automation → Macros to create, edit, or delete macros. When building a macro, you define one or more actions — such as sending an email template, creating a task, or updating a ticket field — that will execute in sequence when the macro is triggered. To apply a macro to an open ticket, agents open the ticket detail view and select the desired macro from the Macros option available within the ticket actions panel. Macros can be applied individually to a single ticket or, depending on your plan and configuration, to multiple tickets at once from a list view.[2]
Related features
- Assignment Rules — automatically route incoming tickets to the right agent or team before a macro is ever needed, complementing macro-based processing for tickets that do require manual action.[2]
- Workflows — time- or event-triggered automation that runs without agent intervention, useful for actions that should fire automatically rather than on demand like macros.[2]
- Blueprints — structured, stage-by-stage process automation for tickets that require a defined sequence of approvals or handoffs, going beyond the single-step execution of a macro.[2]
- SLA Policies — define response and resolution time targets that macros can help agents meet by accelerating the execution of required ticket actions.[2]
[2]: Zoho Desk Knowledge Base — Macros (help.zoho.com)