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Helpdesk escalation lets you automatically create support tickets from reviews that match certain conditions. When a review needs more than a public reply, AppReply sends it to your connected helpdesk so your support team can follow up directly.

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Supported helpdesk providers

Zendesk

OAuth connection. Requires your Zendesk subdomain.

Intercom

OAuth connection. Requires a default requester email.
Connect your helpdesk provider in Settings > Integrations before creating escalation rules.

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Setting up an escalation rule

1

Connect your helpdesk

Go to Settings > Integrations and connect your Zendesk or Intercom account.
2

Create an escalation rule

Go to Automations and create a new escalation rule. This works alongside your auto-reply rules but creates a support ticket instead of (or in addition to) posting a response.
3

Set conditions

Define which reviews trigger escalation. You can use the same conditions as auto-reply triggers: rating, keywords, language, and review length.Common examples:
  • Rating is less than 3 stars
  • Contains keywords like “refund”, “cancel”, or “broken”
  • Review is longer than 200 characters (detailed complaints)
4

Configure ticket details

Set the ticket subject, priority, and tags. The subject can include template variables that pull in review metadata.
5

Set a cooldown period

Choose a cooldown in hours to prevent duplicate tickets for the same reviewer.

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Ticket details

Each escalated ticket includes the full review text and metadata so your support team has context without switching tools.

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Subject templates

The ticket subject can use template variables to include review details. This helps your support team triage tickets at a glance.

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Priority levels

Priority maps to your helpdesk’s native priority system. Set higher priority for low-star reviews or reviews containing urgent keywords, and lower priority for general feedback.

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Tags

Add tags to escalated tickets to help your support team categorize and route them. For example, tag tickets by review rating, platform, or topic.

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Cooldown

The cooldown period prevents creating multiple tickets for the same reviewer within a set time window. If a user updates their review during the cooldown period, no new ticket is created.
Start with a cooldown of 24 to 48 hours. This covers most cases where a user edits their review shortly after posting, while still catching genuinely new complaints later.

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Combining escalation with auto-replies

Escalation rules and auto-reply rules can work together. For example, you might auto-reply to a 1-star review with an empathetic response while simultaneously creating a Zendesk ticket for your support team to investigate. This gives the reviewer an immediate public acknowledgment and ensures your team follows up privately.
Make sure your support team knows that escalated tickets come from app reviews. The user may not have provided an email address, so replies through the helpdesk may not reach them directly.

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Next steps

Triggers

Learn more about the conditions you can use to target specific reviews

Actions

Configure the response methods for your auto-reply automations