Canned Responses — Reusable Reply Management
Create, organize, and manage reusable responses for your team. Learn about response scopes, shortcuts, auto-tagging, and best practices for building a scalable response library.
What are Canned Responses?
Canned Responses (also known as Smart Responses) are pre-written templates that your team can quickly insert into conversations. Instead of typing the same message repeatedly, agents can use shortcuts like #welcome to instantly insert a professional, consistent response.
- 70% faster responses — reduce typing time for common inquiries
- Consistency — ensure team delivers uniform messaging
- Team collaboration — share responses across groups and departments
- Auto-tagging — automatically apply tags when responses are used
- Flexible access — control who can use each response
- Easy management — search, filter, and organize responses
The Canned Responses List
Access all your canned responses at Automations → Canned Responses. This management interface lets you view, search, filter, and organize all responses in one place.
Response Table Columns
Searching & Filtering
Search Box
Type to search responses by title, content, or shortcut name. Search is case-insensitive and shows results in real-time. Example: Type "welcome" to find all responses with that word in title or content.
Scope Filter
Filter by response scope (Global, Group, or Private) to see only the responses you need.
Group Filter
Filter by specific group to see only responses available to that team. Useful when managing group-specific responses.
Creating Responses
Create new responses to add to your team's library. Follow these steps to set up a professional canned response.
Click Create Response
Click the "Create Response" button in the top-right corner of the Canned Responses page. A modal window will open with the response creation form.
Fill in Response Details
Required Fields
- Title: A descriptive name for the response
- Content: The full message text that will be inserted
Optional Fields
- Shortcut: A short trigger word (e.g., "welcome" → type #welcome in chat)
- Auto Tags: Tags automatically added to conversations when this response is used
Select Response Scope
The Scope determines who has access to this response:
Global
Accessible by all team members. Best for common responses.
Group
Accessible only by members of selected groups. Requires selecting groups below.
Private
Accessible only by you. Perfect for personal templates.
Note: If you select "Group" scope, a Groups field will appear below where you must select at least one group.
Save the Response
Click the "Create Response" button to save. The response will appear in your main list immediately.
Understanding Scopes
The scope system controls who can access and use each canned response. Choose the right scope for your use case.
Global Scope
Accessible by every team member. When a team member types # in chat, all global responses appear in the suggestions.
Best used for:
- •Company greetings and welcome messages
- •Standard policies and procedures
- •Contact information and business hours
- •Common FAQs applicable to all teams
Group Scope
Accessible only by members of the selected groups. Team members see both global and their group-specific responses.
Best used for:
- •Technical support team responses
- •Billing/accounts department templates
- •Sales team specific pitches
- •Department-specific procedures
Private Scope
Accessible only by you, the response creator. Other team members cannot see or access your private responses.
Best used for:
- •Personal response templates
- •Responses being tested before sharing
- •Individual agent preferences
- •Experimental or draft responses
Scope + Shortcut Visibility: A user sees a response in shortcut suggestions only if: (1) they have access to that scope (Global, their Group, or their Private), AND (2) the response has a shortcut set. Without a shortcut, responses can only be used by manually browsing the response library.
Editing & Deleting Responses
Modify or remove responses from your library as your team's needs evolve.
Editing a Response
Click the action menu
Click the three dots (•••) at the end of any response row
Select "Edit"
A modal opens with all current response details pre-filled
Modify any field
You can change title, content, shortcut, scope, groups, or auto-tags. All validations apply (same as creation).
Click "Edit Response"
Save your changes. The updated response is immediately available in chat.
Deleting a Response
Click the action menu
Click the three dots (•••) at the end of any response row
Select "Delete"
A confirmation dialog appears asking you to confirm the deletion
Click "OK" to confirm
The response is permanently removed. This action cannot be undone.
Warning: Deleted responses cannot be recovered. Consider archiving (creating a private copy) instead of deleting if you might need it again.
Auto-Tagging
Automatically apply tags to conversations when team members use specific responses. This helps you track which responses are being used and categorize conversations.
How Auto-Tags Work
User selects the response in chat
When a team member uses your response, the message is inserted into the conversation
Tags are applied automatically
Any tags you assigned to that response are automatically added to the conversation
Track response usage
View conversations with specific tags to see which responses were used most frequently
Example Use Case
Create a response titled "Billing Inquiry" with the shortcut billing, and assign it the "billing" and "inquiry" auto-tags.
When an agent types #billing in a customer conversation and selects this response, the tags "billing" and "inquiry" are automatically added to that conversation. Later, you can filter conversations by "billing" tag to see all customer billing questions handled by your team.
Best Practices
Use Clear, Descriptive Titles
Give responses titles that immediately tell team members what the response is for. Good examples: "Order Status Inquiry", "Refund Request - Approved". Avoid generic names like "Response 1" or "Template".
Design Memorable Shortcuts
Use 3-8 characters, use common words ("welcome", "thanks", "hours", "contact", "refund"), use consistent prefixes for related responses ("billing_faq", "billing_contact"), avoid numbers and special characters when possible.
Keep Content Professional & Concise
Start with a greeting or acknowledgment, state the key information clearly, include next steps or call-to-action when appropriate, keep it conversational, proofread before saving.
Organize by Team & Scope
Start with a small set of Global responses (5-10) for common scenarios, create Group-scoped responses for team-specific needs, use Private scope for experimental or personal templates, gradually expand as you see patterns.
Leverage Auto-Tags for Insights
Create tags for response categories ("billing", "technical", "sales"), assign tags to responses based on the problem they solve, periodically review tagged conversations to see usage patterns.
Regular Maintenance
Monthly: Review new responses. Quarterly: Identify and merge duplicates, remove outdated responses. Annually: Audit all responses for tone and brand consistency.
Troubleshooting
Shortcut not appearing in chat suggestions
- Does the response have a shortcut? If "Shortcut" column shows "None", the response won't appear in suggestions. Edit it to add a shortcut.
- Do you have access? Check the Scope — if it's Group-scoped, verify you're in one of the assigned groups.
- Did you type # correctly? In the chat message input, type #shortcutname (without spaces).
- Is there a typo? Verify the exact shortcut spelling in the response library. Shortcuts are case-insensitive.
- Try refreshing: Refresh your browser or clear your cache if a recently created response isn't showing up.
Can't create a Group-scoped response
- You must select at least one group for Group-scoped responses. The form won't let you save without selecting groups.
- No groups available? Navigate to Team → Groups to create team groups first.
- Can't see your group? You may not have permission to manage that group. Contact your admin.
Auto-tags not being applied to conversations
- Response has auto-tags assigned? Open the response's edit modal and check the "Auto Tags" field.
- Response actually used? Auto-tags only apply if the response is selected and sent. Typing the shortcut but not selecting it won't apply tags.