Workflow: How to block the email channel

In Zendesk, you can’t stop requests from being sent by email. However, you can use a workaround to close email tickets and direct customers to your help center.

Follow the workflow in this article to create a trigger to close email tickets and send an automated response that redirects customers to your help center. This article explains how to modify default settings to facilitate this workflow. This change impacts only customer emails. Agents can still use their email and the agent interface to communicate.

This workflow includes the steps below:

Option 1: Set up auto-replies

Video guide

Step 1: Create a trigger

Step 2: Deactivate your default triggers and ticket CCs

Option 2: Block incoming emails

Option 1: Set up auto-replies

Video guide

Watch the video below for a visual guide on how to accomplish this workflow.

Step 1: Create a trigger

Create a trigger that closes out the ticket, tags it, and sends back an automated response to direct the user to your help center.

To create the trigger

Create a new trigger

Under Meet ALL of the following conditions, add the below conditions:

Object > Ticket > Ticket | Is | Created

Object > Ticket > Channel | Is | Email

In Actions, add:

Other > Notify by > User email | Object > Ticket > (requester)
Email subject | Add the subject of the notification
Email body | Rich text | Add the notification message

Thanks for your email.
Please make sure to contact us through our help center.

Object > Ticket > Add tags | email_ticket

Object > Ticket > Status category | Closed

Click Create trigger

Note: In accounts with custom ticket statuses deactivated, use the Ticket > Status condition instead of Ticket > Status category.

Now, when a customer sends an email, Support responds with an automated email asking the user to create a ticket in your help center. The trigger closes the ticket automatically and applies a tag. This tag lets you track email tickets in your reports.

Step 2: Deactivate default triggers and ticket CCs

Deactivate the default triggers that send out emails to your customers and ticket CCs to prevent users from responding through email

Deactivate CCs on tickets

Option 2: Use the blocklist feature

You can reject emails from a particular email domain. Instead of creating triggers, use your blocklist and add the domains you want to reject, with this format: reject:domain.com. Add multiple entries separated with a space.

Otherwise, you can reject all emails, aside from those coming from your company domain:

Add your company email domain to the Allowlist of your account, for example mycompany.com

In the Blocklist, add a wildcard * sign