Catch customer frustration before it becomes a crisis. This workflow monitors your Intercom conversations in real-time, uses AI to detect negative sentiment and escalation signals, and alerts your team instantly so managers can intervene before customers churn.
Receive customer message from Intercom
The workflow triggers when a customer sends a message in Intercom. It captures the message content along with conversation history, customer attributes, and any previous interactions to provide full context for sentiment analysis.
Analyze sentiment and frustration signals with OpenAI
Using OpenAI, the workflow analyzes the message for frustration indicators including negative language, repeated complaints, escalation requests, or threatening to cancel or leave negative reviews. The AI considers the full conversation context, not just the latest message.
Assess escalation priority and recommended action
Based on sentiment analysis, the workflow classifies the escalation risk level and recommends specific actions. This might range from flagging for monitoring to immediate manager intervention, depending on the severity and customer value.
Send escalation alert to Slack
When escalation risk is detected, an alert is sent to Slack with the customer details, conversation summary, sentiment analysis, and a direct link to the Intercom conversation. High-priority escalations can page on-call managers immediately.
Why automate escalation detection with AI?
Frustrated customers don't always explicitly ask for a manager. By the time they do, they're often already decided on leaving. AI-powered sentiment analysis catches frustration signals early, giving you a chance to turn the situation around.
Intervene before customers churn
Studies show that customers who experience a service recovery often become more loyal than those who never had an issue. But you need to catch the problem while there's still time to fix it.
Protect your team from difficult situations
Frontline agents shouldn't have to handle every angry customer alone. Automated escalation ensures managers are looped in when conversations become challenging, supporting your team and improving outcomes.
Maintain service quality at scale
As conversation volume grows, it becomes impossible for managers to monitor every chat. AI provides consistent monitoring across all conversations, ensuring no frustrated customer slips through unnoticed.
How to set up AI-powered escalation alerts
Setting up this Intercom monitoring workflow takes about 15 minutes. You'll configure sentiment thresholds, escalation rules, and notification routing.
What you need to get started
- Intercom account with conversation access
- OpenAI API key for sentiment analysis
- Slack workspace for escalation alerts
- Defined escalation procedures and contacts
Configuring frustration detection
- Define keywords and phrases that indicate frustration
- Set thresholds for sentiment scores that trigger alerts
- Configure special handling for VIP or high-value customers
- Specify what conversation patterns indicate escalation risk
Setting up alert routing
- Create separate channels for different severity levels
- Configure manager notifications for high-priority escalations
- Set up on-call rotations for after-hours coverage
- Define response SLAs for different escalation levels
Frequently asked questions about AI escalation detection
Won't this create too many false positive alerts?
You can tune sentiment thresholds to match your tolerance. Start conservative and adjust based on the alerts you receive. Most teams find a balance that catches real issues without alert fatigue.
Can the AI detect sarcasm or subtle frustration?
Modern AI models are quite good at detecting subtle sentiment signals including sarcasm, passive aggression, and understated frustration. The key is analyzing full conversation context rather than individual messages.
Does this work with Zendesk Chat or other platforms?
Yes, you can adapt this workflow for any messaging platform with API access. The AI sentiment analysis works with any text conversation.
What if our agents handle frustration well and don't need escalation?
You can configure the workflow to only alert on severe cases or when specific triggers occur (like cancellation requests). The goal is to support your team, not override their judgment on routine situations.