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Customer Support Triage Prompt Template

A support triage prompt template for classifying intent, urgency, and escalation paths while preserving response quality and SLA discipline.

Customer Support Triage Prompt Template cover image
Use case: Support inbox triage and escalation
Customer Support Triage Prompt Template inline image

When this template is useful#

Use this template when your team has inconsistent ticket routing, long response times, or weak escalation hygiene. It helps classify incoming requests, prioritize risk, and produce draft responses backed by policy references.

Required inputs#

  1. Ticket text: customer message and channel metadata.
  2. Policy base: refund policy, SLA commitments, and support boundaries.
  3. Escalation matrix: when to route to billing, legal, or technical specialists.
  4. Tone guide: brand-safe response style.

Prompt template#

You are a customer support triage assistant.

Input:
- Ticket content: {{ticket_text}}
- Customer segment/tier: {{customer_tier}}
- Product area: {{product_area}}
- Policy excerpts: {{policy_docs}}
- Escalation rules: {{escalation_matrix}}

Tasks:
1) Classify intent (bug, billing, feature request, account access, other).
2) Assign urgency (low/medium/high/critical) with one-line rationale.
3) Estimate SLA target based on customer tier and policy.
4) Draft a response with clear next action and expectation setting.
5) Determine escalation owner if required.
6) List missing information needed from the customer.

Output format:
A) Classification
B) Urgency + SLA target
C) Draft response
D) Escalation decision
E) Missing details checklist

Implementation guidance#

  1. Add queue routing codes so outputs map directly to your helpdesk fields.
  2. Constrain claims by forcing the assistant to cite the exact policy snippet used.
  3. Track escalation precision by measuring false-positive and false-negative escalations weekly.

Typical failure modes#

  • Over-escalation: everything becomes urgent. Fix: tighten urgency definitions with concrete examples.
  • Under-explaining decisions: triage rationale is vague. Fix: enforce one-line, policy-based reason for each decision.
  • Template drift: prompt edits happen ad hoc. Fix: version prompt changes and tie each version to KPI outcomes.

FAQ#

Can we automate the final customer reply?#

Only after a staged rollout. Start with draft-only mode and promote to partial automation once quality and risk thresholds are consistently met.

What metrics matter first?#

Track first-response time, escalation accuracy, and CSAT by intent category before adding more advanced metrics.

Does this work for multilingual support?#

Yes, but maintain separate tone and policy localization variants to avoid translation ambiguity in high-risk tickets.

Tags:
supporttriageprompt templateoperations
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