Use this guide to diagnose why Fin is connected but not replying to Freshdesk tickets. Work through the checks below in order and stop at the first one that’s wrong. By the end you’ll have identified and fixed the cause.
Before you start
Answer these three questions first. They rule out most causes in under a minute:
Is it every ticket, or only some? If one channel works and another doesn’t, your connection is fine — the problem is in that channel’s setup.
Did it work before and then stop? Start with the Fin agent check below. A changed or removed seat is the most common cause.
Are replies slow rather than missing? Fin normally answers in seconds. Consistent delays of 20 minutes or more aren’t a settings problem — contact support.
1. Check your automation rule order
Go to Admin → Workflows → Automations → Ticket Creation. The gear icon above the rules list controls how rules run. Freshdesk defaults to Execute first matching rule — only the first rule whose conditions match will run, and everything below it is skipped.
If one of your own rules sits above Assign Fin and matches an incoming ticket, Fin never gets assigned and stays silent. You have two fixes:
Move Assign Fin to the top of the list
Switch the mode to Execute all matching rules
Tip: If you’re already on Execute all matching rules and Fin is still quiet, rule order isn’t the problem. Look for a later rule that reassigns the ticket away from Fin.
2. Check Fin’s rules are switched on
Fin creates its automation rules for you. Four should be active while Fin is live:
The new-ticket notification rule
The ticket-update rule
Assign Fin
Fin Failsafe
Note: One rule, When agent resolves a ticket, send email to ticket requester, is created inactive on purpose. It’s an optional replacement for your own resolution email, see Fin's Freshdesk tags and stopping automations firing early.
3. Check the Fin agent is still selected
Go to Settings → Integrations → Intercom and open your Fin deploy settings. Confirm that an agent is selected in the Fin agent field. If the field is blank, pause the connection, re-enable it, and select the agent again. Once saved, Fin should start responding to new tickets within a few minutes.
4. Check the API key’s group permissions
The API key used to connect Fin to Freshdesk must belong to an agent whose group membership covers every group your tickets land in. If a ticket arrives in a group the API key holder isn't a member of, Fin can't access it — and over time, repeated failures like this can stop Fin responding across the board.
To check and fix this:
In Freshdesk, go to Admin → Agents and open the agent whose API key is used for the Intercom integration.
Check the Groups tab and confirm the agent is a member of every group that receives tickets.
If any groups are missing, add the agent to those groups and save.
If you’re unsure which API key is in use, go to Settings → Integrations → Intercom in Freshdesk and check the connected agent listed there.
Note: Group permission gaps don’t always cause an immediate failure — they tend to build up quietly. If Fin worked before and stopped without any other changes, this is a common cause.
Two situations that look like silence but aren’t
Fin replied, but your customer didn’t get it. If you can see Fin’s reply in Fin but not in the Freshdesk ticket, this isn’t a settings problem. Contact support with the conversation ID and the Freshdesk ticket ID.
Fin answers the wrong thing, or nothing useful. Fin is given the ticket description, not the subject. The subject becomes the conversation title only. If your customers put the question in the subject and only detail in the body, Fin never sees the question — see What Fin can and can’t do on Freshdesk and Freshchat.
FAQs
I’ve checked everything above and Fin still isn’t replying. What next?
Contact support with the following: the Freshdesk ticket ID, the Fin conversation ID (if one was created), a screenshot of your automation rules, and confirmation of which rules are enabled. This gives the support team everything they need to investigate quickly.
Why does Fin reply for one channel but not another?
Each channel has its own automation setup. If Fin is working on one channel but not another, the issue is isolated to that channel’s configuration — work through the checks above for the affected channel.
What’s the difference between ‘Execute first matching rule’ and ‘Execute all matching rules’?
In Execute first matching rule mode, Freshdesk runs only the first automation rule that matches a new ticket and ignores the rest. In Execute all matching rules mode, every matching rule runs. If Fin’s Assign Fin rule isn’t first in the list, switching to Execute all matching rules ensures Fin always gets assigned — even if your own rules also match.
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