Macro Planning Worksheet template.

What's inside — the exact file

This is the complete template, not a sample. The rows are worked examples — replace them with your data (and delete them before any platform import).

What this template is for

Macros are canned responses with superpowers — they can set fields, add tags, and route tickets while replying. But most macro libraries are either empty or a graveyard of 200 unused variants. This worksheet plans a deliberate starter set: six macros every support team ends up needing, drafted, with the ownership columns that keep the library current.

The pre-written drafts (password reset, refund request, bug acknowledgment, feature request, angry-customer de-escalation, and closing an unresponsive ticket) are honest starting text — rewrite them in your brand voice, but keep the discipline: every macro has a named situation, an owner, and a review date.

How to use it, step by step

1. Mine your sent tickets for repetition. Ask each agent for the three replies they type most. Cross-reference with your top ticket drivers — the overlap is your macro backlog, in priority order.
2. Draft in your actual voice. Rewrite our sample text the way your best agent writes. A macro that sounds like a macro invites the customer to feel processed — the goal is your best reply, every time, faster.
3. Attach actions, not just text. The best macros also set the form fields, add the tag, and set the status. If agents still do manual bookkeeping after firing a macro, the macro is half-built.
4. Assign owners and review dates. Product changes, policies change, links die. The owner and review_date columns are what separate a living library from a graveyard.
5. Build in Zendesk and organize with categories. Create them in Admin Center, using :: in names (e.g. Billing::Refund request) so they nest into scannable categories in the agent workspace.
6. Measure usage quarterly and prune. Zendesk reports macro usage — anything unused for a quarter gets fixed or killed, same discipline as the trigger audit.

What each column means

Common mistakes to avoid

• Shipping macros nobody rewrote — customers can smell template text, especially in de-escalation situations where it does active damage.
• Macros that only insert text and skip the field-setting actions, leaving the bookkeeping manual and inconsistent.
• No categories — a flat list of 40 macros is slower than typing, which is why agents stop using them.
• Building an angry-customer macro that apologizes generically instead of following your actual escalation and compensation policy.

Questions, answered

Macros vs. triggers — which automates replies?

Macros are agent-invoked: a human chooses to fire one. Triggers are event-driven and automatic. Auto-acknowledgments belong to triggers; considered responses belong to macros. Confusing the two is how customers get robotic replies to nuanced questions.

How many macros should we launch with?

Six to twelve. Fewer than that and agents don't build the habit; more and the library is unscannable before anyone trusts it. Grow it from ticket data, not brainstorms.

Can macros be personal instead of shared?

Yes — agents can build personal macros. Encourage it, but harvest the good ones: when an agent's personal macro spreads by word of mouth, that's your signal to promote it to the shared library with an owner.

This is a Market Disrupt worksheet, not a vendor file. Import-format templates follow each platform's documented layout as of July 2026 — platforms evolve, so validate against current documentation before a large import.