Setting up Zendesk Chat in Zendesk Support

This article details how to install and configure Zendesk Chat-Support integration from Zendesk Support. For information about setting up Chat-Support integration from Zendesk Chat, see Setting up Zendesk Support from Zendesk Chat.

This article contains the following sections:

• Installing Zendesk Chat in Zendesk Support
• Setting up user chat permissions
• Navigating Zendesk Chat in Support
• Configuring ticket creation options
• Assigning Support tickets based on the agent who handled a chat
• Making Zendesk Chat available to end-users

Installing Zendesk Chat in Zendesk Support

In order to set up Zendesk Chat from within Zendesk Support, you must be a Support administrator.

To set up Zendesk Chat if you don't have a Chat account

1. Click Admin() , then select Channels > Chat or select Chat from the product tray.
2. Click Activate Chat trial.
3. Your Zendesk Chat account is created and opens automatically.
4. In the welcome window that appears, follow the introductory slides until you are prompted to fill in your Display name and other details, then click Next.
5. The next slide will show you your widget code which you can use to embed Chat support on your website - You can either copy and paste it into your site code now, or leave it for later and click 'Go to Visitor List' to open the dashboard.

To serve chats you can:

• Open your Chat dashboard from the product tray, or Admin > Channels > Chat, or
• Download the Zendesk Chat app from the Zendesk Marketplace allowing you to handle chats from a window within the Support agent interface

Note: If you have a Phase 4 Chat-only account, you will need to create a Support account from within the Chat dashboard itself, in order to link the two. You cannot link a Phase 4 Chat-only account to an existing Support account. If you are unsure of what kind of Chat account you have check out our article here.

Setting up agents' chat permissions

Note: This section applies only if you set up Chat by creating an account from within Zendesk Support. It does not apply if you set up the integration by linking an existing Chat account.

When you create a Chat account from within Support, you can manage chat permissions from agents' profiles. The number of agents you can give chat permissions to depends on your Chat subscription. You can purchase Chat licenses for all or just some of your Zendesk Support agents. You can also have Chat agents who aren't agents in Zendesk (see To make someone a chat-only agent, below).

Note: For integrated Chat accounts, Zendesk Chat roles are equivalent to Zendesk Support roles. This means your Zendesk Support administrators and the account owner will become Zendesk Chat administrators and the account owner. This does not apply to stand-alone Chat accounts.

To turn chat permissions on or off for an agent

1. Open the user's profile.
2. Toggle the Zendesk Chat field to On or Off.
   Note: :You can only turn chat permissions on for as many agents as your Chat subscription allows. To view details about how many Chat agents you have available, click Admin(), then select Channels > Chat.
3. To change the agent's alias that appears Chat, edit the Chat Namefield.

Chat-only agents have full agent access to Chat but only have limited access to Support. Chat-only agents are not available to customers using Zendesk Suite.

Chat-only agents can:

• Create and view tickets
• Add private comments to tickets

Chat-only agents cannot:

• Edit tickets
• Be made the assignee on a ticket
• View reports

To make someone a chat-only agent

• Open the user's profile.
• Under Role, select Chat-only Agent.

  

Navigating Zendesk Chat in Support

After you set up Chat-Support integration, the Chat icon appears in two places:

• Join, leave, or respond to chat conversations by clicking the Chat top toolbar icon.
• Access the Chat dashboard, which contains Chat settings and account details, by clicking the Products icon and selecting Chat.

Configuring ticket creation options

You can configure different settings for how tickets are created for both chats and offline messages, as well as whether chat transcripts appear in the ticket as a public reply or private comment.

To configure ticket creation

1. From the Chat dashboard, select Settings > Account > Zendesk Support tab.
2. Under Ticket Creation -- Chats, select settings for chat tickets:
   • Automatic Ticket Creation: To automatically create a Support ticket when a chat starts, select Automatic. For agents to manually create tickets, select Manual.

   • Transcript Visibility: Select Public or Private to determine how the transcript is added to the ticket.

     Private comments are visible only to agents, while public comments are also visible to ticket requesters and any other end-users that are CCed on the ticket. Details about the visitor's location, IP address, and referring URL are also automatically added to tickets, but are always added as private comments.

   • Ticket Assignment: Select First Agent to always assign tickets created from chats to the first agent who served the chat, regardless of whether the chat was transferred to another agent. Select Last Agent to assign tickets to the agent who ended the chat. Note that with this option, tickets are still initially assigned to the first agent and are reassigned to the last agent only after the chat has ended.
3. Under Ticket Creation -- Offline Messages, also configure the Automatic Ticket Creation and Transcript Visibility settings as described above.
4. Click Save Changes.

Assigning Support tickets based on the agent who handled a chat

Note:This setting only affects tickets created from chats handled in the standalone Zendesk Chat dashboard. This does not affect tickets created using Chat in Zendesk Support, as described above.

You can set up who tickets created from chats are assigned to in an agent's profile. Agents can do this themselves or administrators can set it up in an agent's profile. If you don't enter this setting, tickets aren't automatically assigned to anyone.

To edit who chat tickets are assigned to for yourself

1. From the dashboard, navigate to Settings> Personal.
2. Click the Zendesk Support tab.
3. Enter a Zendesk agent's email in the Zendesk Support Email field.
4. Click Save Changes.

To edit who chat tickets are assigned to for someone else

1. From the dashboard, navigate to Settings> Agents.
2. Click the name of the agent whose profile you want to edit.
3. Enter a zendesk agent's email in the Zendesk Support Email field.
4. Click Save Changes.

Making Zendesk Chat available to end-users

You can make the Zendesk Chat widget appear to end-users in a few different ways:

• Add the Zendesk Chat widget directly to your website. See Adding the Chat widget to your website.
• Enable the Zendesk Chat widget in your Help Center. See Providing targeted support in your Help Center with Zendesk Chat.
• Use the Zendesk Support Web Widget. See Using Web Widget to embed customer service in your website.