
Light agents are available as a feature of the Collaboration add-on. Light agents have limited permissions but can stay informed about tickets and, when needed, provide subject matter expertise and advice by adding private comments to the ticket. All ticket comments by light agents are private, including the first comment of any tickets they create. To assign a light agent role, see Setting roles and access in Zendesk Admin Center.
This article contains the following sections:
Understanding what light agents can do
Light agents have the following access and permissions.
Area | Light agents can... | Light agents can't... |
---|---|---|
Tickets |
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People |
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Guide |
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Reports |
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Views |
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Business rules |
|
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Channels |
|
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Mail API |
|
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Apps |
|
|
Zendesk Chat |
|
|
Zendesk Talk | Light agents cannot be enabled as Talk agents. |
Configuring light agent ticket access and reporting permissions
The method you use to configure permissions for light agents varies depending on whether you are on a Support Professional or Enterprise plan. Most of the light agent permissions can't be configured. You can configure options for ticket access for light agents, and, if you're on Support Professional or above, you can additionally configure access to reports. The other light agent permissions shown in the table above can't be changed.
Configuring light agent permissions with Support Professional
If you're using Support Professional, you can configure light agent permissions for reports and ticket access.
To edit reporting and ticket permissions for light agents (Support Professional)
- Click the Admin icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Settings >Agents.
- Next to Light Agent access, select an option for What kind of tickets can this agent access?:
- All within this agent's group(s) for light agents to access only tickets in their groups.
- Requested by end users in this agent's organization for light agents to access only tickets requested by end users in their organization.
- All for light agents to access all tickets.
- If you selected All within this agent's group(s) above, and you want light agents to still be able to assign tickets to any group when they're the requester, also select Agent can assign to any group.
- For What can this agent do with reports, set Insights reporting permissions to Can view only or Cannot view. Light agents with Support Professional cannot view or access Explore reports.
- When you are finished, click Save.
Configuring light agent permissions with Support Enterprise
If you're using Support Enterprise, you can only configure light agent permissions for ticket access.
To edit reporting and ticket permissions for light agents (Enterprise)
You can't clone or modify the light agent role, except for the two settings for tickets and reporting.
- Click the Admin icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Manage > People.
- On the People page, click roles.
- Next to the Light agent role, click edit.
If you are using Explore, you can only change settings in the Tickets section.
- Under Tickets, select an option for What kind of tickets can this agent access?:
- All within this agent's group(s) for light agents to access only tickets in their groups.
- Requested by end users in this agent's organization for light agents to access only tickets requested by end users in their organization. Light agents with Support Enterprise can't access queries or edit Explore reports, but you can share Explore dashboards with them in view only mode.
- All for light agents to access all tickets.
- If you selected All within this agent's group(s) above, and you want light agents to still be able to assign tickets to any group when they're the requester, also select Agent can assign to any group.
- Click Update role.
138 Comments
@jeff. The system recognizes that they are a light agent and makes the comment private.
Hey Candace! David will probably find this interesting as well.
It turns out that I was incorrect about Light Agents being able to add CCs to tickets! I just did some testing, as as a Light Agent I was able to add a CC to a ticket from the Agent interface both in the CC field and by using the @mention feature, as well as adding them via ticket. So I apologize for the misinformation!
Can Light Agents add Tags and can Light Agents mention other Agents/Light Agents or be mentioned by others?
I apologize if this has been asked, I searched a little and didn't come up with my answer.
If a Light Agent is CC'd on a ticket and they reply to that ticket, via their email - does that message go to everyone who is cc'd on the ticket. Or is it just an internal note?
Thanks!
Hi Tobias!
Light Agents cannot add tags, but they can mention/be mentioned in tickets.
thanks for replying :)
@jessie i need to get back to your answer. If I start mentioning someone from an Agent Account with @name then the system helps me with auto filling but as an Light Agent it doesn't work for me. So as Light Agent I can't mention someone even in the internal comments
Hey Tobias, thanks for following up.
I tested this in my own instance and was able to make this work. Let me go back and try it again to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating! I'll check back in as soon as I can.
Hey Julie! Welcome to the Community!
In the scenario you described, the response will be added to the ticket as an internal note. Only CC'd agents will be notified of the comment - end users will receive nothing.
Hope that helps!
It would be nice to be able to clone the light agent roles in order to make them more useful.
Already suggested here ...so please vote and comment
I contacted the support for my mentioning problem. And it's correct, that a light agent can't mention other agents. Light agents can only be mentioned by Agents.
Hey Tobias! I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you on that yet. The Community Team has been slammed this week!
I apologize for getting that information wrong; I'll need to figure out why I was getting a different result. Let us know if you need anything else!
We have a regular support plan and have just noticed that the admin can not assume the identity of agents. Is there something I am missing since we use to be able to do it all the time.
Thanks
Hi Shireda!
Your plan level wouldn't have any impact on the ability to assume users in Support, so not to worry there.
In the old version of Zendesk (which we call Web Portal) admins had the ability to assume agents, but that functionality doesn't exist in the current agent interface.
Luckily there is a workaround you can use. Just navigate to yoursubdomain.zendesk.com/users, and you'll be taken to the Web Portal version of your user list. From here, your admins will be able to assume agent profiles.
Hope that helps!
Hi,
so if a customer support agent sends a ticket to a dedicated group for a light agent to comment, how does the light agent send the ticket back to the agent/customer support group?
i.e. what is the best way to let customer support know that their question has been answered?
Thanks!
David
@Light Agent - I asked this question previously. This isn't possible to do unless you create a custom role that uses a licence. You can '@' a user, however this will add them as a CC and therefore not really the best for us, but could however work for yourself.
Zendesk still haven't introduced 'BCC' which could solve the issue in some ways.
If I am wrong, I would also love to know, like you, how we could do this as it is extremely frustrating that this isn't possible.
We have a workaround that we use. It's a total hack, but is effective. This is our process:
When your special phrase is found, it will reassign it to the group you have specified. Hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing your workaround, Jenn!
Understanding that light agent could only post private comments, if a light agent does a "Replying All" in the support email thread directly, including the support ticket thread email handle 'support+idXXXXX@xxxx.com', will the customer see the reply?
Hi Qiao! I'm looking into this for you and hope to have an answer soon!
Hey Qiao,
A Light Agent doing a Reply All would still be would still be recognized as an Agent, and that person's reply would only go out to other Agents on the Ticket and their comment would be added as an Internal Note.
Hope that helps!
Hi Zendesk!
Is there a way to make an agent "Light agent" without deleting all of their previously "solved" tickets? I've reassigned all of their open, pending, on-hold tickets, but still cannot downgrade them to "light agent".
Appreciate your insight on this!
If you don't want to reassign the solved ones you would have to wait for them to close or force them to close with an automation.
thanks Shawn!!
Hi team,
Would be great to be able to filter by Light Agents in the "People" screen. Instead of just "Agents" and light agents coupled together (10 agents, 500 light agents) atm.
^^^THIS^^^
We have thousands of Light Agents, so the People listing is basically useless.
Hey Terry & Conza -
That would be great feedback for you to share with our Product Managers over in the Product Feedback topic in the community.
Found one that was similar enough: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115007370587-Allow-to-browse-Light-Agents (go upvote folks).
Thanks for digging that up, Conza. I'll be sure to ping the relevant Product Managers about that thread.
Hi team,
Is there a way to know when you are CC'd into a ticket, via just the email you receive - as to whether you are a light agent or NOT?
What I mean by that is: we have thousands of staff user emails (across our 73 stores around the country). A fraction of those staff in store do online orders. When engaging with them (a customer wants to know an update on a package being sent), so we email the online store group (which comprises new people added and removed occasionally).
Emailing: wsc.[store]@company.com - it goes no e.g. 5 individual emails. Those in the group. If I have added them previously as a light agent individually - no worries at all.
However, if they have slipped through the cracks - and are not individually a light agent: IF they get the email, and IF they respond - they will be an END-USER, yes?
Does that comment go public, immediately or internal?
I will be sending customer complaints to the stores to action; and so I don't want to have someone I don't know in the group - respond, thinking it is going to be internal, when it also can then be seen by the customer.
Any help, greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
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