In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to enable messaging and activate it throughout your account. The tasks described in this article must be performed by an account administrator.
This article includes the following sections:
- Enabling Zendesk messaging in your account
- How enabling messaging changes your account
- Updating Chat settings
- Enabling messaging in a new brand
Enabling Zendesk messaging in your account
Once you confirm that you meet the requirements for Zendesk messaging, you can enable it in your account.
To enable Zendesk messaging on your account
- In Admin Center, click the Channels icon (
), then click Messaging setup.
- On the Set up messaging page, select the checkbox to Enable messaging for your account.
- On the Zendesk mesaging page, click Get Started.
- Select Enable messaging for your account.
- If you have a single brand associated with your account, select Turn on messaging for Web SDK
If you have multiple brands associated with your account, use the dropdown menu to select the brands on which you want to activate messaging.
- Click Save.
Once messaging is enabled at the account level, it appears in your Channels list with the Web SDK listed as an active channels.
You can now customize the Web SDK as needed, and create new Android and iOS SDKs for your account.Note: When you create a brand after messaging is enabled, the onboarding experience differs. See Enabling messaging in a new brand.
How enabling messaging changes your account
Zendesk messaging is enabled at the account level as described above. When enabled, a number of changes occur throughout your account that impact related functionality. In this section, we’ll go over the changes to the following account areas:
Web Widget
If you have previously configured one or more Web Widgets on your account, enabling messaging gives you the option to convert them to the Web SDK on a per-brand basis, or create a new Web SDK for a brand that did not previously use the Web Widget.
Further changes occur when you activate the Web SDK, which we’ll discuss in Working with messaging in the Web SDK.
Android, iOS, and Unity SDKs
Enabling messaging does not change any previously-configured or deployed SDKs you might be using for Android, iOS, or Unity. After messaging is enabled, you can create new Android and iOS SDKs with messaging. These are separate SDKs from the Classic Zendesk SDKs you've been using so far, and need to be configured and deployed separately.
Answer Bot
Enabling messaging also activates Flow Builder, a tool that lets you to click-to-configure Answer Bot. With Flow Builder, Answer Bot continues to be the first responder to customers, but gains a lot of new abilities as well.
Importantly, Flow Builder includes a default conversational flow, which is published and visible in the Flow Builder page. The default flow begins functioning immediately through the Web SDK when it’s enabled.
If you have multiple brands in your account, Flow Builder is activated on every one of those brands. Each brand has a separate default flow that can be configured independently.
See About Answer Bot for Zendesk messaging for more information.
Agent Workspace
Agent Workspace gains some additional functionality as well, including enhanced conversation history and responding to messaging conversations at any time. See Receiving and sending Zendesk Messages in the Agent Workspace for more information.
Chat
When you enable messaging, there are a number Chat-related changes that apply to both agents and administrators.
For more information, see How enabling Zendesk messaging impacts Chat settings.
Updating Chat settings
A Chat administrator needs to perform the following tasks:
- Organize your agents into groups. For example, you can create a group of agents who handle specific channels, such as messaging, See Adding agents to groups.
- Set up Support Triggers to route messaging conversations to these groups.
- Configure Chat limits on the Chat dashboard to control how many active messaging conversations your agents receive.
- Educate agents on the Agent Experience.
Enabling messaging in a new brand
When you create a brand after enabling messaging on your account, you’ll need to add a Web or mobile SDK channel to use messaging functionality with that brand.
Once an SDK is added, Answer Bot is activated with a basic conversational flow that collects information and initiates an agent transfer, but does not include any self-service functionality by default. The screenshot below shows an example of the basic flow.
You can also activate Flow Builder to create a customized, automated flow for the brand. When Flow Builder is initially activated for the brand, you’ll see the following screen:
Click Start building flow to get started.
If you wish to avoid the basic conversational flow, then we recommend activating Flow Builder prior to enabling and embedding messaging Web or Mobile SDKs for this brand.
23 Comments
Hi There!
Really appreciate this new feature of messaging specially the Flow Builder.
I just have a concern when using the facebook messaging, the conversation is not visible within the facebook account.
The facebook account admin cannot oversee or reply on the messages using facebook anymore, or I just missed something on my setup?
Thanks for anyone that can help me out.
Hi Donald, the conversations that happen with your page are replicated in the Facebook experience for that page so you'll be able to see them all there
Here is an example from our demo Answer Bot page showing my conversation with Answer Bot, then an agent, but viewing it (live if desired) from the Facebook messenger inbox
Hi Mike,
Thanks for you response. I can see it now, I just don't know why I can't find it yesterday.
One thing here that I noticed, replies from the fb page messenger were not reflected in Zendesk ticket.
From the customer side, it looks like there is only ever a single conversation? If they have multiple issues, it can't be broken into separate conversations?
It's not clear how this maps to Zendesk tickets, again is it always the same ticket? If a customer sends a new message after a ticket is closed is it a follow up ticket?
Agree with you here Andrew.
Same on both fb messenger and in chat widget when using the same instance of browser and computer, the history stays there.
In Zendesk it will create another ticket once the previous one has been closed.
Hi Andrew, currently there is only ever one active conversation (ticket) open with a customer at a time. When the ticket is marked as solved, if a users sends another message it'll simply re-open the previous ticket (like any other normal ticket flow). Likewise, as Donald noted once the ticket moves to closed, the conversation is handed back to Answer Bot and it'll respond the next time the user engages with the web SDK, and (assuming they escalate to an agent again) it'll create a new ticket for this new issue. Previous conversations are easily accessible through the user history panel though (it's not a follow up).
Hi Mike,
Speaking of Answer Bot that is being used here, will it require to have the addon installed and it's associated cost being applied?
Because I was able to set it up even if the Answer Bot trial I installed before was already expired.
It currently does not require an Answer Bot subscription / trial
Hi Aimee SpanierSpanier
I'm trying to follow the steps here, however, in Admin Center I don't see a Channels section. The account I'm using is on Enterprise and has Agent Workspace enabled, what could be the reason for this?
Hi Lupael, in certain cases there is an issue that causes this. At the risk of sounding cliche, try turning agent workspace off then on again - this actually triggers the right settings to be activated again, as a temporary workaround to solve this.
Mike Mortimer ,
Thanks for your suggestions. That's working now
How does this new product work with conversations API? how will 3rd party built bots work within this new flow? (from a quick test i've made ive seen answer bot is enabled by default)
Hi Mike,
We have the same problem as Lupael. Disabling and re-enabling the agent workspace didn't help us. What could be wrong?
But in our sandbox, such actions helped and everything worked.
Lupael, great to hear that solved it
Unto, this new solution doesn't work with the conversations API - 3rd party bot providers should look at building on top of Sunshine conversations - https://smooch.io/bots/
Artur, I'll create a ticket so we can look into your specific issue with you
Hi everyone,
Can Messaging be used in a Multibrand setting? Can I run different configurations for each brand?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Max D'Ambrosio,
Yes. Messaging can be used in a multi-brand setting. You can enable messaging on a per brand basis and you can run different Flow Builder configurations for each brand.
After you enable messaging within your account, you'll need to either convert an existing Web Widget over to a messaging Web SDK or you can now create a new Web SDK from scratch (for brands where you haven't created a Web Widget previously). Simply choose 'Web SDK' from the 'Add Channels' dropdown menu on your Channels page within Admin Center.
When you jump over to Flow Builder, you'll have the option to choose which brand you'd like to edit flows for.
Hope this helps!
- Miranda.
Thanks Miranda Burford
Hi,
I am also not able to get the Channels section on my Admin Center even after turning off and on the Agent Workspace. Is it possible to create a ticket to take a look at this issue?
Thanks for your help.
Hi David ANGST,
Sure thing. I've created a ticket so we can investigate. Let's continue the conversation there.
Thanks,
- Miranda.
Hello!
In regards to Social Channels - when initially enabling Messaging (not converting web widgets to SDK at this stage) will this impact our social channels? Or will we have the ability to toggle the functionality on/off?
If it will change the state of our social channels, do we know exactly what the behavior will be?
I am currently completing a test by plugging in a staging website into our production agent workspace but do not want to impact the 19 other brands we have connected to Social channels.
Any advice? Also - Starting a trial account to test this is not ideal and I do have an understanding that at this stage the compatibility of testing this in the sandbox is not there.
Any help would be great! =]
Hi Clik, yes enabling the messaging beta (even without converting the web widget to the messaging web sdk) will impact your social messaging channels - Answer Bot will become the first responder. There is no way to toggle Answer Bot by channel currently. You can learn more about it here. Please note however that we are working on disabling Answer Bot for social channels so this impact will be removed in the next couple of weeks. My advice would be to wait until this change goes out before enabling messaging.
Can I segment people by URL for every flow of chat?
Hi Yen,
You can use brands as a way to segment how your end-users can get in touch with different aspects of your business, and create a specific flow for each.
You've to be on the Suite plan or on the Zendesk Support Enterprise plan to have multiple brands in your account. Once you do, Flow Builder is activated on every one of those brands. Each brand has a separate default flow that can be configured independently.
Hope it makes sense to you. Let us know if you have more questions about it.
Regards,
Ingrid R. | Technical Support Engineer - EMEA | Zendesk Certified Support Admin & Guide Specialist
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