About Zendesk messaging (beta)

The Zendesk messaging beta release is a quick and easy way to create customized, automated conversational experiences, delivered to your customers through social messaging channels and the Web SDK, a new, updated version of the Web Widget.

This article includes the following topics:

• What is Zendesk messaging?
• Account requirements, recommendations, and restrictions
• Leaving feedback

For more information on configuring and using Zendesk messaging, see the following related articles:

• Enabling Zendesk messaging (beta)
• About Answer Bot for Zendesk messaging (beta)
• Using Flow Builder to automate customer conversations (beta)
• Working with messaging in the Web SDK (beta)
• How Zendesk messaging impacts Chat settings (beta)
• Chat triggers in Zendesk messaging (beta)

What is Zendesk messaging?

Enabling messaging changes the way your account administrators and agents work (in a good way), as well as how customer conversations flow, both before connecting with an agent and after.

• Administrators use the Flow Builder to create automated, interactive conversations with customers. These conversations can include greetings, specific article suggestions, information-gathering fields and questions, and more.

  The new Web SDK can be styled just like the classic Web Widget, too, with options for configuring appearance and functionality.

• Agents can respond to their customers anytime and continue where they left off in a previous interaction. Conversation history in the Agent Workspace provides agents with additional context required to respond to customers.
• Customers have a better opportunity to self-solve their support issues with targeted article suggestions through the streamlined Web SDK. Conversation history helps them refer to earlier support requests easily.

Account requirements, recommendations, and restrictions

If your account meets the requirements for joining the messaging beta program, you'll see an in-product message on your account's Web Widget admin page in Support.

To qualify for the messaging beta, you must have an account with:

• Zendesk Suite OR Support + Chat with the Agent Workspace enabled. See Enabling and disabling the Zendesk Agent Workspace for instructions on enabling the workspace.
• At least one active Web Widget.

Before enabling messaging, we recommend you have an account with:

• An active, public Help Center, with at least 10 articles that cover commonly-asked questions, to take full advantage of Answer Bot capabilities.
• As many active brands as you are likely to use with messaging, each with an enabled Web Widget. You cannot enable messaging functionality on brands created after installation.

Warning: When you convert a widget over to the new Web SDK, any active live chats will end and any in-progress tickets will remain pending. Before doing so, we recommend that you close out any active live chats, take agents offline, be aware of any pending tickets, and consider making this change in an off-peak period.

The following restrictions currently apply to the messaging beta:

• Zendesk messaging beta is only available for Web SDK. Support for Mobile SDK is planned.
• Flow Builder is English-only - some default flows are currently non-editable, in English. Support for additional languages, including automated translations, will be available in the future.
• The messaging beta does not support the Data Center Location add-on. Data residency for non-US and EU customers will be available in the future.
• Because Agent Workspace must be enabled to use Zendesk messaging, there are a few changes to Chat functionality to be aware of. See Chat limitations and How Zendesk messaging impacts Chat settings for more information.

Leaving feedback

We’d love to hear what you think about Zendesk messaging -- good and bad -- and how you’re using it in your account. At the top of the Channels, Web SDK configuration, and Flow Builder pages in Admin Center, you’ll find a banner with a link to the Features and feedback board for messaging (or you can use the link included here) where you can submit new ideas and vote on existing ideas. Before submitting a new idea, you should check to see if it's already been added.