When a customer needs help, they want it ASAP, but most organizations don’t have the support staff to be available 24/7. You can reduce, or even eliminate, the time your customers have to wait for assistance by providing automated support using chatbots.
Chatbots are conversational customer support UIs, fueled by artificial intelligence, to help automate simple tasks, create better experiences for your customers, and work alongside your agents to give them a helping hand.
You can incorporate chatbot functionality into your customer service experience with our own Zendesk AI agents, use Sunshine Conversations to build your own AI agent, or integrate a bot from a third party. All approaches allow you to customize chatbot performance and behavior.
In this article, we’ll provide you with an overview of each of these options, along with a framework to get you started with your chatbot of choice.
For a more detailed look at chatbots, see our Complete guide to AI chatbots.
This article discusses the following chatbot options:
Built-in solution: Zendesk AI agents
Zendesk AI agent functionality covers all levels of automation, from quick, self-service workflows to more complex workflows integrated with other platforms. You can start automating in just minutes with AI agents that answer customer questions based on content from your trusted knowledge sources.
From there, you can move on to more advanced features such as scripted dialogues, goal-oriented generative procedures, authorized actions, and API integrations with systems you already use. Through it all, advanced analytics are available to help you measure your automation success.
AI agents use agentic AI to solve complex user requests with limited direct human supervision. They’re capable of autonomous decision-making, planning, and adaptive execution throughout the course of a conversation. AI agents interact with your customers in a natural, human-like way, engaging in small talk and working through complex or vague issues by identifying the necessary next steps and asking follow-up questions where needed.
Usage of AI agent functionality is measured through automated resolutions. This means you pay only for customer requests that were successfully resolved by an AI agent, without any escalation to a human agent. Each account includes an allowance of automated resolutions based on their plan, and you can buy more if needed.
To get started with AI agent functionality, see Getting started with AI agents.
Do-It-Yourself: Sunshine Conversations' Web Messenger
Sunshine Conversations Web Messenger channel allows you to design and embed a highly customizable, asynchronous chatbot on your own website. It can be accessed by your customers via desktop or mobile browsers, and can enable them to continue conversations over connected social or business channels.
This section includes high-level information on the following topics:
You can also use Sunshine Conversations to design and implement your own programmable conversations, connect to an existing chatbot, or integrate prebuilt third-party chatbots with your Zendesk account.
For detailed information, see the following articles:
Web Messenger capabilities
You can incorporate following capabilities – and more – into your Web Messenger as you like.
- Content types: Text, images, file attachments, and emojis.
- Structured Messages: Including scrollable and clickable options.
- Conversation Lists: Lets customers navigate among multiple ongoing conversations.
- Unread message identifiers: Allows customers and agents to see whether their last comment has been viewed.
- Forms: Capture user data to help agents better serve their customers.
- User authentication: Increased security in your conversations.
For a complete list of these options, along with examples and descriptions, see Web Messenger Capabilities.
More customization options
Web Messenger includes built-in customization options you can use to refine the appearance and performance of the widget, including (but not limited to):
- Display Style: Present Web Messenger to customers as a button or a tab.
- Colors, Business profile, and Background Image: Reflect your company’s brand through the widget’s look and feel.
- Sound notification: Customize (or disable) audio notifications.
- Browser storage: Keep track of anonymous users in the browser.
For more information on customization options and processes, see Web Messenger Customization.
Outside the box: Third-party bots
You can bring your Zendesk and third-party chatbots together into a single, continuous conversation you can share with every team in your business.
- Zendesk Marketplace has chatbot-related apps you can install and use with your Support, Chat, or Sell accounts.
- Sunshine Conversations Marketplace has chatbot options to choose from.
Each app has its own setup and configuration process, as well as its own features and functionality, determined by the third-party developer. This information can be accessed from an app’s marketplace entry.
The following resources can help you figure out which chatbot solution is right for you: