Using autoreplies to recommend articles in email notifications

This functionality is part of AI agents - Essential.

Autoreplies with articles are automated responses to customer support requests sent via email, that include up to three recommended articles from your help center. These responses use the autoreply with articles trigger action to identify relevant articles and add them to your notification email.

This article includes the following topics:

• Understanding the end-user experience
• Setting up autoreplies with articles for email notifications
• Testing email notification results

Related articles:

• Using autoreplies to recommend articles in web forms
• Understanding how articles are evaluated for use in autoreplies

Understanding the end-user experience

When you configure autoreplies with articles for email notifications, the end user receives an automated email response to their support request. The email includes a list of recommended articles, along with other information provided by the placeholders used in the autoreply with articles trigger action.

In the email, the end user can read the top suggested article in its entirety, and click any of the following options:

• Suggested article links opens the help center article in a new tab. From there, the user can read the article, click to see their help request, and indicate whether it helped them answer their question:

  

• Request number opens the request in a new tab.
• Yes, close my request opens the article in the help center and close the help request.
• No opens a feedback screen requesting more information about why the article didn't help. This screen is optional for the end user.
• Yes, close my request on any of the suggested articles opens the article in the help center and closes the help request.
• No beneath the top article opens an optional feedback window asking for more information about why the article didn't help.

End users can return to the email and access the links as often as they like. Suggested articles are sent in the language defined in the end user's profile, when available.

Setting up autoreplies with articles for email notifications

Before you can set up autoreplies, you need a Guide help center with articles that can address your customers' questions. SeeGetting started with Guide for your help center for more information. When your help center is ready, you can turn on autoreplies in Admin Center.

To send a list of recommended articles, your email notification triggers must include the Autoreply with articles action. You can add this action to existing triggers, such as the default Notify requester and CCs of received request and Notify requester of new proactive ticket. See Managing triggers.

To set up autoreplies with articles for email notifications

1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select AI agents and automation > AI agents.
2. Click Manage AI agents for email and web form.
3. Click Get started with autoreplies. If autoreplies are already activated, this option doesn't appear. You can stop at this step and create your triggers later – autoreplies with articles will not be sent until you create the trigger.
4. Click Create triggers. An admin page to create a new trigger opens.
5. Configure the trigger conditions for requests submitted via email. For example:
   • Ticket > Ticket | Is | Created
   • Requester > Role | Is | (end-user)
   • Ticket > Channel | Is | Email
6. Next, configure the trigger action. The action needs to include Notify by > Autoreply with articles | (requester) to establish that all tickets meeting the conditions will send your autoreply email to the ticket requester. The autoreply email field appears:

   

7. Fill out the email subject and body text to include in the autoreply email. Use the placeholders listed below to customize the email text.
   • {{autoreply.article_list}} (required). You must include this placeholder for the feature to work. This placeholder adds a list of up to three articles that best match the request, links to those articles, and inserts buttons the end user can use to choose which article solved the request.
     Note: This placeholder includes two pieces of text that are determined by the user's profile language: The header Do any of these articles answer your question?, and the two buttons located underneath each suggested article Yes, close my request and View article.
   • {{autoreply.first_article_body}} (optional). This placeholder renders the first matching article (full HTML) into the email body, allowing end users to read the article and solve their problem without needing to leave the email experience.
   • {{autoreply.article_count}} (optional). This placeholder allows you to create an optional condition to send different body copy to customers based on how many articles are returned, for example:

     
             {% if autoreply.article_count > 0 %}
         Here are some great articles that may help:
         {{autoreply.article_list}}
         {{autoreply.first_article_body}}
     {% endif %}
            

8. In the section Configure labels and test autoreply, click Configure and test to filter the list of help center articles offered based on labels:

   

   • Ticket brand: Select a brand to run the test on. The brand selected here is purely for testing purposes, and will not be added to the trigger you are creating.
   • Ticket subject: Enter a subject to test the articles returned when a ticket is filed with this subject.
   • Ticket description: Enter a short description of seven or more words, written from the ticket submitter's perspective.
   • Search articles by label (optional): Enter any article labelsyou want to use to filter the results. As you type into the tag field, available labels beginning with the same word or characters are displayed. Any articles with the selected labels are considered in autoreplies.
9. Click Show suggested articles for a list of articles the user may receive if these labels are applied when submitting a similar ticket. If the results are acceptable, click Done to save the trigger. If the results are not acceptable, edit the entries and try again, or click Cancel.
10. Click Create (if you're creating a new trigger) or Save (if you're updating an existing trigger).

Testing email notification results

To test autoreply results

1. Create a new autoreply with articles trigger, or open an existing trigger already configured for autoreplies with articles.
2. At the bottom of the Actions section on the trigger's edit page, click the Configure and test button.
3. In the testing window, fill out the following information:
   • Ticket brand: Select a brand to run the test on. The brand selected here is purely for testing purposes, and will not be added to the trigger you are creating.
   • Ticket subject: This field is used to test the articles returned when a ticket is filed with this subject.
   • Ticket description: Enter a short description of seven or more words, written from the ticket submitter's perspective.
   • Search articles by label (optional): Enter any article labels you want to use to filter the results. As you type in the field, available labels beginning with the same word or characters are displayed. Any articles with the selected labels are considered in autoreplies.
4. Click Show suggested articles to display a list of articles your user might receive in an email notification, for a ticket with the labels and ticket information applied.
5. If the results are acceptable, click Done to save the trigger. If the results are not acceptable, edit the entries and try again, or click Cancel.