If you add a conversation bot to your messaging channel, the messaging response is deactivated and replaced by the bot's standard responses (see Setting the standard responses for a conversation bot).
This article contains the following sections:
About the messaging response
- Basic greeting for customers
- Request for information about their support needs
- Message letting the customer know they’re being connected to an agent
Without any configuration, the default messaging response appears to end users as follows.
![](https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/default_messaging_response_name.png)
Behind the scenes, agents are notified that a support request has been received, and they can accept the request and begin responding to the conversation.
You can apply a schedule to the messaging response so that you can set different responses during business hours and outside of business hours. Otherwise you can set one message that will always be sent.
If you want to add a conversation bot to your channel, you can do that at the bottom of the Responses section, instead of setting the messaging response. In that case, the messaging response is deactivated and replaced by the bot standard responses.
The default messaging response does not support automatic translation or dynamic content in custom ticket fields, so to use those features, you should add a conversation bot.
Setting the messaging response and business hours schedule
The default messaging response includes a basic greeting for customers, a request for information about their support needs, and a message letting them know they’re being connected to an agent.
You can apply a schedule you've created so that you can set different responses during business hours and outside of business hours. If you do not apply a schedule, customers receive the same response regardless of the time or day they contact you in your messaging channel.
To customize the messaging response and set a schedule
- In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
- Click the name of the channel you want to edit.
- Scroll down, then click the Responses section to open it.
- If you want to apply a business hours schedule for your messaging channel, under Business hours, select a saved schedule.
If you haven't created a schedule and would like to, click Manage schedules to set up a schedule now.
Note: Schedules are not available on Team plans, but you can use out of office triggers to manage basic responses. - In the Response during business hours section, update the following, whether you've applied a business hours schedule or not:
- First message: Enter the text that appears when a customer launches the Web Widget.
-
Customer details: Select the information you want to request from the customer before handing them off to an agent. You can request the customer's name or email address, or use custom text or drop-down ticket fields to gather information. If you use custom ticket fields you've created, keep in mind:
- Permissions for ticket fields must be set to Editable for end users. When a field is included in an Ask for details step, end users are required to submit a response, regardless of the requirement configuration on the permissions page.
- Nested drop-down fields are not supported.
Customers must complete these fields. If you're using authentication for messaging, signed-in users aren't asked for their name or email address.
- Follow-up message: Enter the text that appears after the customer submits their details.
- If you've applied a business hours schedule, click the Outside business hours tab, then update the first message, customer details, and follow-up message.
- Click Save.
20 comments
Kenya Roberts
Why are you not able to add other fields that are not name or email? Also, why is required to collect name and/or email in the messaging widget?
1
Viktor Osetrov
You are able to add other fields that are not name or email - please use Adding custom fields to your tickets and support request form. You can skip fields where is required to collect names and/or emails in the messaging widget instead you can use different step types. Please follow - Understanding answer flow step types.
Hope it helps
-1
Vlad
"Working with the default messaging response"
- can a description field be added for "Response outside of business hours"? It seems essential to me.
1
SFARR1752
@... But can you indeed add the custom fields as part of the user prompt without configuring your own BOT?
0
AntonMi
We are missing translations of standard responses. We use the widget for 10+ languages, but one can configure responses only for a single language. The same issue applies to all strings in the widget configuration.
Not being able to have a localized widget is a significant roadblock.
4
Anton Verhelst
+1 for Anton
2
Carlota Bergillos
+1 for AntonMi. Having automatic translations for default responses is essential. If not possible, enabling dynamic content for those fields would also be helpful.
2
Anastasia Kachanova
+1 to have translations to default responses is a must. Also we need to be able, to add our own (custom messages) to Messaging Web widget instead of default messages and we need to be able to use translations in all supported languages. Also customers should be able to change the language in the web widget as a setting.
3
Atanas Tomov
+1 on Anastasia's comment. Definitely a must have!
3
WhatsApp Connector
+1 automatic translations
2
Carlota Bergillos
Hello,
Any updates on the possibility to translate Standard Responses, whether automatically or using dynamic content?
Thank you.
2
Sandra redk Light
Hi, I think Viktor's reply is not longer correct (https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4500737327258/comments/5612348832794).
I have a Numeric custom field that can't be added in Messaging basic flow, is there any restriction for types of fields?
0
Destiny
Thanks for getting in touch.
I see you're inquiring about the types of fields that can be used within the Messaging Flow builder. Based on the documentation available here: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836323738-Understanding-answer-step-types, it appears that only text and drop-down custom ticket fields are supported in the transfer to agent step. Unfortunately, this means that numeric fields cannot be added to the Messaging flow.
I trust this clarifies your query. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask. Cheers~!
0
Nate Hales
How do you adjust these hours when you have a bot configured? My section “Responses” does not have the options listed above to set the business hours.
2
Mehmet Bayram
+1 For Anton.
Translations or Dynamic Contents are very crucial for us. Messaging seems nice but without other languages, it is not enough.
0
Mike Tinnes
We also do not have any Business Hours fields visible under Responses. Please tell me this isn't another ‘tier’ of service. Business hours seems to be a pretty basic setting that should be available to all Zendesk clients.
1
Ross Newton
Indeed, it seems like enabling an AI Agent Bot in Messaging now makes Business Hours not applicable. I get it, AI Agents can work 24/7 but what about when a customer clicks Talk to human? Those responses still need to respect Business Hours.
Presently, it just creates a ticket and leaves the customer hanging because no response is sent on account of Business Hours and there's no agent to respond. At the very least the Business Hours should just hide the Talk to human answer option.
This and a lack of any type of built-in notifications on the Agent Workspace for new tickets (that are created by Messaging using AI Agents) has been two big fails for us.
We were on Classic Web Widget and are now dipping our toes into Zendesk's AI features, wanting to give Zendesk a shot in comparision to other options on the market, and we've been severely disappointed.
1
Tracey Johnson
Would love an answer to Kelly/Mike's question above - how do you configure business hours when you have a bot enabled?
1
Mike Tinnes
Apparently the bot business hours is part of the Professional plan which is of course more $$. This seems forced on us since the chat is now actually harming business with people waiting to talk to a human, then getting frustrated. This feature needs to be part of the basic or Team plans at the very least.
0
Ross Newton
They really need to update this article. Zendesk support came to the rescue in my Reddit post Do the new AI Agents used in Messaging work with Business Hours? Seems they respond much faster there than here, go figure!
You create a schedule like before. But now your Talk to a human answer flow must include the Add Business Hours condition step. This then checks your schedule and can route either to a live human or a “We're closed now, here's a link to our Help Center” type response.
This isn't exactly ideal as it feels wonky for a user to click Talk to a human and then get hit with a “Sorry we're closed” response. The logic should be above the BOT answer (like how before adding an AI Agent bot) and show a Leave a message answer option versus a Talk to a human option. Why even display a Talk to human answer, if they can't actually talk to a human because it's outside of business hours!? This however seems to be how AI Agent Bots in Messaging are designed currently.
So far we found the best setup to be the use of a Schedule for business hours in the Talk to a human answer AND for during business hours, if your agents are all temporarily away, you can also still use Messaging Triggers to respone with a “We'll be right back” (or similar) type message.
For example, you can have a response like “No agents are online, leave a message and we'll respond ASAP” when you create a Messaging Trigger that listens for a new conversation and all agents' status are NOT “Online”. And this trigger only fires once Talk to a human is clicked and then the Transfer step is reached (thus starting a “conversation”). A “conversation” is not a bot conversation. So your Messaging Triggers still apply and can run “above” your various answers' logic. With how wacky Zendesk is with all its layers, we worried that Messaging Triggers wouldn't even work at all when you add an AI Agent Bot. But they do, once a human conversation is started. Then outside of business hours your Talk to a human answer will route to your “We're closed…" step and never do a Transfer to a human step thus never triggering the above Messaging Trigger as a “conversation” never gets started.
0