Available on all Suite plans
This functionality is part of AI agents. Usage is measured by automated resolutions.

Generative replies deliver automated, AI-generated answers in response to customer requests, with information from your own trusted help center content, without needing to build custom answers.

Through the use of generative AI, when a relevant help center article is identified, generative replies are displayed as a single message with a link to the source article. These messages are short (generally under 100 words) and reflect the bot persona if it's being used.

This article includes the following sections:

  • About generative replies in the bot
  • Activating and configuring generative replies
  • Using generative replies with intents

About generative replies in the bot

If you have an active help center, generative replies can immediately begin to respond to questions from your end users. These responses use generative AI to evaluate articles in your help center, then use that knowledge to provide concise answers within the ongoing conversation. If the article referenced to generate the response includes links to relevant articles, those might be included in the generated response. Generative replies enable end users to get the information they need without leaving the conversation to read an article.

Generative replies can respond to a customer question when:

  • No intents are detected for that question.
  • An intent matching that question is configured to generate a reply.

These replies are always followed by a standard request for end-user feedback (“Was this helpful - yes/no”). You can configure bot responses to this feedback.

If you’re using a restricted help center, the bot response respects the article view permissions set in Guide, which means:

  • If the end user is authenticated via the messaging authentication protocol and user mapping established with an external ID, the bot can suggest relevant restricted articles.
  • If the end user is unauthenticated, the bot will suggest only public articles.

Activating and configuring generative replies

You can activate generative replies when you create a new bot or you can add generative replies to an existing bot.

To turn on generative replies in an existing bot

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select AI agents and automation > AI agents.
  2. Click Manage conversation bots, then click the bot you want to use with generative replies.
  3. In the bot's Behavior tab, click to expand the section If the bot finds relevant articles.
  4. Make sure Generate a reply is selected. When you select this option:
    • Any intents without an assigned answer setting are updated to Generate a reply.
    • After the bot replies to an end user’s comment, it sends a request for feedback (“Was this helpful? Yes/No”). If the end user selects Yes or No, it’s followed by a customizable response.
  5. Click Test bot, then enter phrases the bot can match to existing help center content to view samples of replies your end users might receive.
  6. Click Publish bot to apply your changes.

Every reply the bot generates is followed by a request for feedback (“Was this helpful? Yes/No”). After the end user selects an option, the bot replies. You can customize the bot's feedback responses if you'd like.

Using generative replies with intents

Note: Your account must have an assigned intent model to use generative replies with intents. If you don't have an intent model, you can apply for eligibility by contacting your Zendesk Sales representative.

When you turn on generative replies, replies are generated for questions that match intents without assigned answers and for questions without a matching intent.

This section covers the following topics:
  • Updating the generative replies setting for specific intents
  • Updating the generative replies setting for questions without matching intents

Updating the generative replies setting for specific intents

By default, any intent without an assigned answer will generate a reply. For each intent, you can leave this setting as-is, update it to not generate a reply, or add the intent to an answer in your conversation bot.

To manage generative reply settings for a specific intent

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select AI agents and automation > AI agents.
  2. Click Manage conversation bots.
  3. Click the bot you’re using with generative replies.
  4. Click the Intents tab, then click the drop-down in the Answer column to select an option for each intent you want to update:
    • Generate a reply lets the bot create a response to a customer’s matching free-text entry.
    • Don’t generate a reply prevents the bot from responding to a customer’s matching free-text entry. Instead, it replies with the standard fallback response (“Sorry I couldn't find a good answer to your question. Here are some topics that might help though”).
    • Show an answer lets you connect the intent to an existing answer or create a new answer for it.

    Remember to publish the bot to make these changes available.

Updating the generative replies setting for questions without matching intents

You can choose whether you want to generate a reply for any question asked by an end user that does not have a matching intent. By default, a reply is generated for any customer free-text entry that matches an intent if that intent is not associated with an answer in the conversation bot.

To manage generative replies to questions without matching intents

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select AI agents and automation > AI agents.
  2. Click Manage conversation bots.
  3. Click the bot you’re using with generative replies.
  4. Click the Intents tab, then use the drop-down at the top of the page to select Generate a reply or Don’t generate a reply.

Remember to publish the bot to make these changes available.

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