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Aimee Spanier

Joined Apr 14, 2021

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Last activity Feb 06, 2025

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ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

Latest activity by Aimee Spanier

Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleAdditional ticket channels

Available on all Suite plans

In Agent Workspace, agents can converse with customers who come in through their Apple Messages for Business channel. They can accept conversations and compose messages like any other messaging conversation. Some additional features are available to agents to enhance customer conversations through the Apple Messages for Business channel and impact their communication flow.

This article includes the following sections:

For information on setting up the Apple Messages for Business channel in Admin Center, see Adding and configuring the Apple Messages for Business channel.

Applying rich templates to agent responses

Accounts using Zendesk Suite Professional or higher can install the Interactive Messaging Templates app, created by our partner, Zenplates. Using this app, agents can preview rich messages in the ticket sidebar before sending the message to the end user.

After sending, the conversation history reflects the template, though it won't be a replica. Quick replies will show buttons, and rich links will show the text and link, for example.

To apply a rich template to a response

  1. In a ticket, click the Apps icon () in the context panel and locate the Interactive Messaging Template app.
  2. Select the template you want to apply to the conversation. Use the available filters to find the template, if needed.
  3. Click Use this template. The template is added as a comment in the conversation.

Working with closed conversations

With Apple Messages for Business, end users can choose to block a business from sending additional messages to them at any point.

When an end user leaves a conversation while talking to a live agent, the messaging session will immediately close, the agent will no longer be able to send messages over Apple Messages for Business, the conversation history will display a system message that the user left the conversation, and the message composer will be disabled for the Apple Messages for Business channel.

Agents can continue to communicate with the end user through other channels if the end user's email or phone number is available and can leave internal notes on the conversation.

If the end user re-opens the conversation with the business, a new ticket and new conversation is initiated.

If an end user leaves a conversation while talking to an AI Agent, the AI Agent is blocked from sending further messages.

Edited Jan 23, 2025 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleUsing messaging

Available on all Suite plans

Messaging triggers evaluate and fire on tickets associated with messaging conversations. In addition to the standard messaging triggers, admins can create custom messaging triggers. However, as your business needs evolve, you may find it necessary to modify your messaging triggers.

Editing messaging triggers

You can modify existing messaging triggers if needed.

To edit an existing trigger

  1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Business rules > Messaging triggers.
  2. Click the name of the trigger you want to edit in the triggers list. Use the search at the top of the page, if needed, to locate the trigger.
  3. On the trigger’s edit page, make the necessary changes, and click Save.

Cloning messaging triggers

You can duplicate an existing trigger to use as a template for creating new triggers.

To clone an existing trigger

  1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Business rules > Messaging triggers.
  2. Find the trigger you want to clone in the triggers list. Use the search at the top of the page, if needed, to locate the trigger.
  3. Hover over the trigger and click the Options menu().
  4. Select Clone.
  5. On the Create trigger page, update the information as needed, and click Create.

Activating and deactivating messaging triggers

A trigger can be activated or deactivated. If activated, the trigger will run whenever its conditions are met. If deactivated, the triggers are built, but will not fire even if the firing conditions are met.

To activate or deactivate a trigger

  1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Business rules > Messaging triggers.
  2. Find the trigger you want to change in the triggers list. Use the search at the top of the page, if needed, to locate the trigger.
  3. Hover over the trigger and click the Options menu ().
  4. If the trigger is inactive, select Activate forthe trigger to fire when conditions are met. If the trigger is Inactive, select Inactivate to prevent the trigger from firing.
  5. Click Save.

Deleting messaging triggers

If you no longer need a trigger, and will not want to use it in the future, you can permanently delete it from the messaging triggers list.

To delete a trigger

  1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Business rules > Messaging triggers.
  2. Find the trigger you want to change in the triggers list. Use the search at the top of the page, if needed, to locate the trigger.
  3. Hover over the trigger and click the Options menu ().
  4. Select Delete.
  5. Confirm that you want to delete the trigger by clicking the Delete button.

Edited Jan 02, 2025 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleUsing messaging

Available on all Suite plans

To help you get up and running with some best practices for a typical messaging workflow, messaging comes with three default triggers already set up in your account:

The standard messaging triggers are inactive by default, so you must activate them as needed. You can also edit them directly or copy them and use them as a template for new messaging triggers. For more information, see Creating messaging triggers in Admin Center and Editing and managing messaging triggers.

First Reply

This trigger sends an automated reply to customers requesting a conversation, so they know their request is being attended to.

The trigger is set up as follows:

  • Run trigger| When a customer requests a conversation
  • Check conditions| Match ALL of the following conditions
    • Customer requesting conversation | Is | True
  • Perform the following actions
    • Wait | 5 (in seconds)
    • Send message to customer | Customer Service | Thanks for your message, please wait a moment while our agents attend to you.

Request Contact Details

When your account is set to away, this trigger asks customers requesting a chat to leave their email address.

The trigger is set up as follows:

  • Run trigger| When a customer requests a conversation
  • Check conditions| Match ALL of the following conditions
    • Account status | Equals | Away
  • Perform the following actions
    • Send message to customer | Customer Service | Hi, sorry we are away at the moment. Please leave your email address and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

All Agents Offline

When all agents are offline, this trigger sends an automated reply to warn the end user to expect a delayed response.

The trigger is set up as follows:

  • Run trigger| When a customer requests a conversation
  • Check conditions| Match ALL of the following conditions
    • Customer requesting conversation | Is | True
    • Account status | Is | Invisible
  • Perform the following actions
    • Send message to customer | Automated Response | Hi there! Thanks for reaching out to us. We're offline right now, but we'll respond to your message when we're back online in a few hours.

Edited Dec 18, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleUsing live chat

Available on all Chat plans

Admins can create chat triggers to automate actions when certain conditions are met for live chat interactions with end users. This article describes how to edit and manage chat triggers after they've been created.

Editing chat triggers

Chat triggers can be modified as needed to meet your business needs.

To edit a chat trigger
  1. On your Chat dashboard, go to Settings > Triggers.
  2. From the list, click the row of the trigger you want to edit.
  3. Modify the values as needed.
  4. Click Save changes.

Duplicating chat triggers

If you want to duplicate an existing chat trigger to use as a template for creating new triggers, you need to copy the trigger's developer code, then create a new trigger using the copied code.

To copy the developer code for a chat trigger
  1. On your Chat dashboard, go to Settings > Triggers.
  2. From the list, click the trigger you want to copy.
  3. Click the Developer button on the top right and copy the code you see on the box:

  4. Click Cancel.

To create the new chat trigger using the copied code
  1. Return to the trigger list page and click Add Trigger.
  2. Click the Developer button again.
  3. Replace the code in the Customize trigger box with the code you copied.
  4. Update the code as needed. Click the Visual button to see the changes before saving them.
  5. Click Save changes.

Testing chat triggers

Chat triggers depend on caching data, IP addresses, user data, and more. Therefore, testing chat triggers isn't as simple as testing from a new tab in your browser. Instead, to perform an accurate test, you must successfully imitate a visitor and stage your account properly.

To imitate a visitor in chat
  • Use the Simulate visitor option in the Visitors page in the Chat dashboard.

    OR

  • Manually imitate a visitor using the following best practices:
    • Use a private browsing window, such as an incognito window in Chrome to ensure caching data in your main browser doesn't interfere with your testing.
    • If your trigger includes a condition that checks for previous visits, clearing your cache and cookies can also help.
    • If you're testing a trigger with location-based conditions, make sure you're testing from the correct location. Check that your browser matches the correct location so that the trigger can fire. See How does Zendesk capture the location of the end user?
To stage your account
  • Ensure your account, agents, and departments have the correct statuses to align with your trigger conditions. For example:
    • To test department routing, at least one agent from that department must be logged in to the Chat dashboard with a status of online. See Creating agents and departments in Chat.
    • To test triggers that fire when the account is offline, all agents must be logged out of the Chat dashboard or have a status of invisible.

Deactivating chat triggers

If you want a chat trigger to stop running but do not want to delete it, you can simply deactivate it. Deactivated triggers can be re-activated at any time.

To deactivate a chat trigger

  1. From the Chat dashboard, click Settings > Triggers.
  2. Click the row of the trigger you want to disable.
  3. Next to Trigger status, select Disable trigger.
  4. Click Save changes.

    On the Triggers settings page, the check mark is removed from the Enabled column.

  5. To re-enable a disabled trigger, click the trigger you want to enable, then click Enabled.

Activating chat triggers

Deactivated chat triggers can be re-activated at any time.

To activate a chat trigger
  1. From the Chat dashboard, click Settings > Triggers.
  2. Click the row of the trigger you want to disable.
  3. Next to Trigger status, select Enable trigger.
  4. Click Save changes.

Deleting chat triggers

When a chat trigger is no longer needed, you can delete them from the Triggers settings page. Deleted triggers cannot be recovered.

To delete a chat trigger

  1. From the Chat dashboard, click Settings > Triggers.
  2. Click the checkbox to the left of the trigger you want to delete. To select all triggers, click the checkbox to the left of the Name heading.
  3. Click Delete selected at the top of the page.
  4. Confirm that you want to delete the trigger. The trigger is removed from the Triggers list.

Edited Jan 02, 2025 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier commented,

CommentZendesk messaging

Hi, gan ganor.

Yes, agents and end users can still communicate within that same ticket via other available channels. Agents can use the channel selection drop-down in the composer to select whichever channel they choose (as long as it is available on their account) and continue the conversation without creating a new ticket, side conversation, or follow-up.

View comment · Edited Nov 20, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier commented,

CommentZendesk messaging

Hi, everyone! I've alerted the folks in charge that there's a lot of enthusiasm for automating the end session actions. 

 

Thanks for the feedback!

View comment · Posted Nov 20, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier commented,

CommentZendesk messaging

Hi, gan ganor. Yes, after an agent ends a session they can still communicate with the end user over other channels – email, Talk if it's available, etc.

View comment · Posted Nov 20, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleUsing messaging

Available on all Suite plans

Available on all Chat plans

You can allow agents to end a messaging session with an end user in the Agent Workspace if they think no further real-time discussion is needed. This can be useful when you want to prevent a customer from covering multiple issues in a single conversation or when the issue could be better handled through another channel.

Note: This setting is on by default. However, if you turned on messaging for your account before this feature was released, the option is off by default.

To turn on the end session feature for agents

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
  2. At the top of the Messaging page, click Manage settings.
  3. In the Advanced section, click Ending sessions.

  4. Select Agents can end messaging sessions at any time
  5. Click Save settings.

To turn off the end session feature for agents

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
  2. At the top of the Messaging page, click Manage settings.
  3. In the Advanced section, click Ending sessions.
  4. Deselect Agents can end messaging sessions at any time.
  5. Click Save settings.

If you are using CSAT surveys to collect customer feedback, you may want to update your CSAT triggers to send the survey when the agent ends the messaging session. See Sending a CSAT survey when a messaging session ends.

Note: To update the CSAT trigger, your account must have the customizable CSAT survey feature.

Edited Nov 20, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier created an article,

ArticleUsing messaging

Available on all Suite plans

Multi-conversations let your end users conduct multiple messaging conversations simultaneously in your Web Widget or mobile app, providing faster resolutions to their support issues and a more satisfying customer experience.

See Allowing multiple messaging conversations for information about setting up this feature.

See Configuring multi-conversations for developer information about this feature.

This article includes the following topics:

About multi-conversations

Considerations when turning on multi-conversations

Important: Turning on multi-conversations changes the end-user experience. These updates can’t be rolled back.

Before activating multi-conversations for your account, consider the following:

  • All web, iOS, and Android messaging channels are updated when you turn on multi-conversations for any messaging channel. Channels not selected to display the New conversation button will perform as described in Removing the New conversation button. We recommend turning on multi-conversations for all available messaging channels to align the end-user experience.
  • You can't fully revert to the single conversation experience for end users after you turn on the feature. You can prevent end users from starting additional conversations by removing the New conversation button, but end users will continue to have access to all conversations in the conversations list. End users can raise new issues by continuing any conversation in the conversations list.
  • Merging authenticated users will no longer combine conversations into a single history. By default, before turning on multi-conversations, authenticating an end user after starting a messaging conversation merges that end user with the matching authenticated user profile, and conversations under the authenticated user profile are combined into a single conversation history. When you turn on multi-conversations, authenticating an end user after starting a messaging conversation still merges them with the authenticated user profile. However, the conversation isn’t merged with prior conversations. This change is irreversible. If you are authenticating your end users you should work with your developers to ensure the authentication occurs before starting messaging conversations. Delaying authentication may result in duplicate tickets for the same issue. See Configuring multi-conversations for more information.

Requirements and limitations

Multi-conversations are available on accounts that meet the following requirements:
  • Messaging is turned on.
  • Your account must be using the Omnichannel Backend (OCB).
  • Zendesk iOS or Android SDK version 2.10.0 or later is required for multi-conversations. For the best user experience, version 2.25.0 or later is recommended.
  • Older SDK versions do not support this feature and will default to a single conversation experience.

Currently, multi-conversations have the following functionality limitations:

  • Zendesk Unity SDK and social messaging channels connected to your account do not support multi-conversations.
  • V1 SunCo APIs do not support multi-conversation.
  • Social channel linking (allowing an end user to move the conversation from the Web Widget to a social channel) is not available for multi-conversation users.

See our Developer documentation for more information, including additional Sunshine Conversations API capabilities and limitations.

Impact on the agent experience

In Agent Workspace, your agents likely support more than one conversation simultaneously. In this sense, turning on multi-conversations does not impact how they work with and view incoming conversations.

Even though each new conversation created by an end user and handed off to an agent results in a new ticket, agent interaction with these tickets and end-user profiles in Agent Workspace remains unchanged.

Understanding the end-user experience

Multi-conversations will significantly impact how end users interact with your web or mobile conversation widget.

In the mobile and Web Widget channels, your messaging bot behavior runs when an end user starts a new conversation.

This topic includes the following sections:

Changes to the mobile experience

If you offer messaging support through your mobile app, end users will see several changes in their UI.

The conversation list screen

This screen displays a list of the end user’s conversations. All conversations appear in the list, regardless of ticket or messaging session status. Conversations are listed in descending order based on the time of the latest message in each conversation.

Each conversation in the list includes the following information:

  • The title of the conversation.
  • The profile picture of the agent who sent the latest message in the conversation. Your bot avatar is displayed if an agent hasn’t responded to the conversation. The default agent image is displayed if the agent doesn’t have a profile picture.
  • The beginning of the latest message in the conversation. The agent’s username precedes the message if the agent submitted the most recent comment, or “You” if the end user submitted the most recent comment. The content of the message appears in bold if the end user has not read the latest message.
  • The timestamp of the latest message in the conversation.
  • A badge counter for unread messages.
  • The New conversation button. Tapping this button navigates the end user to the conversations screen and creates a new conversation. The button doesn’t appear if you have removed the New conversation button. In this case, end users can’t create a new, separate conversation but can continue to raise support issues in any pre-existing conversation.

The conversation screen

When you turn on multi-conversations, the header on the conversation screen includes the following features:

  • The conversation title, by default the start date/time of the conversation.
  • The profile picture for the agent who sent the most recent message in the conversation.
  • A back button that navigates to the previous screen.
See Customizing and configuring the Zendesk mobile SDKs for information on setting these features.

The launcher button

When the end user taps the launcher button to open the widget, its behavior depends on their pre-existing conversations.

  • If there are no pre-existing conversations, a new conversation opens on the conversation screen.

    If there are one or more pre-existing conversations, the conversation list screen opens. The end user can select the conversation they want to continue or start a new conversation by tapping the New conversation button.

Note: If you have removed the New conversation button, end users with only one conversation will navigate to the Conversation screen, where their conversation is displayed.

Push notifications

When a new message is added to a conversation, the user receives a push notification on their mobile device. Tapping the notification takes them to the Conversation screen, with the updated conversation open.

Notifications can be received when the end user:

  • Is viewing another conversation in the app.
  • Is viewing another screen in the app.
  • Is not currently in the app (depending on how their notifications are configured

However, new message notifications aren’t displayed if the end user is viewing the Conversation list. Instead, the newly updated conversation moves to the top of the list, and the new message is highlighted.

Changes to the Web Widget experience

If you offer messaging support through the Web Widget, your end users will see several changes in their UI.

Conversations list

When the end user clicks the launcher button, the Web Widget displays a list of the end user’s existing conversations. Conversations are listed in descending order based on the time of the latest message in each conversation. End users can click a conversation to open it in the Web Widget.

Each conversation in the list includes the following information:

  • The title of the conversation.
  • The avatar of the agent who sent the latest message in the conversation. Your bot avatar is displayed if an agent hasn’t responded to the conversation. The default agent image is displayed if the agent doesn’t have an avatar.
  • The beginning of the latest message in the conversation. The agent’s username precedes the message if the agent submitted the most recent comment, or “You” if the end user submitted the most recent comment. The content of the message appears in bold if the end user has not read the latest message.
  • The timestamp of the latest message in the conversation.
  • A badge counter for unread messages.

    The New conversation button. Clicking this button navigates the end user to the conversation screen and creates a new conversation. The button doesn’t appear if you have removed the New conversation button. In this case end users can’t create a new, separate conversation but can continue to raise support issues in any pre-existing conversation.

Conversations

When the end user is viewing a conversation, the Web Widget frame includes the following features:

  • The conversation title, by default the start date/time of the conversation.
  • The avatar of the agent who sent the most recent message in the conversation
  • A back button to return to the list of conversations.

The launcher button

When the end user clicks the launcher button to open the Web Widget, its behavior depends on their pre-existing conversations.

  • If there are no pre-existing conversations, the Web Widget opens, and a new bot interaction begins based on your bot configuration – essentially, the bot behavior is the same as it would be without multi-conversations turned on.
  • If there are one or more pre-existing conversations, a list of conversations opens, allowing the end user to select the conversation they want to continue or start a new conversation by clicking the New conversation button.

If you remove the New conversation button, end users with only one conversation will navigate to the Conversation screen, where their conversation is displayed.

Proactive Messages

When you turn on multi-conversations, proactive messages sent to end users create new conversations rather than being appended to an existing conversation.

If you remove the New conversation button, your proactive messages will stop creating new conversations. Instead, subsequent proactive messages are appended to the latest updated conversation.

Edited Jan 08, 2025 · Aimee Spanier

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Aimee Spanier commented,

CommentAI agent basics

Thanks for catching that, Marci Abraham. I've updated the article.

View comment · Posted Oct 10, 2024 · Aimee Spanier

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