Recent searches
No recent searches
![Devan La Spisa's Avatar](https://support.zendesk.com/system/photos/5739276528922/E030MJJ0BQF-UJKGYB605-9a44d57e8b5a-512.jpeg)
Devan La Spisa
Joined Apr 14, 2021
·
Last activity Feb 05, 2025
Following
0
Followers
11
Total activity
1035
Votes
10
Subscriptions
875
ACTIVITY OVERVIEW
BADGES
ARTICLES
POSTS
COMMUNITY COMMENTS
ARTICLE COMMENTS
ACTIVITY OVERVIEW
Latest activity by Devan La Spisa
Devan La Spisa created an article,
In our recent webinar, Unlocking AI Success with Zendesk Knowledge Base, we explored innovative strategies to elevate customer experience using AI. This session featured valuable insights from our expert panel, including members from the Zendesk CX, Product, and Community Teams. In this article you will find our event recording, Q&A Summary, resources from our event and our full event presentation deck.
Event Recording
Q&A Summary
With your enterprise plan, you can enhance your knowledge base using several AI-powered tools:
- Intent dashboard: Identify common customer issues to populate your knowledge base.
- Generative AI tools: Use features like ""Expand"" and ""Tone Shift"" to streamline article creation.
- Generative search: Improve information retrieval for agents and customers in your help center.
- AI agents: Leverage AI agents to assist with customer inquiries.
Resources: 5 strategies for building up your help center content for AI
Currently, Zendesk's generative AI responses utilize only text-based content. This includes information from articles, community posts, and federated sources when using our federated search.
For AI agents, responses are also based solely on text from articles and federated search sources.
We’re excited to share that support for embedded graphics, images, and text files (including PDFs) is on our roadmap and will be available later this year!
Yes, generative search results will eventually be available for anonymous users, meaning you won't need to sign in to access them. Initially, during the early access program, this feature will be limited to logged-in users. Once we officially release it to the public, all users will be able to enjoy generative search, including those who are not logged in.
While the organization of your knowledge base articles doesn’t directly affect how AI agents operate, it does play an important indirect role. A well-organized knowledge base allows you and your team to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, which ultimately benefits your AI agents.
When articles are organized effectively, it’s easier to identify gaps and ensure that your knowledge base remains healthy. Good organization is key to unlocking the full potential of AI in your support processes!
Resources: Best practices for creating a successful knowledge base
You can leverage your ticket data to strengthen your knowledge base and improve your AI capabilities. Here are some effective strategies:
- Identify common questions: Review frequent tickets to find recurring questions. If customers often ask the same thing, consider creating a helpful article to address it.
- Analyze categorized tickets: Look at categorized tickets to understand the main topics or issues your customers face. This will help ensure your knowledge base covers essential information.
- Utilize popular macros: If your team frequently uses the same responses, these can be turned into articles or refined for AI use.
- Transform agent responses: Take effective responses from your agents, copy them into an article, and use the generative AI expand feature to create a polished, comprehensive article.
Resources: 5 strategies for building up your help center content for AI
Currently, there is no direct replacement for the soon-to-be sunsetted content cues. While we don’t plan to create a separate feature for this, we are excited to introduce data insights and benchmarks within the product in a more contextual way.
Although we can’t specify what will replace content cues, we assure you that this year, new data points will be integrated closer to your workflow as an admin. This will help you take meaningful actions to enhance your knowledge base.
Resources: Announcing the removal of Guide Content Cues
When your knowledge base has gaps, it can significantly affect the performance of your AI. If important information is missing, AI-generated answers and AI agents may struggle to provide the assistance customers need.
This not only limits the effectiveness of your AI but also negatively impacts the overall customer experience. A strong knowledge base is essential for supporting both your agents and your customers, so it's important to keep it comprehensive and up to date.
Resources: Best practices for creating a successful knowledge base
AI agents locate information based on the content of your articles. Key factors include:
- Titles and initial sentences: The title and the first 75 words are essential. Use clear titles and language that matches how users search. If the article is long, include a summary at the top.
- Labels: Labels help organize content and can guide AI on what to include or exclude from search results.
By structuring your content effectively, you can enhance the AI's ability to suggest relevant articles and improve the customer experience.
Yes, AI agents consider both the title of the support article and the first 75 words when determining whether to pull information from it.
As a best practice, avoid duplicating the exact wording in the title and the initial sentences. Instead, use this opportunity to rephrase or incorporate synonyms that resonate with your audience. By doing so, you can ensure that you capture a wide range of customer-friendly terms in both the title and the opening of your articles.
Resources: Optimizing your help center content for AI agents
To enhance AI answers in your knowledge base, you can utilize three main sources: articles, posts, and external content accessed through the federated search API or crawlers.
It's important to note that no single source is prioritized over another, so you can't influence their usage rates. However, using search filters can impact the generated answers by providing different results for the AI to draw from. This means that applying the right filters can help tailor the information your AI provides to better meet user needs.
When deciding whether to combine information into a single article or break it into separate articles, consider the topic you're addressing:
- Single topics or FAQs: If you’re answering a specific question that frequently arises, it’s beneficial to create a standalone article. This makes it easier for users to find the information they need and can improve SEO.
- Complex processes: For topics that involve multiple steps or are more complex, it’s best to keep all related information together in one article. This helps prevent confusion, as AI agents rely solely on the context provided in the article.
- Use separate articles for clear FAQs and combine information for more complex topics to enhance the effectiveness of your AI responses and improve user experience.
Here are two effective tips for content writers to save time while ensuring accuracy with AI:
- Generative AI tools: Utilize generative AI tools to expand and enhance your article content. At Zendesk, agents can contribute to content creation by copying answers from ticket responses, pasting them into the article editor, and then using AI tools to optimize and structure the content for better presentation.
- Knowledge context panel and templates: Take advantage of the knowledge context panel, especially the templates feature. This helps streamline your published content and ensures consistency across articles.
By integrating these tools into your writing process, you can save time and improve the quality of your knowledge base!
Resources: 5 strategies for building up your help center content for AI
When creating a knowledge base for AI, attention to detail in content structure is crucial. Here are some important tips:
- Clear titles and subtitles: Be precise with your titles and subtitles. For example, if you have an article about FAQs, specify what the FAQs are about. This clarity helps AI better understand the content and provide more accurate answers.
- Use of lists: Incorporate bullet points and numbered lists effectively. Use numbered lists for sequences that customers need to follow (e.g., steps in a process), and bullet points for non-sequential information. This organization makes it easier for both users and AI to navigate the content.
To measure and improve your knowledge base, focus on these key performance indicators (KPIs):
- Self-service ratio: Track how often users find answers in your knowledge base compared to submitting support tickets. A higher ratio indicates better utilization.
- Content audits: Regularly review content related to high-ticket topics to identify gaps and optimize findability. This helps improve user experience and reduce ticket volume.
- Traffic and engagement: Monitor changes in traffic and engagement for updated content over time to assess the impact of your improvements.
- Customer feedback: Gather insights through surveys or interviews to identify areas for improvement and measure user sentiment.
Combining these quantitative and qualitative measures will help you enhance the effectiveness of your knowledge base.
Resources: Best practices: Measuring and optimizing your self-service channels
At Zendesk, we view our knowledge base as the foundation for enhancing all customer experiences, powering AI searches, AI agents, and the Copilot feature. Here are some key areas of focus for our roadmap:
- Improved searchability: We are working on enhancing the searchability and accuracy of knowledge retrieval for AI agents and users, ensuring they can easily access relevant information.
- Integration of additional sources: We aim to incorporate knowledge from other platforms, such as Slack and Confluence, alongside the articles in your knowledge base.
- Enhanced copilot support: We are developing features within the knowledge base to better guide Copilot in handling tickets, making it more robust and effective.
- Scalable management features: We are introducing features like article multi-placement to simplify managing large volumes of content. A new article editor will also be available soon, allowing for advanced components like drag-and-drop tabulation and accordions.
- Self-service dashboards: We will launch dashboards that track anonymous user activity, which has been highly requested.
- Attachment improvements: We continue to enhance the experience of adding attachments to articles and are working on features like search functionality within the media library.
These initiatives aim to create a more efficient and user-friendly knowledge base, ultimately improving the overall support experience.
Event Resources
Event Presentation
Knowledge Manager User Group
Event Recording
Edited Feb 06, 2025 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
2
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created an article,
Are you eager to enhance your customer service with the latest AI innovations? Join us on October 24 at 11 AM CT for an exclusive 75-minute webinar that dives deep into the exciting announcements from the Zendesk AI Summit!
In this informative session, you’ll learn how to leverage powerful tools like Agent Copilot, AI Agents, and AI-Powered Voice to transform your customer support operations. Our expert panel will showcase how these innovations can assist your agents with real-time insights, automate routine queries, and foster natural interactions—all aimed at boosting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
What Awaits You:
-
Live Demos: Experience our products in action and see firsthand how they can revolutionize your customer service.
-
Interactive Q&A: Have questions? Submit them in advance or ask them live and our experts will address them during the session.
- Exclusive Insights: Discover the latest advancements in Zendesk AI and how you can apply them to elevate your customer service strategy.
Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable insights and practical tips on how Zendesk AI can help you drive success in your customer support initiatives.
Register Today!
Secure your spot now and be part of a conversation that could reshape your approach to customer service.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Edited Oct 10, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
1
Follower
3
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created an article,
Our event on August 29 focused on achieving customer service excellence through the integration of workforce management (WFM) and quality assurance (QA). Participants heard from a panel of experts who shared practical tips and the latest innovations to improve support operations. The event was designed for both newcomers and experienced professionals, offering insights on optimizing workforce management and enhancing workflows. In this article, you'll find our event recording, Q&A highlights, and the event presentation, making it a useful resource for anyone looking to improve their customer service strategies.
Event Recording
Q&A Summary
Zendesk QA: In simple terms, Zendesk WFM and QA adjust exceptionally well with varying business sizes and customer service demands. Particularly with the QA component, the onboarding process is significantly expedited, which proves highly beneficial if your business experiences seasonal influxes. Moreover, it assists scaling businesses by ensuring seamless agent onboarding as your team grows. So both the WFM and QA elements of Zendesk are designed to adapt and grow with your business needs.
Zendesk WFM: Zendesk WFM is a tool that aids in planning, forecasting, and scheduling tasks by offering reliable data. A key feature is its automatic tracking of work hours, ensuring no work time is missed. This tool is beneficial for all team sizes, as it provides accurate data essential for team management. Zendesk WFM also leverages AI to anticipate future needs and discount irrelevant past events, facilitating effective staffing and schedule management. In a nutshell, Zendesk WFM helps make team management and planning simpler.
We consider customer satisfaction (CSAT) and our own performance metrics (KPIs) very important. CSAT helps to gauge customer happiness but it's not always reflective of an agent's performance.
So, we ensure that CSAT is aligned with quality scores, which helps distinguish between negative feedback caused by an agent's performance or due to other reasons such as product or process issues.
We measure agent quality scores in two ways: one is the 'Internal Quality Score' (IQS), giving a percentage score for each reviewed ticket and providing an aggregate score for each agent, team, or the whole department.
The second is the 'Auto QA Score' (AQS), which is assessed entirely by AI, providing a quick overview of all the tickets. This helps identify where human review is required.
In summary, we majorly focus on the IQS, AQS and CSAT to ensure quality and satisfaction in our services.
We recommend getting in touch with your account manager if you haven't done so already. We offer a 30-day trial so you can test it out and see the value it brings to your organization. Your account manager will be happy to assist you throughout this process. It's as simple as reaching out and giving it a try.
Resources: Getting started with Zendesk workforce management
We use two ways to fully automate your Quality Assurance (QA) process.
The first is Auto QA, where AI assesses your tickets based on standard categories like greeting, closure, spelling and grammar, empathy, and tone of the agent. This takes care of the 'soft skills' aspects, saving you the time of meticulously checking each ticket.
The second method involves manual focus on factors you particularly care about such as process adherence. We also use AI-powered spotlights, just like with VoiceQA, to identify tickets that might have sentiment extremes, churn risk, or display extraordinary agent performance.
Not only does Auto QA review your tickets automatically, it also helps you prioritize the tickets that need your manual review. This way, your time on ticket review becomes more efficient and impactful.
Getting teams involved requires a step-by-step approach:
1. Start with 'Performance Monitoring and Management'. Ask team members to log their tasks such as meetings or lunches. This minimal change helps collect useful activity data and familiarizes them with our productivity metrics.
2. Next, introduce 'Resource Planning' using Zendesk WFM. Here, team members will be able to view their schedules, request time-off, or even swap shifts directly from Zendesk Support. They'll also receive notifications about any schedule changes. For managers, this is the stage to create data-driven shift layouts and roll out weekly or monthly schedules.
By gradually adding elements ad helping teams familiarize themselves, we ensure smooth and engaging onboarding.
Yes. Manual QA is fully customisable. You can also choose which of our predefined Auto QA categories you would like to use, and some of these can be further tweaked as well - e.g. Spelling and Grammar, greetings, and closings.
Resources: Creating custom AutoQA categories
Yes. Our powerful AI filters help you find the important tickets to review, and then you can set these filters to be recurring review assignments that will randomly select tickets to review based on the criteria you set.
For QA and WFM all of your information is drawn directly from Zendesk into the individual platforms. You'll be able to then report based on the specifics of QA and WFM in each respective platform. At this time you can not see this information in Zendesk Explore but we are looking forward to integrating more closely in the future.
Besides having a clear insight into AHT and work completed - Zendesk WFM enables you to have a better insight into when your agents are actively working on a ticket vs when they're idle. Also, thanks to our point-oriented metrics, you're able to have a more in-depth productivity reporting in place by measuring more than just - how many tickets ended up being solved at the end? You're having an insight into their productivity during an entire ticket life cycle which reflects through having Handled, Escalated, Attended, or Bounce Points attributed.
Resources: Tracking agent time spent outside of Zendesk (EAP) , About workforce management dashboards
Sendle: "Easier to check attendance, but also real-time adherence, at a glance. I can see who’s working at any given time and adjust our staffing requirements"
Tembici: 75% Increase in agent efficiency, 80% Decrease in average resolution time, 30% Reduction in annual operational costs.
Link customer stories."
Resources: Sendle ups productivity with omnichannel CX and WFM tools, Tembici sees 30% cost savings with Zendesk WFM
Zendesk WFM is pretty versatile and not limited to customer-facing workflows. It works equally well for internal teams that use Zendesk to create tickets. With Zendesk WFM, you can track how much time is being spent on different aspects of your internal tasks, and understand productivity in real-time or historically. Essentially, whether it's customer-facing or internal tickets, Zendesk WFM treats them all the same, helping you manage your workflows efficiently.
Zendesk WFM helps you see real-time updates about your agents' work. Every 20-30 seconds, the system updates what ticket an agent is handling. You can sort these tickets according to the time spent, which is beneficial in monitoring work distribution. And if needed, you can directly access any ticket just by clicking on it from the report. So, Zendesk WFM keeps you connected with your team's workload in a practical and straightforward way.
Resources: About the Agent status page, About the Agent activity page
Organizational structure is completely independently approached and customized to support customers in building out different sites (Locations), teams, permissions and roles, work streams (lines of businesses/skills/buckets of work)
Resources: About WFM general tasks, Setting up locations and shifts in Zendesk WFM, Setting up teams in Zendesk WFM, Creating and editing workforce management dashboards, Managing user access in your WFM account, Managing WFM roles and permissions
For assistance with setup, we have several resources ready for you. Our Zendesk QA YouTube channel has numerous tutorials and expert interviews to guide you. When you sign up, you can check out our Zendesk QA help center that is packed with useful information. We also offer webinars and live setup sessions to assist you with onboarding. Moreover, we have a dedicated customer support team in place to ensure you're set up correctly right from the beginning. So, whether you're just exploring or ready to dive in, we have many resources to help you get the most out of these tools.
Resources: Zendesk QA Youtube, Using Zendesk QA, Contacting Zendesk Customer Support, Zendesk Workforce management (WFM) resources, Zendesk WFM (Tymeshift)
Note: Features & timelines are subject to change.
We've got a feature called 'acceptance rates' in our dashboards. It highlights when the AI score aligns with the human score, which is typically 95-96% of the time. While AI can make mistakes, just like humans, it's important to remember that AI errors may be different than human ones.
We understand the human tendency to be cautious about AI, and that's why we have embedded this data point in our dashboards. Our AI is consistently fine-tuned for accuracy. Seeing the high acceptance rate when you start using the product could be a persuasive indicator of its reliability. We’re always working towards making our AI more trustworthy for users.
In case agents work across multiple groups, WFM adapts flexibly depending on the level of detail you need. If they're working on different types of tickets, you can set up work streams for each category. This way, the agent activity screen will show changes as soon as an agent switches from one ticket type to another giving you real-time and historical data.
If you prefer to see when agents are handling tickets in general, no customization is needed. Importantly, this set up is fully automated for agents. They don't need to manually switch statuses when they change groups. It's all based on their actual clicks, making the process easy and efficient.
Timezones can be tailored to each location/site built in Zendesk WFM. This is useful for teams that operate globally, and it translates into having agents that belong to the specific site/location seeing the data in their own time zone, while WFM Admins can still view their schedules in their own default time zone. We also have a time zone switcher that can be utilized.
Resources: Using the WFM timezone switcher, Setting up locations and shifts in Zendesk WFM
Nope - we do see that teams get a hige amount of value from using both together, but you do not need to use WFM to use QA, and you dont need to use QA to use WFM - you only need to use Zendesk to use either or both.
We do! We have courses and demo videos available on the Zendesk QA Youtube channel.
Resources: Zendesk QA YouTube
Klaus - SOC-2 Type 2 yes, HiPAA we're working on as part of the integration with Zendesk.
WFM - Yes, SOC2 Type 2 compliant. not HIPAA compliant yet.
Depending on WFM goals and customer's current Zendesk environment, this is where implementation can be more or less extensive. As a benchmark based on our data and previous experience, most customers can get up and running within 4-6 weeks.
Agent Activity + Reports
Agent Activity - this is where we can identify short, alternating timesheets, with no productivity points shown below on the productivity bar.
Reports - with the use of our point-oriented metrics + Ticket Bounce Points + AHT (Agent Handle Time)
Resources: About the Agent activity page
Yes
We recommend playing with out powerful AI powered filters when you set up Klaus to find tickets that matter to you to review. Once you've found tickets, you can set up recurring assignments that will deliver randomly selected tickets that meet those criteria to each of your QA specialists to review.
Resources: Setting up autoscoring in Zendesk QA using AutoQA, Using Spotlight to filter conversations
Using Zendesk WFM effectively to enhance agent productivity starts with understanding your data - knowing where and how agents are spending their time. Viewing this data can be eye-opening and forms the basis for further improvements.
Having a tool like Zendesk WFM can help managers spot agents who are struggling in real-time, and offer immediate support, which can result in improved performance over time.
For admins and managers, enhancing productivity begins with tracking key metrics regularly. Thanks to detailed and customizable reports provided by Zendesk WFM, you can have a clear understanding of productivity trends and make necessary changes.
Moreover, a tool like this simplifies forecasting and scheduling tasks, freeing up more time for coaches and mentors, which ultimately leads to a more productive and efficient team. Looking at it from different angles really helps in maximizing the benefits of Zendesk WFM.
Not yet - this is something that is currently under development and should be launched pretty soon.
This functionality is currently in EAP. It should be available for every customer quite soon.
The productivity points will be calculated based on agent interaction. If an agent looks at a ticket but does not do anything, there will be no productivity points assigned. If they make internal changes but don't interact with the customer, for example, they will get an 'Attended Point'.
Resources: WFM custom report metrics
Event Resources
Event Presentation
Zendesk AI User Group
Event Recording
Edited Sep 09, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
2
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created an article,
On August 1, we hosted an engaging event on "How to Prepare your Team for AI Driven CX." Attendees learned best practices for involving teams in AI adoption and heard valuable insights from Heather Eeles, VP of Client Support at Benevity, who shared her experiences with implementing AI tools. The session highlighted the importance of engaging team members to ensure smooth integration and maximize the benefits of AI. Below, you'll find resources, the event recording, and answers to the top questions from our Q&A session. Don't miss out on these valuable takeaways to help prepare your team for an AI-driven future.
Event Recording
Q&A Summary
Q1. Is there a way to train the AI to speak in our company's language? We use unique terms for our customers and also have words we do not want used when replying to customers.
Yes, you can use bot personas to determine the style of expression applied to AI-generated messages, giving them a consistent voice that reflects your brand.
Resources: Using bot personas to add personality to AI-generated responses.
Q2. What should we prepare our agents for when it comes to utilizing AI?
To prepare for Zendesk AI, it's important to educate your agents on its capabilities through training and test environments.
Q3. Our teams add tables to our comments, such as a 4x7 table with products and costs. Will these tone change features alter our table data?
It is possible that the generative AI options may alter your data table in a ticket reply, so we recommend that you highlight the text you want improved by generative AI so the table is not considered at all.
Q4. Our teams add tables to our comments, such as a 4x7 table with products and costs. Will these tone change features alter our table data?
It is possible that the generative AI options may alter your data table in a ticket reply, so we recommend that you highlight the text you want improved by generative AI so the table is not considered at all.
Q5. Can I have a bot just visible to Agents for asking AI for answers such as in ChatGPT?
If you have an internal Help Center, or one that is only available to agents, then certainly! The AI Agent generative replies will only pull from content within your Help Center at this time, and does not index the same breadth of information that ChatGPT does. There is also an EAP for Agents to index this information from within Agent Workspace.
Resource: Generative search for Agent Workspace (EAP)
Q6. How do you use sentiment to change ticket routing?
You can route triaged tickets using omnichannel routing. Further, intelligent triage automatically determines the ticket intent, the language it's written in, and the customer sentiment (positive or negative). You can then take this information and route tickets from email, messaging, and calls.
Resource: Routing automatically triaged tickets using omnichannel routing
Q7. With generative replies for the bot, we have been hesitant to implement them because we can't test them in our sandbox. I'd like some ideas of what will happen. If the bot generates a reply for the customer, will it still put them into a flow, or what does that look like?
Within Bot Builder, you can designate when you want a generative reply to occur. If the bot detects a matching answer within your Bot Builder, then that will always take precedence.
Resource: Using AI to generate replies in a conversation bot
Q8. For generative responses, it sounds like the responses will only be as good as your Help Center, so keeping it up to date is critical. Is there a criterion or failsafe that the bot uses to identify bad information that might have slipped through the cracks? For instance, information from an article that hasn't been updated for a certain time.
Yes, responses will only be as good as the quality of the Help Center content. While the bot does not have any inherent failsafe components, other tools within Guide, such as Article Verification and Content Cues, can help content administrators keep article information up to date and valid for end users.
Event Resources
Edited Aug 14, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
2
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created a post,
Join us on August 1st for an exciting event, "How to Prepare Your Team for AI-Driven CX." Discover best practices to get your agents ready for AI and excited about its accompanying benefits. Involving your teams in the process is critical for internal adoption, and we're here to guide you!
We are thrilled to feature Heather Eeles, VP of Client Support at Benevity. Heather has successfully rolled out time-saving AI tools to her teams and will share invaluable insights along with tips and tricks from her experience.
This event is a must-attend! Register today!
![](/hc/user_images/01J33HNG4CY11DMG53KKT5XVVN.png)
Edited Jul 18, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
0
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created an article,
Join us on August 1st for an exciting event, "How to Prepare Your Team for AI-Driven CX." Discover best practices to get your agents ready for AI and excited about its accompanying benefits. Involving your teams in the process is critical for internal adoption, and we're here to guide you!
We are thrilled to feature Heather Eeles, VP of Client Support at Benevity. Heather has successfully rolled out time-saving AI tools to her teams and will share invaluable insights along with tips and tricks from her experience.
This event is a must-attend! Register today!
Edited Jul 18, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
1
Follower
3
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created a post,
Join us on June 27 at 11:00 AM CST for the highly anticipated second event in our Post-Relate Community series, where we’ll delve into the world of AI agents: the most autonomous bots in CX.
Our expert panel will provide a deep dive into the core functionalities of AI agents, followed by an engaging, interactive demo. You’ll also gain valuable insights into best practices, use cases, and resources you can leverage to start transforming your service experiences with AI agents today.
If your goals include driving higher automated resolution rates, elevating every customer interaction, and enhancing your operational efficiencies, don't miss this opportunity to learn how you can harness the full power of Zendesk AI agents. Register today to secure your spot and get your questions answered in our live Q&A session.
![](/hc/user_images/01HZSQ3S2EQRZT28WZJTA3YCQ0.png)
Posted Jun 07, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
0
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created a post,
Post-Relate Community Series: Zendesk Custom Objects Event Recap
On May 30th, we hosted the inaugural event in our Post-Relate Community series, focusing on Zendesk Custom Objects. This exciting kickoff featured a panel of Zendesk product experts and developers who showcased the latest features and updates from Relate. Attendees had the unique opportunity to participate in a live Q&A session, ensuring their questions were addressed directly by the experts.
The event provided an in-depth exploration of various topics, including object triggers, integrating custom objects into help centers, and enhanced reporting capabilities for custom objects. Additionally, participants were treated to an exclusive live preview of the highly anticipated multi-select fields, designed to significantly enhance the agent experience. This event marked a significant step in our ongoing commitment to keeping the Zendesk community informed and engaged with our latest innovations.
For those who couldn't attend, we have made the event recording available, along with a compilation of the top questions from our Q&A session. You'll also find valuable resources, including the presentation deck and other materials from the event, to help you further explore and implement these new features in your Zendesk environment.
Top Questions from Our Q&A
1. How do I implement Custom Objects from a beginner perspective?
Answer: We recommend starting with Understanding Custom Objects and Planning your Custom Object Workflow. After you have a plan and place you can turn on the feature and start creating your custom objects.
2. What are the best practice to access custom objects via api for use in other AWS services?
Answer: We've got a full suite of API's available for custom objects! There's lots of best practices - but most of them can be found in our documentation at developer.zendesk.com.
3. Are Custom Objects available for all license types?
Answer: Custom Objects are available for all Zendesk Suite Plans but only Enterprise Zendesk Support plans.
4. Are custom objects able to link similar assets together? For example will there be prompts of other tickets logged with the same type of asset?
Answer: There are many ways to view the relationship between custom objects and other records within Zendesk. Using the Custom object records page in Support is a good way to view all tickets associated with a specific custom object's record.
5. What does the deletion flow look like for custom objects?
Answer: Deleting a record, such as a user, that is related to a custom object's record doesn't affect the custom object or it's record.
6. With the security add on and data retention. How does Custom objects get impacted if the ticket gets deleted due to the schedule?
Answer: A ticket being deleted won't affect any related custom object records. They will continue to exist unchanged.
7. What is Zendesk's stance on using webhooks?
Answer: We understand how valuable webhooks can be for unlocking more advanced functionality for custom objects. As with any external services, we can't make guarantees about how they'll work. So, if you do use webhooks with custom objects, just be aware of the potential for race conditions or other complexities that could occur.
8. Will we be able to surface custom objects related to a user's organization in the help center?
Answer: We'll have the concept of filtering by organization in Help Center; however, filters aren't the same as restrictions, so end users would still potentially have access to all of an object's records via the API. For that reason, even with filtering in place, we recommend avoiding giving end users access to custom objects that contain any sensitive data.
9. Will custom objects in guide be capable of being filtered by the user's org, similar to how it can be done on the agent's form now?
Answer: Yes, that's the plan for the user-interface experience. However, filters aren't the same as restrictions, so end users would still potentially have access to all of an object's records via the API. For that reason, even with filtering in place, we recommend avoiding giving end users access to custom objects that contain any sensitive data.
10. Is there any way to create a report on custom object records themselves in Explore?
Answer: We consider integrating with Explore to be a huge value add - and it seems like the community agrees with us! We're working on it, but we want to make sure that what we deliver is a top notch experience.
Event Resources
Additional Materials
Edited Jun 04, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
0
Votes
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created a post,
Dear Zendesk Customers,
Amisha Sharma here, Product Manager for Reading & Writing Experience.
The Agent Workspace PM roundtable session this week was a resounding success—thanks to all who attended! We shared our direction for the year on what's coming, and on what we’re working on but will take us a little longer to deliver.
Your feedback and the questions you all raised are precious to us. Thank you so much for engaging with us in the chat and for coming off mute to ask us questions in person—we loved it!
We learned a lot from you all about the ways you want us to keep enhancing the reading experience in ticket UI to quickly gather the ticket context and help agents read faster and inturn be more productive when resolving tickets. Here are a few of our top takeaways from the session:
On our new UI approaches:
- Colors to distinguish between agent and end user messages seem like the right direction.
- Keyboard controls to skip through messages is helpful to navigate.
- Channel icons help gather the channel information quickly.
You want more ways to customize the look and feel of conversation log, like:
- Ability to decide how messages should be aligned, agent on the right, end user on the left or all on the left.
- Ability to change the font size and message background colors.
Feedback on the proposed "Pinned Note" feature:
- You loved the idea of pinning an important note.
- Majority of you expected to be able to pin an existing internal note instead of creating a new one.
- You expect the note to live in the conversation history in the event it is unpinned. Auditing is a major requirement for this feature. Every comment needs to be captured and scanned.
- You also expect triggers to work well with pinned notes.
Feedback on the proposed "Collapsed Messages" feature:
- It will be a big help for the lengthy or detailed messages.
- You would like Ctrl + F to work for the collapsed details as well.
Thank you for providing all the valuable insights as we work towards making the current reading experience more efficient. We will continue to provide updates as we work towards releasing some of these features. Please continue to provide your valuable feedback here.
See you all in the community.
Amisha Sharma, Lucy Liao, Rachna Keswani, Lisa Kelly
Resources from our event
Edited May 10, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
1
Vote
0
Comments
Devan La Spisa created a post,
Zendesk Community Post Relate Recap
This year’s Relate was a powerhouse of innovation and connection, featuring a full house of Zendesk community leaders. We’re thrilled to share the highlights and insights from our gathering in Las Vegas for those who joined us and anyone who missed out. Here’s everything you need to know about the announcements and amazing engagements at Relate 2024!
Key Announcements from Relate 2024
Exciting Updates on Our Customer Experience Tools: Next-Gen AI and Agent Copilot
At Relate, we've rolled out new updates to our customer service technology, including next-gen AI agents and the Agent Copilot. These tools are made to help teams simplify and personalize how they interact with customers.
-
Autonomous Interactions: AI agents can independently handle inquiries, providing tailored solutions by tapping into comprehensive knowledge bases. This autonomy has greatly improved efficiency.
-
Agent Copilot Support: Enhancements in support for our agents included utilizing historical data to optimize workflows and anticipate customer needs better. This approach has allowed us to be more proactive in our customer service.
-
Increased Customer Satisfaction: Faster responses and more precise solutions have been key results from these AI-driven tools, leading to improved customer satisfaction scores.
Improvements in Workforce Management (WFM) and Quality Assurance (QA)
In response to the evolving challenges in managing customer service operations, we have deployed AI-powered tools. These are designed to streamline processes and help ensure high quality in every interaction.
-
Predictive Workforce Tools: Advanced forecasting algorithms that help teams dynamically adjust staffing levels, ensuring that we always have the right resources when needed.
-
Comprehensive QA Features: Better evaluations of AI-agent interactions, helping teams maintain high service standards and identify opportunities for agent development.
-
Operational Efficiency and Satisfaction: These tools will lead to quicker issue resolutions and sustained high customer satisfaction, boosting overall service efficiency.
Building Trust in AI: Ensuring Security and Compliance in Technology Deployments
The integration of AI into our customer service platforms has been crucial. We have developed effective security measures and strict controls over AI applications to adhere to today's high standards of data protection and compliance.
-
Robust Security and Compliance: Comprehensive security features and compliance support, helping teams to navigate regulatory challenges while safeguarding customer data.
-
Proactive Data Management: AI tools made to proactively manage data, identifying and redacting sensitive information to enhance privacy.
- Enhancing Customer Trust: Prioritizing security and transparency in our AI implementations to better strengthen customer trust and commit to enhancing relationships through technology.
Upcoming Community Deep Dives
- Exploring Custom Objects: Post-Relate Deep Dive - May 30, 11:00 AM CST
The Zendesk Community at Relate
Luminaries Lounge
This year, the Zendesk Community had its very own lounge where attendees could take a breather, recharge their batteries (mentally and electronically), and connect with others. It was fantastic to meet so many new and long-term community members, many of whom signed up for our Luminaries program at Relate. For those who joined, a big welcome, and we can’t wait to connect with you digitally and in person next year!
Community Question Wall
It wouldn’t have truly been a community experience at Relate without a place to ask questions. Luckily we had everyone covered with our Community Question Wall! It was amazing seeing everyone posting their questions, providing responses and sharing their knowledge. We’ll be publishing those questions and answers in the community over the next couple of days, be sure to follow the “Announcements” topic to get notifications when those are live.
Build a Lego mini-me
Creativity and expression was a “block”buster hit with so many people building little self portraits at our Lego space. Attendees created mini fantastical versions of themselves with a menagerie of Lego parts, displayed them for all to see, and made profile cards showcasing their 'CX Superpowers' to share with others. It was amazing to see so many people meeting each other and witness the amazing creativity of those in attendance and we can’t wait to have more way for you to unleash your creativity at next year’s Relate!
Rockstar Community Members
Community Leaders on Stage
The Zendesk User Groups were live and in-person for the first time ever this year in Las Vegas. The Enterprise, Admin, AI, and SMB User Groups hosted meetups, giving group members a chance to meet, talk, and learn from one another. Thank you to Brandon Tidd, Michael Locurcio, Eric Nelson, Tiffany Bellah, Anthony Stenhouse, and Nicholas Erickson for doing such an amazing job Leading these meetups and sharing your insightful knowledge with everyone else at Relate. We look forward to more opportunities to bring our User Groups together in person in the future!
Relate Connections: Happy Hour & Dinner
It was great to see so many community members at our Relate happy hour and appreciation dinner. Gathering poolside provided a fantastic opportunity for everyone to connect, network and have a little fun in the sun. During our Luminaries appreciation dinner, we were thrilled to express our gratitude to those who have made significant contributions to all our user-led programs. These gatherings offered more than just excellent networking opportunities; they also allowed time to relax, members to meet face-to-face, and create memorable experiences before everyone returned home.
A Message from Drew Frey - Sr. Manager, User Group & Luminaries Programs
Thank you all for attending this year's Relate conference! We appreciate the effort and expense it takes to travel, often from great distances, and your presence means a lot to us. We hope the conference was as enriching for you as it was for us.
Face-to-face meetings are invaluable for building connections, and thanks to our wonderful Luminaries and User Group Leaders, this year was especially memorable. Our special community activations, including the Luminaries Lounge, dedicated networking sessions hosted by our User Group Leaders, happy hours, dinners and more, were key to the lively and successful atmosphere.
Thank you again for your enthusiasm and participation throughout the week. As we reflect on this year, we’re excited to make Relate 2025 even more memorable and impactful. We can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together next year!
Drew Frey - Zendesk Sr. Manager, User Programs
A Message from Brandon Tidd - Zendesk Architect of our 729 Solutions.
In just three days, I was able to make over 50 meaningful connections with other Zendesk enthusiasts, employees and engaged customers (and walk over 25 miles). But now, the real work begins. With every Relate comes a plethora of new features to unpack and understand, as well as new workflows to architects that weren’t possible before. The AI product offerings will continue to evolve over the next year, and the other recently acquired brands will become more integrated into the product.
Where there are new elements to connect and explore, 729 Solutions is committed to being on the front lines, with and for our clients, to assist in maximizing your ROI and efficiency with the tools that are available to you. I’ve never been more excited to be a part of Zendesk’s journey, and I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone (and you?) at next year’s event. There’s a 50% chance my body will have fully recovered by then.
Brandon Tidd - Zendesk Architect at 729 Solutions
What’s Next in the Community?
User Groups
Zendesk User Groups are based on location, role, or subject area, and you can join more than one group. These are run by community volunteers who regularly plan events and meetups for their chapter. Events may be in-person, virtual, or hybrid, depending on the preferences and needs of the individual group.
Upcoming User Groups
- Community Manager User Group May Meetup - May 14, 10:00 AM CST
- Admin User Group with Jonathan Aniano - May 15 , 11:00 AM CST
- Spain User Group Meetup - May 16, 6:00 PM CEST
-
A.I. User Group - May 21, 11:00 AM EDT
Luminaries
Luminaries is a gathering of Zendesk enthusiasts who share stories and experiences and is for current Zendesk customers. Being part of the Luminaries program gives you access to opportunities to shine. For those who would like to join you can request access today and a member of the Luminaries team will reach out promptly.
Special thanks to our Luminaries who presented at Relate ‘24!
Brandon Tidd
Michael Locurcio
Eric Nelson
Tiffany Bellah
Anthony Stenhouse
Nicholas Erickson
Community
The Zendesk Community is your place to connect with your peers to learn, share, and collaborate. Have a question, looking for tips for others, have some feedback you’d like to share? Well the Zendesk Community is here to help and the place for all those things along with learning from other Zendesk users. Sign up and make your first post today to get your Zendesk Community journey started.
Links & Resources From Relate
Edited May 08, 2024 · Devan La Spisa
0
Followers
0
Votes
0
Comments