Configure and use Ada Glass for Zendesk Messaging
Overview
Zendesk Messaging Glass is Ada's integration with the Zendesk Messaging asynchronous chat product. Zendesk Messaging Glass gives you access to Ada's full feature set within your Zendesk environment, letting your brand leverage the Ada Chat experience.
Important
 | This topic is about Zendesk Messaging. If you're looking for information about Zendesk Chat, please see Configure Ada Glass for Zendesk Chat. |
What is asynchronous chat?
Asynchronous chat means that conversations between chatters and your live support agents can extend indefinitely, until either the chatter or agent ends the chat manually. It is not limited by automatic timeouts or disconnects, as is the case with session-based chat platforms like Zendesk Chat.
Requirements
Ada Glass for Zendesk Messaging requires that your Zendesk and Ada accounts have the following products enabled and configured:
Zendesk
Ada
Ada Glass for Zendesk Messaging
Configure Zendesk Messaging Glass
You should have your Sunshine Conversations app open while configuring Zendesk Messaging Glass. You'll need it to retrieve the required authentication information needed to complete the set up.
Here's how to configure Zendesk Messaging Glass:
On the Ada dashboard, go to Settings > Integrations > Handoff Integrations.
On the Zendesk Messaging card, click Configure, then in the Connect Ada to Zendesk Messaging dialog box, click Next.
On the Configure Zendesk Messaging dialog box, complete the following fields using your Zendesk credentials, found under Settings in your Sunshine Conversations app.
Zendesk Subdomain
Zendesk Login Email
Zendesk API Token
Tip
Refer to the Zendesk user guide Generating a new API token for guidance on creating an API token for your Zendesk Messaging integration.
Click Finish, then close the success dialog box.
Create an end conversation trigger
Tip
Zendesk may change their functionality without notice. For more details and the most up to date information about creating triggers, refer to Zendesk's guide Creating triggers for automatic ticket updates and notifications.
Create a trigger in Zendesk to automatically end the agent conversation once the ticket status is set to solved. This trigger releases the chatter from the Zendesk agent conversation and allows them to resume chatting with your Ada chatbot.
In the Zendesk Admin Center, go to Objects and rules > Triggers, then click Add trigger.
On the Add new trigger page, add a trigger name, description, and category.
Under Meet ALL of the following conditions, click Add Condition, then use the drop-down menus to set the condition to Status Is Solved.
Under Actions, click Add action, then use the drop-down menus to set the action to Status Closed.
Click Create.
With the trigger in place, your chatters are now automatically released back to your Ada chatbot when the agent selects Submit as Solved at the end of a live support conversation.
Note
Chatters on web or mobile can release themselves from an agent conversation by clicking the X at the top of the chat window.
Use the Zendesk Messaging block
This quick guide will help you get your Zendesk Messaging Answer up and running.
Here are the steps:
On the Ada Dashboard, go to Build > Answer, then create a new handoff Answer, or select an existing one.
[Optional] In the Answer editor, add Capture blocks configured to capture the chatter's name, email address, and phone number.
Note
In order for the chatter's information to map to the correct fields on the Zendesk ticket, the variables you use to capture their name and email address must be named exactly as they appear below:
name
email
Drag and drop the Zendesk Messaging block into the Answer editor, then configure the block using the following table as a guide:
Standby Message
Support requests can occur both during business hours, or during off hours. Use this message to acknowledge the chatter's request and present information about response times.
Tip
Craft a message for chatters with helpful information, such as average wait times, or if agents are offline. Use the Scheduled block to help make this an even smoother experience.
Department
This drop-down menu lists all the available support departments. Select the appropriate department for this handoff.
Zendesk Fields
Map your Zendesk fields to the block. Use these fields to enhance your support process:
Present your agents with key chatter details.
Use Support triggers to route incoming tickets to the right team.
Note
Zendesk Field types Text, Number, and Boolean field types are all accepted.
Tags
Use tags to identify the purpose of this handoff. Tags attach to the Zendesk ticket automatically.
Note
Separate each tag with a comma.
Error Answer
Click the drop-down menu and select the Answer to surface to a chatter should a communication error occur.
Click Save.
Your Zendesk handoff Answer is ready to go. Add training to this Answer so that your bot recognizes a request for agent support. Connect this Answer, or other specialized handoff Answers, to Answer flows that may require an agent's intervention.
Agent Experience
When a handoff occurs through your Ada chatbot, the primary agent experience remains largely unchanged.
Agents still handle all Live Agent conversations from their Zendesk Agent Workspace dashboard.
Agents can also respond to chatters asynchronously, and over an extended timeframe.
Things to note when working with Ada Glass handoffs:
Chatters originating from an Ada Glass handoff are not verified, even though the tickets display a green checkmark icon by the chatter's name.
The conversation history persists until the chatter clicks the End Chat button, or if the agent closes the chat themselves. If the chatter re-engages the chat after this, they return to their conversation with the bot, and not the agent.
Chatter Experience
The chatter's experience is seamless. Once they are handed over to the live support agent, the only thing that changes about their experience is who they are chatting with. Bot and agent conversations remain in the same chat window.
Chatter's can also minimize or close the chat window, regardless if its Ada's or another brand's chat environment, and expect their conversation history to persist; however, if they click the End Chat button, the conversation history does clear.
Have any questions? Contact your Ada team—or email us at help@ada.support.