Building guide for Basic Zendesk Bot Template

Are you going to integrate your chatbot project with Zendesk, Zendesk Chat, and Zendesk Guide? You can get from zero to hero with our Basic Zendesk Bot Template.

After proper setup, it will search your Help Center for relevant articles based on your visitors' questions and offer them additional support either through tickets or chat.

Here's an overview of its capabilities:

• Uses metadata from your Zendesk widget pre-chat form
• Presents relevant articles from your Help Center
• Measures CSAT and offers additional support
• Facilitates handover to support by ticket or chat
• Understands visitor's needs with the help of AI

In this article, we'll cover the following:

• Step-by-step walkthrough of building a Basic Zendesk Bot
• Groups color framings
• Tag indications
• Selected Module configurations
• Global Connections configuration

Step-by-step walkthrough of building a Basic Zendesk Bot

Here, we've provided a step-by-step walkthrough of building a Bot from the Basic Zendesk Bot Template. 

1. Find the Read me before getting started: Building Guide for Basic Zendesk Bot Template Module.
   
   Hover over the Module – a menu will appear. Click on the checkbox on the right side of the menu, titled “Test flow from here”. This article is linked there - please read the other sections below to gain an overview of this Template's features.
   
   You can close the chat when you’re finished, then continue to step 2.
   
   
2. On the canvas, find the Module titled Welcome module. By double-clicking on it, you open the Module for editing. Change the Bot Messages to your desired greeting, and click “Ok” when you’re done.
   
   Learn more about how to edit a Message in a Module. 
   
   
3. Save your changes by clicking the Save button in the Navigation bar (Shortcut Ctrl + S / ⌘ Command + S also works).  
   
   
4. Now, change the name of the Bot. Next to your Bot Avatar in the Navigation bar, there's currently a placeholder (“Basic Zendesk Bot Template Clone”). Click in this box, delete the placeholder, then type in your desired name. The name is internal, so it will only be visible to you and your team. 
   
   
5. Create any additional Modules you need. There are three ways to create a new Module: 
   • From the canvas: 
     • Right-click on the canvas > Statement; or
     • Right sidebar menu > Add new Module > Statement 
   • Within a Module: 
     • When setting up the Go-to Connection > Select Module to go to > Create New Module.
       Please disregard the “Collector” option while creating new Modules for now. This is a more advanced feature, and we will get back to it during our workshops. Do not forget to save your changes.
       
       Learn more about Module Connections.
       
       
6. Then, learn how to use Custom Variables. Setting up a Flow that stores the visitor's name and/or message would be a practical exercise.
   
   As an example, a Custom Variable is set up to be created in the CTA: Help center search Module. This Custom Variable is then printed in the Create ticket with preliminary question Module.  
   
   
7. Read about Tags - touchpoints that measure the number of visitors who have been through the different paths of the Bot. 
   
   Take a look at the canvas – several Modules are already marked with the following Tags: “Start”, “Webhook”, “Fallback”, “Handover”, “5”, “6”, and “7”. 
   
   
8. Prepare your Zendesk account for integration. Watch the tutorial and integrate your Chatbot with Zendesk.  
   
   
9. Then, configure the “Contact Customer Support” Flow with the help of our article on checking agent availability. Don’t forget to save your changes! 
   
   
10. Navigate to a Module with the Webhook tag: . You have 6 of them:
    

    Module name	Contains a Webhook
    CTA: Help center search	No
    Create ticket with preliminary question	Yes
    Create ticket with new question	Yes
    Update ticket	Yes
    Check chat availability	Yes
    Agent available	Yes

     
    In the Connections tab of each of these Modules except the first one (“CTA: Help center search”), you’ll see a Webhook. Read more about Webhooks. 
    
    Return to the canvas. Open the Webhook Builder, found in the drop-down menu on the left side of the Navigation bar. There you have a list of Webhooks assigned to your company that were generated automatically when you created your Bot from a template. Open each one, read the description, and make any necessary adjustments.
    
    Save changes, if you made any, then go back to the canvas (Navigation bar > Section menu > Bot List) and test your Bot. To better understand the use of Webhooks in this step, refer to our article on Zendesk Support ticket creation. 
    
    
11. Now, set up a help center search. Complete your CTA: Help center search Module by setting up the required Webhook. Create a Webhook from a Template based on the Zendesk Guide: Search Help Center Articles Webhook Template. 
    
    Follow the instructions in the description at the top when you open the Template. If you went with Dynamic Cards rather than Text and Links, look here for more information.
    
    
12. Go back to your Bot and finalize the help center search by setting up the necessary connection in the CTA: Help center search Module - you can open up the other Modules that contain Webhooks and use their connections as an example.   
    
    
13. Next, set up Global Connections. These connections evaluate the visitor input and send the visitor to a corresponding Module, regardless of which Module they are currently in. That is, the Bot would be able to recognize a specific topic at any point during the chat.

You've now worked through the key elements of the Basic Zendesk Bot Template - great job! As you keep customizing your bot, remember you can always refer back to this guide for help.

Groups color framings

On the bot building canvas, you will find several Modules in different color framings. Each color stands for a specific Module category or Group. The overview of the color framing can be found on the left sidebar. From here, you can manage the visibility of selected Groups. 

Color	Module Category (Group)	Explanation
	Start	Introduction to the bot conversation followed by a CTA that encourages visitors to ask a question.
	Help Center	Modules that are triggered after the bot performs a Help Center search upon the visitor's preliminary question. If any articles are found, the bot will display the most relevant ones and then ask for feedback.
	Fallback	Modules triggered when the bot cannot understand the visitor's input. Learn more about Fallback Modules.
	Fallback ticket	If visitors request ticket support, this flow will create a ticket with their preliminary questions and meta-data collected from the pre-chat form. If any comments need to be added, the ticket can easily be updated.
	Fallback chat	If visitors request live support, this flow will check agent availability and perform a handover if possible. Read more about Bot takeover in Zendesk.
	Exit	Any Module that relates to the end of a specific conversation.

Tag indications

You can find Tags assigned to specific Modules. 

• Webhook Tag: Indicates all Modules in which a Webhook must be implemented in Module Connections. 
• Start Tag: Shows the Starting Module. It is important that the checkbox "Starting Module" is ticked in this Module's Message tab. 
• Handover Tag: Points to Modules in which a transfer to a real person happens. This transfer can either be connected to live chat or create a message for human agents. 
• Fallback Tag: Marks Fallback Modules triggered whenever the bot does not understand the visitor's input.
• Tag 4: Set for Module categories that contain organization-specific content. You may cluster this content following the Domains you have defined for your bot. 
• Tag 5: Find out how many visits lead to a feedback rating
• Tag 6: Analyze how many users rated an answer as helpful (positive feedback)
• Tag 7: Analyze how many users rated an answer as not helpful (negative feedback)

We can now take a closer look at some Module configurations.

Selected Module configurations

To ease your platform navigation, use Ctrl+F (or ⌘ Command+F on a Mac) to look within your bot's canvas for the specific Module titles as listed below. 

To check if the Webhooks have been executed correctly, we recommend you insert "Real Fallbacks". Read the article "Real Fallback" for Webhook Failure to learn more.

Global Connections configuration

If you're in doubt about the general functionality of Global Connections, learn more in our article "Basic insights on Global Connections".

Note that in the Support Bot Template, Module Connections are preferred over Global Connections. This means Global Connections are triggered if no Module Connection applies to the input provided by the specific visitor or system (in case of third-party integrations).

The Basic Zendesk Bot will understand the following basic Intents at any point of the conversation if Global Connections are not deactivated:

• "Goodbye"
• "Hello"
• "Speak to a Human"