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
To access the Template, please navigate to the Certainly Platform Bot List page and select the Basic Zendesk Bot Template from the "Create new bot" menu at the top.
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.
- 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. - 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. - Save your changes by clicking the Save button in the Navigation bar (Shortcut Ctrl + S / ⌘ Command + S also works).
- 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.
- 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.
- When setting up the Go-to Connection > Select Module to go to > Create New Module.
- From the canvas:
- 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. - 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”. - Prepare your Zendesk account for integration. Watch the tutorial and integrate your Chatbot with Zendesk.
- Then, configure the “Contact Customer Support” Flow with the help of our article on checking agent availability. Don’t forget to save your changes!
- 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. - 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. - 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.
- 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 |
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Start | Introduction to the bot conversation followed by a CTA that encourages visitors to ask a question. |
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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. |
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Fallback | Modules triggered when the bot cannot understand the visitor's input. Learn more about Fallback Modules. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
Module name | Description |
Starting Module | The purpose of this Module is to collect your chatbot visitors' meta-data from the pre-chat form, which is set under connections.
When using the Zendesk Widget, your bot does not start unless it is prompted by the visitor - read more about sending the first message in the Zendesk widget. If you do not use the pre-chat form to collect visitors' names and emails, we suggest adding Modules to your bot that collect these. |
Welcome Module |
The chatbot visitor is welcomed and introduced to your chatbot. Setting clear expectations is essential, which is why the bot says that short and straightforward visitor messages are preferred. |
CTA: Help Center search |
The chatbot visitor is asked to phrase the question, which will be used to perform a search in your help center. Note that a feature called variation is used here, as the chatbot visitor is likely to come back to this Module. By using the variation feature, you give the bot answers a more human touch. The Modules in the welcome flow are separated so that they can be triggered individually later on. Necessary Webhook: Follow the instructions provided at the top of the selected Webhook template. Then, insert the Webhook between this Module's existing Connection and Fallback (learn more about creating a Webhook from a Webhook Template and how to use Webhooks in the canvas). |
Help Center search results |
If results are found in your Help Center, these will be displayed in accordance with the Webhook you chose above. If no results are found in your Help Center or visitors report the displayed results as not helpful, human support is offered. |
Fallback 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 |
Visitors can be sent to the Fallback Modules if the welcome flow search query is not understood or if it's set as the fallback on individual Modules. Note that the Fallback Modules are not showing a dotted line in between. The reason for the missing line is that each Fallback Module is connected with the following one by being part of the previous Module's Fallback:
Looking at each Fallback Module's Connections will make this configuration clearer. |
Create ticket with new/ preliminary question |
If the user prefers support through a ticket, one will be created. This passes the preliminary question from your chatbot to the Zendesk environment. If no preliminary question exists yet, it will be captured in the Module Create ticket with new question. Necessary Webhook: Follow the instructions provided at the top of the Webhook template. |
Update ticket |
In case visitors wish to add comments to the newly created ticket, it can easily be done in this Module. Necessary Webhook: Follow the instructions provided at the top of the Webhook template. |
Check chat availability |
For visitors who prefer chat support, a webhook will first check if any agents are available. If true, the bot will perform a handover to your chat department. Necessary Webhook: |
Agent available |
If any agents are available, the visitor will need to confirm the chat before the handover is triggered. Necessary Webhook: |
Bot takeover | When an agent ends the chat, you can set the bot to jump back into the conversation and take over by following these simple steps:
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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"