Enabling and using Side Conversations

Understanding and Using Side Conversations in Zendesk

Zendesk side conversations are dedicated spaces within a ticket where agents can communicate with specific people or discuss particular aspects of an issue without the ticket requester seeing the side conversation. They help organise ticket information and involve the right people without cluttering the main conversation with the requester. Side conversations are available in Zendesk Suite but not in Support-only plans.

Advantages of Using Side Conversations

• Organisation: Find, manage and organise information about specific parts of an issue.
• Targeted Communication: Have conversations with the appropriate people.
• Clarity: Keep main ticket thread clear and have standalone conversations separate from each other.
• External Help: Get assistance without directly involving others in the main ticket.

Side Conversation Channels

Side conversations can be conducted through various channels:

• Email: Create email-based side conversations.
• Microsoft Teams: Initiate and participate in Teams threads.
• Slack: Initiate and participate in Slack threads.
• Ticket (Child Ticket): Create a separate, subordinate ticket.

Setting Up Side Conversations

Side conversations are deactivated by default and must be enabled by an administrator.

1. In Admin Centre, click Workspaces in the sidebar, then select Agent tools > Side conversations.
2. Activate the desired channels:
   • Turn on child tickets: Allows agents to create side conversation child tickets. Additional child ticket settings can be configured, such as comment type (public, internal, match ticket status), inclusion of internal notes, and status updates.
   • Turn on emails outside the main conversation: Enables email-based side conversations.
   • Turn on side conversations in Microsoft Teams: Integrates with Microsoft Teams. Requires the latest version of Zendesk for Microsoft Teams.
   • Turn on side conversations in Slack: Integrates with Slack. Requires the latest version of the Slack for Zendesk Support app.
3. Under Context panel, select Turn on the side conversations view to display the ticket's thread count in the context panel.
4. Click Save.

Agent Use and Initiation of Side Conversations

Agents, light agents, and admins can create side conversations on open or closed tickets. To create a side conversation:

1. In a ticket, open the context panel and click the Side conversations icon (+).
2. Select the desired channel (Email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Ticket).
3. Compose your message, add recipients, and include any necessary attachments or ticket comments.
   • Email side conversations can have up to 100 recipients, with a maximum of 48 non-agents.
   • For child tickets, assign the ticket to a group that you have access to or a specific agent within those groups.
4. Click Send.

For specific channel instructions, consider the following:

• Email:
  • Email side conversations do not use email templates.
  • You must include a subject.
  • Recipients receive the attachment itself rather than a linked attachment.
• Microsoft Teams:
  • Start a conversation in one team and channel at a time.
  • Anyone in the Microsoft Teams channel can view and reply to the thread without logging into Zendesk Support.
  • Attachments sent directly in Teams do not appear in the ticket's side conversation in Support, and vice versa. Use the bot at the beginning of the conversation to add attachments.
• Slack:
  • Start a conversation in one Slack channel at a time.
  • The team in the Slack channel can view and reply to the thread directly, without logging into Support.
  • You may experience delays in updates between Slack and ticket side conversations.
• Ticket (Child Ticket):
  • Child tickets inherit replies from the originating side conversation.
  • Public comments on a child ticket become part of the side conversation and events in the parent ticket.

Adding Ticket Comments to Side Conversations

You can include ticket comments in side conversations to avoid copying and pasting.

1. Start a side conversation.
2. Click the comments icon at the bottom of the message.
3. Select the comments to include and click Add.

Call recordings and comments from messaging or social channels cannot be included.

Using Macros with Side Conversations

Macros can be used to automate the creation of side conversations.

1. In Admin Centre, click Workspaces in the sidebar, then select Agent tools > Macros.
2. Create a new macro and add a Side conversation action.
3. Fill in the To, Subject, and Message fields with the desired content.
4. Apply the macro to a ticket. The side conversation will open with the pre-filled information.

Searching for Content in Side Conversations

You can search for content within side conversations.

1. Click the Search icon in the toolbar.
2. Enter the search terms.
3. Press Enter to run the search.
4. Click the Side Conversations tab to view the results.

Ticket property keywords can be used for more specific searches:

• state: Thread state (open or closed).
• participant: Find a participant by name or email address.
• subject: Find text in a side conversation subject line.
• message: Find text in the body of a side conversation message.

Closing and Reopening Side Conversations

Closing a side conversation changes its status to Done but does not prevent further replies. Status information is for agent use only.

1. To close a side conversation, open it and click the Mark done button.
2. To reopen a side conversation, open it and click the Reopen button.

Closing and reopening side conversations does not trigger additional email messages.

Follow-Up Tickets for Side Conversations

When someone replies to a side conversation on a closed or archived ticket, a follow-up ticket is automatically created. The new ticket contains the side conversation and retains the original assignee and group value. This ensures that replies to side conversations in closed tickets do not go unnoticed.

Managing CCs and Followers in Side Conversations

You can add CCs and BCCs to email side conversations. Note that side conversation CCs and BCCs are different from CCs on a ticket.

1. In a ticket, click Side Conversations and select an existing email side conversation.
2. Click Write a reply and then CC.
3. Enter the names or email addresses of the users to CC or BCC.
4. Click Send.

BCC recipients are not visible to other recipients on the email but are visible to anyone who can view the side conversation within Support.

Important Considerations

• Triggers: Set up trigger conditions for side conversations to keep agents informed of activity. Be aware that certain trigger actions may be suppressed when creating side conversations.
• Mobile App: Side conversations are not supported on the Zendesk Support mobile app.
• Light Agents: Light agents cannot create, send, or be assigned side conversation child tickets.
• Limitations: Be aware of channel-specific limitations, such as character limits for Slack and attachment handling for Microsoft Teams.
• Deleting Slack Side Conversations: To delete a Slack side conversation, you must be the agent who created it or an administrator. When you delete, the side conversation is removed from the ticket and Slack. Side conversation messages that are edited or deleted in Slack are also reflected on the ticket.