Side conversations via Slack or Teams

Ref: B12 · Track: Channels · Time to complete: ~4 min

Why this matters

When the help you need is in Slack (or Microsoft Teams), the last thing you want is to leave the ticket, switch apps, and copy-paste the answer back. Side conversations let you ask the Slack channel directly from the ticket — and the reply comes back to the ticket automatically.

One-off setup (admin-only, included here for awareness)

Someone with admin access to your Zendesk and your Slack/Teams workspace needs to: 1. Install the Zendesk Slack/Teams app from the app marketplace. 2. Invite the Zendesk bot into the relevant channels. 3. Enable Slack/Teams side conversations in the ticket form.

Once done, every agent can use it. If you can't see the Slack side-conversation option, your admin hasn't done this yet.

Starting a Slack side conversation

1. Open the ticket.
2. In the right sidebar, click + Create side conversation.
3. Pick type: Slack (or Teams).
4. Choose the channel (e.g. #support-billing-escalations).
5. Write your question in the message body.
6. Click Send.

The bot posts your message to the Slack channel, with a link back to the ticket.

What your colleagues see in Slack

The channel receives a message like:

🎫 Ticket #1234 — [Hugo] Hey team, customer on Acme's account says their invoice total is wrong — anyone know if the November pricing change was back-dated? 🔗 Open ticket

Anyone in the channel can reply directly in Slack. No Zendesk account required.

Replies come back automatically

• When someone replies in the Slack thread, their reply appears in the ticket's side conversation.
• Replies are attributed to the Slack user's name.
• Attachments (screenshots, files) from Slack come across too.

You now have a live bridge between Zendesk and Slack for this one ticket, without anyone leaving their tool.

When to use Slack side conversations

• Asking an internal team a quick question. ("Can anyone confirm this outage is resolved?")
• Escalating to a specialist who lives in Slack, not Zendesk.
• Keeping the audit trail — the Slack thread is preserved on the ticket forever, so even if Slack messages get archived, Zendesk still has the history.

When Slack isn't the right call: - Formal external communication. Use email side conversations (B11). - Something that deserves its own ticket workflow (long-running project). Use a child ticket (B13).

Gotchas

• Private channels — if the channel is private, the bot has to be invited. If it isn't, your message won't post. You'll get a "couldn't post" error.
• @-mentioning specific people — works, but the Zendesk-to-Slack bot may mangle the @-syntax in some cases. If you need Claire's attention urgently, DM her too.
• Reply threading in Slack — colleagues need to reply in the thread the bot started, not in the channel generally. If they reply in the channel, it doesn't come back. Clarify the first time someone helps you.
• Private info in Slack — side conversations are hidden from the customer but not from anyone in the Slack channel. If it's sensitive, pick a private channel or DM.

Quick check — have you got this?

• You need to ask the billing team a quick question. Billing lives entirely in Slack. What do you use?
• The bot says "couldn't post". Why, probably?
• Does the customer see any of this?

Related articles

• B11 — Side conversations via email
• B13 — Customer callbacks requested from phone tree
• A07 — Public reply vs internal note