Chat macros vs email macros

Ref: B10 · Track: Channels · Time to complete: ~3 min

Why this matters

Macros written for email are usually too long for chat. A customer staring at a messaging widget doesn't want a three-paragraph wall of text. Keep them separate — or watch customers bounce.

Two macro libraries, one Zendesk

Most teams maintain two parallel macro sets:

Email macros

• Full greetings ("Hi Jane, thanks for reaching out")
• Formal paragraphs with bullet lists
• Sign-off and signature
• Links, rich formatting

Chat macros

• Short acknowledgements ("Got it, one moment")
• Quick-answer snippets
• Common URLs or account numbers
• No greetings, no sign-off (the conversation is already open)

How teams organise them

Two common patterns:

Pattern 1 — separate macros per channel

• Macro names prefixed: [CHAT] Ask for email, [EMAIL] Acknowledge receipt.
• Agents filter by prefix when applying.

Pattern 2 — one macro, two bodies

• Macros that set different content depending on the channel. Requires admin work.
• Less common — most teams just keep them separate.

Example — "Request account number"

Email version:

Hi [NAME],

Thanks for getting in touch. To look into this properly, could you please confirm your account number? It's the 8-digit number on your invoice or in the top-right of your dashboard.

Looking forward to hearing back.

Best, [AGENT NAME]

Chat version:

Sure — can you share your account number? 8 digits, top-right of your dashboard.

Same intent. Totally different copy.

When to use which

• Email ticket → use email macros. Don't cram a chat-length reply into an email; it looks abrupt.
• Messaging ticket → use chat macros. A paragraph-long macro in chat reads as formal and slow.
• Ticket that switched channel (see B09) → use the macro library matching your current composer. Switched to email mid-chat? Now you're on email macros.

Creating a personal chat macro

If you find yourself typing the same short chat reply repeatedly:

1. Go to the macro list → My macros → New.
2. Name it with a [CHAT] prefix so it's obvious.
3. Write the body — keep it short, no greeting.
4. Save.

Common mistakes

• Using an email macro in chat. The customer sees a three-paragraph wall of formal text. They think they've been passed to an auto-responder.
• Using a chat macro in email. Feels curt. The customer thinks you didn't read their issue.
• Copy-pasting the same macro into both libraries. Tempting but usually wrong — the right length is different for each channel.

Quick check — have you got this?

• You're on a messaging ticket. Do you apply email or chat macros?
• Your team doesn't have chat macros yet, only email ones. What do you do short-term?
• You started in chat and switched to email. Which macros now?

Related articles

• A11 — Using macros to reply faster
• B08 — Messaging: chatting with a customer in real time
• B09 — Channel switching