Turn chat conversations into real action with Integration Blocks in Guided Conversations

Turn chat conversations into real action with Integration Blocks in Guided Conversations


When a Guided Conversation fails, it's usually not because the logic is wrong. They fail because the conversation stops moving.

A customer starts a chat with a clear goal: report an issue, check a status, or confirm something. At first, the flow does exactly what it was designed to do: It asks the right questions. It captures the right inputs.

Then nothing happens.

From the builder’s point of view, the flow is complete, and from the customer’s point of view, it feels unfinished. This gap is where most frustration comes from.

Why progress matters more than answers   

Customers rarely start a chat because they want information alone. They want momentum. They want to know that what they just shared led to something real: a request logged, a record updated, or a confirmation sent.

If the conversation ends without that signal, customers assume they will have to explain everything again somewhere else. Guided Conversations need to close that gap.
 

How  Integration Blocks maintain the flow   

Integration Blocks are not about adding more automation. They are about preventing dead ends.

An Integration Block connects a point in the conversation to an action in another system. While the chat continues, work is already happening in the background.

This is the moment where a conversation becomes operational.

A practical example from day-to-day support   

Consider a simple flow for reporting a billing issue:
  1. The customer shares their email address and describes the problem.
  2. The bot acknowledges it and ends the chat.
Technically, this is correct. Emotionally, it feels risky.

Now compare that with the same flow using a Desk Integration Block:
  1. As soon as the customer submits their details, a lead or ticket is created in Zoho Desk.
  2. A ticket reference number is generated, giving the customer immediate confirmation that their request is being tracked
  3. The customer receives a confirmation and may later get a follow-up from the team for an issue resolution.
The chat did not just listen, it acted. The customer feels the difference because progress is visible, even if the backend work is hidden.
 

The role of confirmation in reducing anxiety   

Even when an action is taken, customers still look for reassurance. Did their request actually go through?

This is where the Email Integration Block fits naturally into the flow.

A short email sent at the right moment changes how the entire conversation is. This is where an Email Integration Block fits naturally. A short, well-timed email changes how the conversation is perceived:
  1. The system has not just captured the issue, it's already working on it.
  2. Customers feel confident that the next steps are already in motion.
You don't need to send any long emails; the point is just to close the loop.
 

Designing for handoff, not escalation   

Some conversations end with automation; others end with a person. A common mistake is treating agent handoff as a fallback.

A better approach: make handoff intentional. Using Zia Context Blocks, you can summarize the conversation so far, then transfer it to an agent seamlessly.

Integration Blocks allow the context, actions, and confirmations to travel forward. The agent starts where the bot left off, not from scratch. Customers experience continuity, not repetition.
 

Thinking in outcomes, not blocks   

It is easy to think about Guided Conversations as a sequence of blocks: a question block, a choice block, an integration block.

Customers do not experience blocks. They need to see results.
  1. Was my issue captured?
  2. Was something sent to me?
  3. Does someone know about this now?
Integration Blocks help you design for those outcomes.

The quiet success of a good conversation   

When Guided Conversations work well, customers do not notice the flow. They leave without reopening the chat. They don't need to send any follow-up emails or repeat the story to another team.

From the outside, nothing dramatic happened.

But the conversation never stalled, and that is often the difference between a chat that looks complete and one that actually feels that way to a customer.

So let me ask you:

Where do your Guided Conversations usually stop moving?
Have Integration Blocks helped turn chats into real action?
What worked, and what didn’t?

Share your thoughts below. Let’s talk.
 
Prabin | Zoho Desk

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                        • Topic Participants

                                                        • Raj R

                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences

                                                              Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynote
                                                            • WhatsApp pricing changes: Pay per message starting July 1, 2025

                                                              Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message billing. That means every business-initiated message you send will count. Not just the first one in a 24-hour window. Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business Platform
                                                            • Live Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration

                                                              Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few tools
                                                            • Apple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users

                                                              Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to help
                                                            • Zoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End

                                                              Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner









                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • 【Zoho CRM】CRM for Everyoneに関するアップデート:関連データ機能

                                                                                                                ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、CRM for Everyoneの新機能「関連データ機能」をご紹介します。 関連データ機能は、あるタブのデータを別のタブに柔軟に関連付け、異なるタブで管理されている情報を1か所にまとめて表示できます。 たとえば、組織タブとチームタブのデータを関連付けることで、必要な情報に効率よくアクセスでき、顧客理解を深めながら他チームとの連携もスムーズに行えます。 目次 1. 関連データの設定方法
                                                                                                              • Profit / margins on Sales orders / Invoices / Estimates

                                                                                                                When we select an SKU or item name in any of these documents, much info such as invoice.line_items.rate is pulled from the item & filled into the document being worked on. If we had another lineItem DB field (hidden) auto filled at the same time: invoice.line_items.purchase_rate
                                                                                                              • Inventory to Xero Invocie Sync Issues

                                                                                                                Has anyone had an issue with Invoices not syncing to Xero. It seems to be an issue when there is VAT on a shipping cost, but I cannot be 100% as the error is vague: "Unable to export Invoice 'INV-000053' as the account mapped with some items does not
                                                                                                              • How to activate RFQ? What if a price list has ladder price for items?

                                                                                                                Where can I find the option to activate request for quotation? How does it work? If the item has ladder price, does it gets calculated depending on how many items are in the cart?
                                                                                                              • Can't join canal Developers Zoho User

                                                                                                                Hello, I received an invitation to join this channel, but I get an error when I try to join it, and I get the same error when I go to the Zoho Cliq interface > Search for a channel. Is this because I don't have a license linked to this email address?
                                                                                                              • Desk Email reply - set default font / use custom font

                                                                                                                Hello, in our e-mails, which we send to our customers, a certain font must be used (Corporate Design): Segoe UI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segoe#Segoe_UI How can this be included? How can this be set as the default font to ensure that this font is
                                                                                                              • PDF Templates - Checkbox Borders

                                                                                                                Is there a way to remove the border of a radio/checkbox on a PDF? I'd like to use the function of checkbox but if there's no easy way to remove the border (the PDF form already has a rectangle so it gets cluttered), then I'm forced to create a single
                                                                                                              • Settings Icon No Longer in ZOHO Desk?

                                                                                                                In ZOHO desk, there has been a gear icon for settings. as of yesterday, it is no longer there. I showed up briefly this morning but is gone again. Anybody else experiecing this?
                                                                                                              • Tip #43 - Track, Review, and Analyze Your Assist Sessions with Reports-'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                                Did you know you can generate detailed reports for both remote support sessions and unattended access sessions in Zoho Assist? This makes it easy to monitor technician activity, measure efficiency, and review customer interactions. Let us now take a closer
                                                                                                              • Simplified Call Logging

                                                                                                                Our organization would like to start logging calls in our CRM; however, with 13 fields that can't be removed, our team is finding it extremely cumbersome. For our use case, we only need to record that a call happened theirfor would only need the following
                                                                                                              • Sub form doesn't as formula field

                                                                                                                Is it possible to get formula field in sub form in futures?
                                                                                                              • Week date range in pivot table

                                                                                                                Hello, I need to create a report that breakouts the data by week.  I am using the pivot table report, and breaking out the date by week, however the date is displayed as 'Week 1 2014' format.  Is there anyway to get the actual dates in there? ex. 1/6/2014-1/12/2014 Thanks,
                                                                                                              • How do I get Status History data of my Projects?

                                                                                                                I want to build a table in Zoho Analytics that Groups by Date, when Projects entered a certain status. I cannot find Status History or any such useful data available in the Setup of my Data Source sync. Please advise how I can achieve this?
                                                                                                              • Is it possible to hide fields in a Subform?

                                                                                                                Since layout rules cannot be used with Subforms, is there another way, or is it even possible, to hide fields in a subform based on a picklist fields within said subform? For example, if the Service Provided is Internet, then I do not want to see the
                                                                                                              • Weekly Tips :Instantly find what you need with Attachment Viewer

                                                                                                                Your inbox must be packed with project emails, shared notes, and scattered attachments. You are looking for one specific file—a presentation slide or maybe a media clip from a team update—but don’t want to dig through endless email threads or switch between
                                                                                                              • Missing Zoho Desk integration option for form workflows

                                                                                                                According to the help page "Configure Zoho Desk integration in form workflows" we should be able to select Zoho Desk as an integration target but when I open the integrations list then Zoho Desk is not being listed in it. We are on the Premium plan which should already support Zoho Desk integrations.
                                                                                                              • Gantt for 2 or more projects

                                                                                                                Hello, I'm trying the free version of your produtc. It is veryyy good!!!! I don't know if in the Standard plan, I can overview a Gantt Graph for 2 or more Projects Milestone. This would be very helpfull for managing teams and taking decisions about who I will assign a task to. In the paid plan Do I have this possibility? Thank you.
                                                                                                              • Integrating a Zoho Project Gantt Chart into Reports

                                                                                                                Is is possible to integrate a Zoho Project Gantt Chart into a Zoho Report Dashboard. I am in the process of creating Project Status Dashboards for the projects that we track in Zoho Projects and I would like to incorporate the gantt chart within Reports.  Please let me know! Thanks
                                                                                                              • ZOHO BOOKS - EXCESSIVELY SLOW TODAY

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Books This is not the first time but it seems to be 3 times per week now that the system is extremely slow. I work on Zoho Books 95% of my day so this is very frustrating. Zoho you need to do something about this. I have had my IT guy check
                                                                                                              • Displaying related quotes in sales order and back

                                                                                                                Hi, My colleague liked to see to which sales orders, the quote has been converted. Quote shows Invoices, but not SO. Same, they would like to see the quotes in the sales order, as they can see invoices, packages, shipment, How can we achieve this ? Thank
                                                                                                              • Tip of the Week #71–Auto-move incoming messages to the right inboxes with keywords

                                                                                                                We all know that customer-facing teams, especially your sales and support teams, can’t afford to miss even a single customer conversation. But sometimes, sales queries or support requests can easily get lost in a crowded inbox or even end up in the wrong
                                                                                                              • Clearing Fields using MACROS?

                                                                                                                How would I go about clearing a follow-up field date from my deals? Currently I cannot set the new value as an empty box.
                                                                                                              • Migrating a Zoho Forms form into Zoho Creator

                                                                                                                Hi, How can I migrate my Zoho Forms form into Zoho Creator? Thanks. Truly, Emad
                                                                                                              • Is there any way to recall an email sent using Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                                If an email is sent using Zoho Mail, there is a recall option/functionality that is available to the sender. Is there any way to recall an email if it was sent using Zoho CRM? I can't seem to find that option. Any help would be appreciated.
                                                                                                              • Problem with reports due to "Connected" items change - Yes this IS a problem

                                                                                                                Now that the change has been made to use "connected" items I can no longer run the reporting I need in CRM. I should be able to start with Deals as the parent, connect down to the Account (Account_Name) on the deal as the child, then to any child items
                                                                                                              • Introducing notifications in the vendor portal

                                                                                                                Imagine this: You're a recruiter working with multiple vendors on a high-volume hiring project. You’ve just updated a job description after a last-minute change from the hiring manager. One of your vendors, however, is still working off the older version
                                                                                                              • Analytics for notes created

                                                                                                                Is there a way I can see how many notes were created per day? Via reporting or analytics?
                                                                                                              • Cannot update Recurring_Activity on Tasks – RRULE not accepted

                                                                                                                Hello, I am trying to update Tasks in Zoho CRM to make them recurring yearly, but I cannot find the correct recurrence pattern or way to update the Recurring_Activity field via API or Deluge. I have tried: Sending a string like "RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1"
                                                                                                              • Add image to report...

                                                                                                                Greetings, I send a weekly color coded report via Creator email. I would like to add the legend somewhere in the report. Header, footer where ever. I have the legend saved on Google Drive and can access it via shared link. Sure someone has wanted to add
                                                                                                              • More controls for User Fields in CRM

                                                                                                                Dear All, We are here with a minor but crucial enhancement to the user fields—now set accessibility permissions to the records for user field. User field allows you to extend co-ownership of records to your peers. You can collaborate with them for certain
                                                                                                              • Calls to accounts rather than leads or contacts?

                                                                                                                So..... We have a dilemma and I'm hoping someone has encountered this before and figured out a fix. We have just migrated to Zoho. It's great.....expect for how "Calls" are handled.... We are B2B. We do not use the leads module. A "Lead/Prospect" for
                                                                                                              • Image Upload Field | Zoho Canvas

                                                                                                                I'm working on making a custom view for one of our team's modules. It's an image upload field (Placement Photo) that would allow our sales reps to upload a picture of the house their working on. However, I don't see that field as a opinion when building
                                                                                                              • Power of Automation :: Automated 'Delayed & Closed' Status Update Based on Due Date

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate
                                                                                                              • Range names in Zoho Sheet are BROKEN!

                                                                                                                Hi - you've pushed an update that has broken range names. A previously working spreadsheet now returns errors because the range names are not updating the values correctly. I've shared a video with the support desk to illustrate the problem. This spreadsheet
                                                                                                              • populate email address and name in zoho desk?

                                                                                                                Is it possible to populate the email address and name in the zoho desk widget? We only use it in the context of an authenticated user, so we already know the user's name and email. Thanks,
                                                                                                              • Are there default/pre-built dashboards in Zoho Desk?

                                                                                                                Hi, I am looking for some pre-built dashboard templates in Zoho Desk, similar to what we can find in CRM/Projects, etc Thank you
                                                                                                              • SAP S/4 HANA to CRM Integration - change the SAP Client ID

                                                                                                                Hi I am trying to push the business partners from SAP S/4 HANA to ZOHO CRM module. The SAP Client ID is 421 in my case....kindly let me know how do I specify the sap client because it's a dropdown with specific values as of now. Thanks Ravi Aswani
                                                                                                              • Adding branded signature to tickets reply

                                                                                                                Hi, i am unable to figure out how to add signatures with logo to tickets reply. please advice .
                                                                                                              • How to share ticket numbers across different ticket types

                                                                                                                I'm running an event and have three different ticket types. Add on Event + Main Event - Early bird Main Event only - Early bird Add on Event only - Early bird And Standard class - shown but not available until early bird finishes Add on Event + Main Event
                                                                                                              • Adding Social Media Buttons to Basic Campaigns

                                                                                                                Hi, I'm quote new to using Zoho Campaigns and I can't work out how to add Social Media Buttons into my basic campaign? In MailChimp there's a button that brings the icons into your campaign for you. I've tried adding the social media icons as 'buttons' in Zoho but it's not looking great. Can anyone help? Thanks!
                                                                                                              • Next Page