Ask Zia

Ask Zia

Ask Zia is Zoho CRM’s intelligent, conversational assistant that helps you understand your data, perform actions, and co-create reports—all within a single chat interface. Serving as your central CRM assistant, Ask Zia provides instant insights, step-by-step help, and the ability to execute tasks without leaving your current screen.

Overview

Ask Zia is accessed via the vertical settings bar (located just below the search icon) and supports three distinct message intents—Insights, Help, and Action—each designed to support a different aspect of your CRM experience:
  1. Insights: Retrieve data and view visual analytics based on your queries.
  2. Help: Obtain guidance on CRM features, settings, and best practices.
  3. Action: Perform tasks like creating modules, configuring workflows, generating record or note summaries, or building reports directly from the chat window.
With a conversational interface that supports both text and voice inputs, Ask Zia is tailored to make your daily operations smoother and faster.


Availability

Available for orgs in the Professional and above editions of Zoho CRM.
DC Supported: US, EU, IN

 

Using Ask Zia

Chat Interface and Navigation

When you click on the Ask Zia icon, a dedicated chat window opens. This window is designed to offer a clutter-free, intuitive space where you can type your questions or speak your queries. Key aspects include:
  1. Clean layout: The interface offers a simple, easy-to-read layout that displays your conversation history on the left. This feature allows you to pick up where you left off with minimal effort.
  2. Support for multiple input types: You can interact with Ask Zia using either text or voice commands. This flexibility caters to different work styles and environments.
  3. Context retention: Past sessions remain accessible in the conversation history, so you can always review previous queries or continue an ongoing discussion without losing context.

Message Intents

Ask Zia supports three message intents to help you get the right kind of support quickly:
Insights: Use this mode to ask data-centric questions. Ask data-centric questions using Insights mode. This mode helps you quickly retrieve relevant data and display visual representations when needed. For instance:
  1. Example Queries:
    1. “Show me deal amounts by stage.”
    2. “How many leads were created this week?”
  2. Output:
    Zia returns the requested data along with visual components.

    These components can be directly added to your analytics dashboard.

    You also have the option to access a code viewer that explains the logic behind the retrieved information.

Help: The Help mode is your go-to resource for learning about Zoho CRM functionalities and best practices. It will act as a learning resource, and you can ask customized questions based on your organization or business needs. 
  1. Example Queries:
    1. “How do I create a workflow rule?”
    2. “What does this setting do?”
  2. Output:
    Zia provides step-by-step instructions and links to relevant resources. Whether you are adjusting settings or exploring new features, Ask Zia walks you through the process clearly and concisely.
Action: Action mode empowers you to perform tasks directly within the chat interface. Here, you can issue commands for routine tasks without leaving your current screen.

For example:
  1. Examples of Actions:
    1. Record Summaries: Type the name of a record to fetch related results for summaries or notes.
    2. Workflow Creation: Configure workflows with options such as assigning owners, updating fields, creating tasks or meetings, scheduling calls, adding or removing tags, triggering email notifications, converting leads, or even invoking custom functions and webhooks.
  2. Output:
    Zia presents you with actionable options that you select to complete your task. The process is designed to be intuitive, reducing the effort required to navigate multiple CRM screens.
For record and note summaries, you simply start typing the record name and Zia will fetch related results that you can pick from.

When it comes to workflow creation, you can configure a wide range of supported actions, including assigning owners, updating fields, creating tasks or meetings, scheduling calls, adding or removing tags, triggering email notifications, converting leads, and even invoking custom functions or webhooks. These options ensure that your workflows are not only automated but also deeply customizable to suit different business processes.

Co-Creation Mode for Reports

Ask Zia also offers a collaborative co-creation mode for building reports directly within the chat window. When you request the creation of a report, Zia displays the entire configuration process in real time. The process includes selecting modules, choosing fields, setting filters, and defining charts—all presented on a single screen. In this mode, you are invited to jump in and make edits or fine-tune configurations at any time. This collaborative environment lets you work alongside Zia, ensuring that the final report meets your specific requirements. You may also expand the configuration view to examine details of the report setup.

Conversation History and Feedback

All interactions with Ask Zia are stored in the conversation history, making it easy to refer back to previous queries or continue a discussion without losing context. You also have the option to delete sessions or provide feedback on responses using like/dislike buttons. Your feedback helps maintain the quality and relevance of Ask Zia’s responses.
NotesNote: This is available when the language in your personal settings is English. It is only available for organizations using the Enterprise edition (with 20+ user licenses) or the Ultimate edition (any number of user licenses).
You can find the capabilities mentioned in this page in global search itself. Please note that you will not be able to trigger actions here.
  1. Click the search box on top of the screen or press / to access global search.
  2. Within the search box, type / to access AskZia.
    You will be able to see a list of your recent queries as well as suggestions for you. The latter is a set of user-specific suggestions based on usage patterns.
  3. Type your query and press Enter to see the results.
  4. You can set up a query as a routine message by clicking the routine message  icon. In the popup that appears, set the frequency and day/date/time when Zia needs to respond to the query and click Save.
  5. You can click the Explore icon  if you want to see the criteria used by Zia to provide the response.
  6. Sometimes, you may get multiple results that match your query. In those cases, click Show more to access the complete set of results.

Points to consider

  1. Ask Zia supports the English language only and does not currently provide spell check functionality, so if your question has a spelling mistake, Zia might not be able to provide you with an answer.
  2. Each question can relate to one module only. Currently, Zia will not be able to answer questions that involve more than one module.
  3. Questions cannot be based on related items that are linked with a parent module, such as attachments.
  4. Each question can relate to a single aggregate function only. You cannot ask questions based on more than one aggregate function at a time.
  5. Zia considers "Sunday to Saturday" a week, and doesn't yet factor in organizations' custom business hour configurations.