Zoho Desk Autumn Release - 2024 — Post 3

Zoho Desk Autumn Release - 2024 — Post 3

Continued from Zoho Desk Autumn Release - 2024 — Post two

Instant Messaging 

Mass WhatsApp messaging for efficient communication


Agents can send WhatsApp messages to multiple contacts at once, which is useful for various activities, such as onboarding and customer engagement programs. There’s also an option to skip sending messages to contacts who are already engaged in a conversation with another agent to avoid interruptions in the ongoing conversation.


Help document and availability

Sending mass WhatsApp messages to contacts | Standard and above



 


Add new contacts to Desk while sending WhatsApp messages and reply to IM tickets from the Tickets module

 

A new shortcut, +w, has been introduced to streamline sending WhatsApp messages directly from the Tickets module. When using +w, users can quickly initiate a WhatsApp message to the associated contact. If the message is being sent to a new contact, their details will be automatically recorded within the system, and autopopulated in the Contact's record. For example, if a new customer contacts the support via WhatsApp and their details are not yet in Zoho Desk, sending a reply will automatically create a new record in the Contacts module.

 

Help document and availability

Create a contact while sending WhatsaApp messages | Standard and above


Integrate Facebook messenger with Zoho Desk


Integrating Facebook Messenger with Zoho Desk allows businesses to efficiently manage customer communication through Meta's Facebook business pages. Once set up, the Messenger platform enables seamless interactions between customers and the business via various entry points, including Facebook Posts, the Meta business page, and the business's website.


Help document and availability

Integrate Facebook messenger with Zoho Desk | Standard and above




Integrate Instagram with Zoho Desk


Integrating Instagram with Zoho Desk enables businesses to manage customer communications through their Instagram business accounts. This integration allows seamless message exchanges between customers and businesses, with conversations originating from Instagram posts, the Meta business page, or a website widget. For example, a retail clothing brand can integrate its Instagram business account with Zoho Desk to manage customer inquiries directly from its Instagram posts or DMs.


Help document and availability

Integrate Instagram with Zoho Desk | Standard and above





Configure business hours for your IM channels


Business hours can be configured for various IM channels, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, and Line, ensuring that customer inquiries are managed efficiently within the designated timeframes. Setting business hours involves defining the times when a business is open and available to assist customers. This ensures that the support team operates in alignment with these hours.


Help document and availability

Setting conversation rules in instant messaging | Standard and above





Implement a customizable business messaging widget


Business messaging offers another channel for engaging with customers through customizable widgets available for Web, iOS, and Android platforms. By integrating a fully customizable chat widget into a website, businesses can provide real-time support and interact with visitors seamlessly. The chat window’s appearance, including its color scheme and logo, can be tailored to match the website’s design, ensuring a cohesive brand experience.


Help document and availability

Adding a business messaging widget to your website | Standard and above






Multi-WABA support for WhatsApp business platform


Supported multiple WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABA), allowing businesses to create channels for different brands or departments. Each business unit can manage its communication channels with a dedicated WABA to ensure efficient operations. Businesses with multiple WhatsApp accounts can set up and link as many channels as needed to provide a centralized platform and shared access to customer data for seamless information flow and operations.

 

Help document and availability

Support multiple WhatsApp Business Accounts | Standard and above







Add GC Bots to Telegram, FB Messenger, Line, Instagram, and Business Messaging channels  


Guided Conversation (GC) bots can be deployed in a variety of IM channels such as Telegram, FB Messenger, Line, Instagram, and Business Messaging channels. This provides customers with a self-service platform where they can interact with bots and support agents when needed.


Help document and availability

GC Bots to Telegram | GC Bots to Line | GC Bots to Instagram | GC Bots to Business Messaging channels | GC Bots to FB Messenger | Enterprise


GC Bots in FB Messenger



GC Bots in Instagram




 

GC Bots in Telegram




GC Bots in Business Messaging



GC Bots in Line




Manage agent visibility and notifications for IM

 

Agents can set their status as online or offline specifically for the Instant Messaging feature. This allows them to control their visibility and mute all IM notifications with a click, ensuring uninterrupted work during critical tasks.

 

Help document and availability

Managing user status in IM | Standard and above





Use webhooks in IM to automate tasks

 

Zoho Desk's instant messaging webhooks enable automation of event-driven tasks between messaging apps and business workflows. By leveraging IM webhooks, businesses can integrate multiple channels into their business workflows, creating a seamless conversational ecosystem that enhances the customer journey and meets their preferences. For example, an ecommerce platform can automatically share package delivery OTPs via WhatsApp, an insurance provider can send payment reminders, and a travel agency can deliver booking details—all triggered through the webhooks in IM.

 

Availability

Professional and above



 

 

Measure customer happiness rating for IM Channels


Collect feedback on customer satisfaction for interactions conducted through the IM channel. A customer's happiness rating helps to see what they think about the support they receive at the end of each response or after closing their ticket. The integrated analytics will also assist the business in monitoring the ratings received by the agents or given by their contacts and accounts across various time frames.


Help document and availability

Customer happiness rating for IM channels | Standard and above





Thread separation in IM tickets  

Users can enhance clarity in IM tickets with the help of thread separation. This feature distinguishes different conversation threads to make it easier for agents to manage and resolve issues effectively.


Availability

Standard and above






Integration 

Scheduling meetings from the ticket interface with Zoho Meeting integration


The Zoho Meeting integration enables agents to schedule and conduct meetings directly from the ticket interface. For example, if a customer submits a ticket requesting a product demo, the agent can create the meeting from the ticket interface, invite the relevant stakeholders, and also have the meeting recording and meeting details such as link, date, time, and venue available inside the ticket for easy access.


Help document and availability

Integrate Zoho Meeting with Zoho Desk | Standard and above



 


Track agent attendance and availability with the Agent Attendance Tracker extension

The Agent Attendance Tracker extension provides a comprehensive system for the support managers to monitor the agent's attendance. It addresses key operational challenges related to tracking and managing agents' break hours, attendance, and routine activities. Managers can track check-in and check-out timings and view detailed activity logs of their support agents. This is helpful in various ways:


  • Accurate break logging: Allows agents to define and log break times, maintain proper shift coverage, and ensure uninterrupted service for customers.
  • Streamlined check-in/out: Simplifies the process of checking in and out and enables precise tracking of work hours and real-time monitoring via the Agent Availability Report.
  • Custom statuses: Enables the creation of custom statuses for activities like training and meetings to provide detailed visibility into agents' time allocation and enhance accountability.

 

Help document and availability

Integrating Zoho Desk with agent attendance tracker | Standard and above

 


 


 



Also see our What's new page

Regards,
Varsha P | Zoho Desk - User Education


      • Sticky Posts

      • 2024 Email Authentication Standards: Elevating Security with Google and Yahoo

        In contemporary email communication, email authentication plays a pivotal role in mitigating email fraud, spam, and phishing attacks. Brace yourself for a new level of security. Starting February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo will be implementing robust email

      • Using Agent Email Address as From Address

        Currently, while replying to a ticket, it is possible for agents to choose their own email addresses as 'from' addresses. Although we built this just for that little extra flexibility, in hindsight, it hasn't figured much in conventional usage.  Almost all businesses prefer that responses to their customers' tickets be sent from the common support/service email address and NOT from those of individual agents. During personal interactions at events, some of you have even made passing mentions about

      • Edit and Delete options in Comments

        A lot of teams have been using ticket comments extensively to collaborate everyday. Notification Center further improved this experience by bringing real-time updates. As we continue to build more improvements to this experience, we've shipped a small-yet-important

      • Webinar 2: Supercharged customer support for growing business

        Join us for this webinar and learn how to step up your support game using a real-time communication platform to generate happier, more successful customers. In this live webinar, we will will discuss the importance of SalesIQ for your support team and how it can help you:  Understand your customers better and their journeys to proactively support and engage them even before they ask for help.  Integrating real time conversations into Zoho Desk’s Support, providing a conversational customer service

      • Customize Colors of your Customer Self Service Portal

        You asked for it. We heard you. We're happy to roll out the most sought after feature request, Customizing the Colors of your Customer Self-service Portal. Now you can set the color of your customer portal to mimic your company's web site, so that your customers visiting the portal will not feel alienated by the default theme.  Go ahead and configure the color of the header, tabs, fonts and background according to your needs. You can either choose between default color themes like Blue, Grey, Green

        • Recent Topics

        • Dynamic Signature - Record owner

          Hi everyone, I’m using Zoho Writer merge templates from Zoho CRM and have two questions: Owner signature: How can I automatically insert the CRM record owner’s signature in the merged document? I’m not sure where this signature is stored or how to reference

        • Writer sing up problom

          Zoho writer sing up prolom face

        • Unable to copy into a new document

          Whe I create a new Writer doc and attemp to copy and past I get this message. The only way to copy into a document is I duplicate an existing document, erase the text and save it under a different name and then paste the information. Not ideal. Can you

        • [Webinar] Live demos and user Q&A with Zoho Writer product experts

          Join us on June 12, 2025 for live demos based on your use cases and real-world scenarios raised via form. This is also an opportunity to get your questions answered directly by product experts from the Zoho Writer team. Webinar agenda Live demos based

        • Zoho Writer's built-in citation and bibliography generator

          Hey researchers and writers! Do you manually format citations and bibliographies, spending hours jumping between apps and tabs? If so, then check out Zoho Writer's built-in "Citations and Bibliography" feature. Imagine you're writing a thesis on the future

        • Single and group checkboxes in Zoho Writer's fillable forms

          Hey Writer Fam, Are you making the most out of single and group checkboxes in fillable forms in Zoho Writer? Here is a handy tip to optimize your use of checkboxes, both single and group, and enhance your data collection process. Single checkboxes: Single

        • Collaborate efficiently with Zoho Writer's track changes feature

          Hi Zoho Writer Community, Zoho Writer's track changes feature is a simple, built-in solution that helps you and your team work together efficiently. Instead of juggling multiple versions of a document or building up a long email chain of comments, each

        • Zoho Writer's WordPress extensions

          Hey Zoho Writer users! Say goodbye to all your WordPress content publishing woes with Zoho Writer's WordPress extensions. Publish content with all your formatting and images, republish content when you update a document, and more—from a single window

        • Time-saving table hacks

          Hey Zoho Writer Community, Do you find yourself using a lot of tables in your documents? We're here to share some of our time-saving hacks that will help you work more efficiently, organize your data, and make your documents look neat and professional.

        • Automating document approval and signing with Zoho Writer and Zoho Sign

          Hey Zoho Writer Community! Here's another automation tip to make your processes more efficient! Question: Can I send a document for client approval first, then automatically send it for signing with Zoho Sign if they approve? Since it's the same person

        • Customization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 2

          Hey community, We're back with some more tricks to personalize your documents, save time, and get in the zone when you work in Writer. Check out part 1 of this post if you haven't already. Let's dive right in! Document ruler units Imagine you're creating

        • Simplify your tax calculations with Zoho Writer

          Hello Zoho Writer Community! Tax season can be stressful, but with Zoho Writer, managing your income tax calculations becomes straightforward and efficient. Here’s an example of how you can use the tables and formulae of Zoho Writer to calculate income

        • Enhance document navigation with headings and TOC

          Hey Zoho Writer Community! We're back with some useful features in Zoho Writer that can simplify your document creation and navigation process. Let's dive right in! Check out our video on how to make the most of Zoho Writer's heading and table of contents

        • Use and download in PDF format of Zoho wirter Merge template using deluge

          Hello Zoho Developers. Here is some information about Zoho Writer. Writer is not just another online word processor, it's a powerful tool for editing, collaboration, and publishing. Even with its wide range of features, Writer's pared-down user interface

        • Customization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 3

          Hello everyone, Welcome back to Part 3 of our customization tips in Zoho Writer! In this third installment, we'll be diving into some essential customization settings that can enhance your document creation experience. Sender email address in mail merge

        • Daytime saving timezones messing up writer pdf

          Hi, I need help for something I can't figure out. I created a Form to collect data and it is set up with my current Daylight Saving Time (GMT-3). This form is used to generate a contract (pdf Writer) with dates from an event that is being held in 4 months

        • Issue with locked content in Writer

          Hi, I have seen the documentation which outlines how to lock specific content within a Writer document so that it can't be modified by collaborators, but I have come across an issue. When the editor locks a paragraph for example, then a collaborator can't

        • Deprecation of certain URL patterns for published Zoho Writer documents

          Hi Zoho Writer users! We'd like to let you know that we have deprecated certain URL patterns for published and embedded documents in Zoho Writer due to security reasons. If the published or embedded documents are in any of these URL patterns, then their

        • Using Mail Merge Template to Print Documents with One Subform Record's Fields per Document

          Hello, We have a Mail Merge template created in Zoho Writer which is not able to perform the functionality which is currently required to automate the documentation task portion of our process. The CRM module we are primarily using is based on a "Loans"

        • Problem with Writer and Workdrive

          Hi team, I’m the super admin for our Zoho One org. WorkDrive is active, and Zoho Docs is deprecated for our org. However, Zoho Writer cannot connect to WorkDrive at all — we’ve cleared cache, tried incognito, and restarted several times. I was able to

        • Set to Review for all

          We are testing the use of Writer as part of an internal review process for statement of work documents and have found that when the document is changed from Compose to Review by one person, that is not reflected for all others who view the document. Is

        • I’ve noticed that Zoho Sheet currently doesn’t have a feature similar to the QUERY formula in Google Sheets or Power Query in Microsoft Excel.

          These tools are extremely helpful for: Filtering and extracting data using simple SQL-like queries Combining or transforming data from multiple sheets or tables Creating dynamic reports without using complex formulas Having a Query-like function in Zoho

        • stock

          bom/bse : stock details or price =STOCK(C14;"price") not showing issue is #N/A! kindly resolve this problem

        • SOME FEATURES ARE NOT IN THE ZOHO SHEET IN COMPARISION TO ZOHO SHEET

          TO ZOHO sir/maam with due to respect i want to say that i am using ZOHO tool which is spreadsheet i want to say that some features are not there in zoho sheet as comparison to MS EXCEL like advance filter and other Features which should be there in ZOHO

        • Zoho sheet for desktop

          Hi is zoho sheets available for desktop version for windows

        • Tip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?

          Charts are a great tool for visualizing and interpreting large chunks of data in spreadsheets. Zoho Sheet offers you 35+ chart options, along with AI-powered chart recommendations based on the data set you select. There are various chart elements that

        • Perform customized calculations with the new LAMBDA functions!

          We released the LAMBDA function in Zoho Sheet in 2021, enabling customized calculations inside predefined functions. Now, we're extending LAMBDA's capabilities with six new functions. Each of these functions applies LAMBDA to the given input, performs

        • Tip #17: Easily share spreadsheets with non-Zoho account users

          With efficient, collaboration-friendly options, Zoho Sheet is a popular choice among users. Sheet's external share links help you collaborate more effectively by sharing your spreadsheets with anyone outside your organization, including users who do not

        • Work seamlessly with Sheet's shortcuts without affecting the browser

          Navigating your worksheets and performing specific actions should be a quick and easy process. That's where keyboard shortcuts come in. Shortcut keys help you accomplish tasks more efficiently, eliminating the need to move away from the keyboard. What

        • Zoho Sheet for iPad: Improved UI, external keyboard support, and more!

          The portability and capabilities of the iPad have made it an essential device in the business world. With this in mind, we had launched an exclusive Zoho Sheet app for iPad, with device-specific improvements and enhanced usability. Now, we're improving

        • The new Zoho Sheet for Android: Seamless UI and advanced features

          At Zoho Sheet, we know mobile apps have become the go-to platforms for creating, sharing, and storing information. And we understand the importance of an efficient and seamless app experience. We've been working hard on improving the overall user experience

        • Zia in Zoho Sheet now makes suggestions on conditional formats, picklists, and checkboxes

          Zia, Zoho's popular AI assistant, has been helping users succeed across Zoho applications since inception. In Zoho Sheet, Zia helps users efficiently build reports and analyze data with recommendations about data cleaning, charts, and pivot table. Also,

        • VBA attached to button no longer works on external shared sheet

          Hi - we have a Sheet that our clients use, which requires them to press a button once they've entered data. The button then triggers a flow via a webhook. The button works fine when editing within Zoho Sheet - however when shared externally it no longer

        • can I use zoho sheet for survey?

          Hi I wanna use zoho sheet for my ARY to know consumer better so i wanna have permission to do so

        • How to Avoid Impacting Other Users When Hiding Columns in Zoho Sheet

          Hi Team, We’re experiencing a challenge with the column-hiding feature on Zoho Sheet during collaborative sessions. When one user hides a column, it becomes hidden for all users working on the file, which disrupts others' workflows. In comparison, Excel

        • What are the benefits of procurement software in a growing business setup?

          I’ve been exploring tools that can help automate purchasing and vendor-related tasks. I keep hearing about the benefits of procurement software, especially for businesses that are scaling. I want to understand how it helps in streamlining operations,

        • What formula to use in computing total hrs and decimal hrss

          So , my data includes log im column , 2 breaks with 2 columns that says back and lunch and 1 column that says back and logged out. What formula should i use to be able to automatically have my total hours as I input time in each column? Thankyou

        • Replacing email ID,

          In zoho sheets If I am sending it as an email attachments can I replace sender email ID from notifications to my email ID.

        • Latest Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Zoho Meeting

          Hello there, We hope you're doing well. The latest updates from Zoho Meeting include enhancements like adding names for instant meetings, renaming participants, enabling text notifications for participant entry/exit, viewing details of bandwidth optimization,

        • Multi-video feed in webinars, custom domain options, and our integration with MS Outlook

          Hi there, We hope you're doing well. With your help, we have been able to release many useful features and enhancements in 2020. We, the Zoho Meeting team, would like to thank you all for the feedback, support, and encouragement you've given as we worked

        • Next Page