Narrative 8: Intelligent in-app support that's instantly available anytime and anywhere

Narrative 8: Intelligent in-app support that's instantly available anytime and anywhere

Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series

Narrative 8: Intelligent in-app support that's instantly available anytime and anywhere


The App Support Across Platforms (ASAP) add-on for Zoho Desk is an independent application that integrates help center capabilities directly into your product to offer in-app self-service options for your users. Customers can use the ASAP widget to access help articles, connect with customer service representatives, and engage with other users without leaving the page they are on.

Help customers help themselves

We're excited to announce that we have improved our ASAP help widget for customers. The new ASAP widget is now available for both web and mobile platforms with a single configuration. It's easy to customize your self-service channels and branding elements to provide a seamless customer experience.

You can showcase the same help widget across all pages of your website or implement a unique add-on for each page. This method provides contextual support tailored to your customers, enhancing the customer service experience by offering immediate assistance without placing additional burdens on support agents. 

With our new ASAP feature, businesses can integrate a 24/7 help center service into their website or app interface. This allows end-users to access customer support without needing to navigate multiple windows, allowing them to find solutions more quickly and efficiently find solutions—all without leaving the application.

Fit your brand's style

Extend your brand identity to the ASAP help widget. You can exercise complete control over everything from support functionalities to themes, icons, logos, font styles, and more.

Benefits of adding a help widget to self-service apps

Glide through the following tips for a smooth and cohesive experience throughout your support journey.

Enhanced user experience

A help widget provides immediate assistance, reducing user frustration and improving satisfaction. It allows users to access help without leaving the app.

Reduced support costs

By offering self-help resources (e.g., FAQs, guides, or chatbots), the widget can resolve common issues without requiring human intervention. This reduces the volume of support tickets and lowers operational costs.

Increased user retention

Users are more likely to continue using an app if they can quickly resolve issues or find answers to their questions. A help widget reduces the likelihood of users abandoning the app due to confusion or frustration.

Proactive support

Help widgets can proactively offer assistance based on user behavior, such as suggesting relevant articles or tutorials when a user seems stuck. This can prevent issues before they escalate.

Accessibility and convenience

A help widget is always accessible, providing users with instant support whenever they need it. It also eliminates the need for them to search for external help resources or contact support through other channels.

Data-driven insights

Help widgets can track user interactions, providing valuable data on common pain points or frequently asked questions. This information can be used to improve the app, update help content, or prioritize feature development.

Brand trust and credibility

Offering readily available support demonstrates a commitment to user success, building trust and credibility. Users are more likely to perceive the app as reliable and user-friendly.

Multichannel support integration

Many help widgets integrate with live chat, email, or phone support, offering users multiple ways to get help. This ensures that users can escalate issues if they can't meet their needs with self-help options.

Improved onboarding

A help widget can guide new users through the app’s features and functionalities to improve onboarding and reduce the learning curve.

Competitive advantage

Apps with built-in help widgets stand out from competitors by offering a more supportive and user-centric experience. By incorporating a help widget, self-service apps can empower users, streamline support processes, and create a more positive overall experience.

Support customers on the channel of their choice

Supporting customers on the channel of their choice is essential for fostering strong relationships, enhancing satisfaction, and ensuring effective communication. Here’s a more detailed look at what this entails: Customers today prefer different channels for communication, including phone, email, live chat, social media, and in-person interactions. Understanding which channels your customers favor can help you improve their experience significantly.

Providing help center services via widget delivers instant assistance to your customers  

The ASAP software development kit (SDK) for Android and iOS provides easy access to help your mobile app's end users. Using this SDK, you can create and customise a help widget within your app, providing end-users with easy access to the help centre services.

Truly mobile  

Enable mobile app users to find solutions in their knowledge base quickly and community with in-app search and text-to-speech capabilities. Enhance the experience by placing help buttons right where your customers need them.

Conclusion

Customer expectations are evolving fast, and our team highly recommends using the ASAP help widget to enhance your customer service.

Please stay tuned for more Desk behind-the-scenes series.


Regards,


Kavya Rao

The Zoho Desk Team

Idea

Also, read:

Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system (BTS Series)


Further reading:

The Wheels of Ticketing Series

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho mail to Teaminbox

      Hello, We're searching for new mail program. Now I'm testing a bit with zoho mail and team inbox. My findings in the research: Pop mail throught zoho mail is almost instant. Any pop or imap via external provider takes a couple minutes to 15 minutes before
    • What are the OAuth scopes needed to access the Zoho MCP server?

      I think I'm authenticating with the MCP server endpoint successfully using a bearer token but I can't successfully initialize an MCP session. I'm using the official MCP Python sdk (https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk). I get as far as here
    • Account blocked for IMAP use

      Hello, My email client (Evolution) can't sync mail anymore. It gives the error: "Your account is temporarily blocked for IMAP use. This may happen if you exceed the maximum number of simultaneous IMAP connections allowed. Kindly try again after some time."
    • Is SMTP included in the free plan?

      My client has a Zoho Mail Free 14 day trial that ends tomorrow. She has set up a domain email address with SMTP on a third party app and is wondering if it will continue working once her plan downgrades to the free forever plan. Thanks
    • Zoho mail issue.

      I have verified my domain ohhoexpress.online by adding necessary TXT and MX records. But when I am sending email to any external email id, it is showing as zohomail.com. Also while I am sending mail to internal mail id, it is saying user not found whereas
    • My email is blocked from sending

      I get this message when I try to send any message .. > Unable to send message, Reason 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked We have urgent emails to send and the issue continues to persist from yesterday. Please help us with this issue as soon as possibl
    • [WEBINAR] Smooth year-end closure with Zoho Books (KENYA)

      Hello there, This webinar is for all Kenyan businesses looking to wrap up their financial year smoothly! Join our free session to learn how Zoho Books can simplify your year-end process. What to expect from this webinar: - All the latest updates in Zoho
    • cannot recieve or send emails

      we are not recieving or cannot send emails.Shows sysytem error
    • Zoho Sites - contact us form

      I have added a contact us form to my website. I wanted to change the layout so I deleted the section of Contact Us form. When I again try to add the section of Contact Us form, it shows error that "This form already exists on this page."  I am unable
    • switching from POP3 to IMAPI do I need to change settings in Web email?

      hi so I am using Outlook with My Zoho mail, also have Verizon email /AOL. they no longer support POP3 and said imapi is much better, so I want to switch my ZoHo to imapai. I googled and it said i need to change it in my account....i looked at my account
    • What functionality is new in the Z025 Spaces UI dashboard compared to the previous Zoho One dashboard?

      My company is interested in creating a revamped dashboard this coming year, and are trying to weigh different platform options. The new Spaces UI is said to be a more "feature-rich" dashboard experience than the previous. Could a developer please explain
    • Collections Management: #5 Convenience on Offer, using Self-Checkout

      "Is this the right page? Oh, now, it wants my address again. Why am I being redirected?" These were the exact thoughts running through Karan's mind as he tried to subscribe to an application he genuinely liked. He clicked "Buy Now", expecting a quick
    • Uploading a signed template from Sign to Creator

      Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // Attach
    • Tip #50- A Closer Look at the Unattended Access Dashboard- 'Insider Insights'

      Having complete visibility and quick access to everything you need certainly makes managing multiple remote devices a lot easier, and that is precisely what the Unattended Access Dashboard in Zoho Assist is designed to offer. Once you go to the Unattended
    • How to update custom multi-user field in Zoho Projects?

      I'm trying to update custom multi-user fields in Zoho Projects via a Deluge function in CRM. The code I have so far is below. It works for updating standard project fields and single-line custom fields, but it does not work to update multi-user fields.
    • Tip of the Week #75– Manage your social media messages from a single shared inbox.

      Are you tired of jumping between apps or browser tabs to reply to your business's Facebook and Instagram DMs? Handling customer messages on social media might seem simple, but switching between multiple platforms can easily lead to lost messages, duplicate
    • Zoho Map integration tasks have changed - you need to "Locate all instances of Zoho Map integration tasks in your Deluge scripts by searching for the v1 marker... before 16 January 2026"

      The Zoho Map deluge integration task has been changed (as at 21 October 2025) to provide a more structured, JSON-like response. This change affects all three Zoho Map integration tasks (Geocode, Reverse Geocode, and Distance Between). More details can
    • Using files from Zoho CRM in Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude

      Hi all, I’ve got subscriptions to Gemini and a few other AI tools which I use for tasks like data enrichment, email composition, etc. In our workflow, we often receive various documents from clients — such as process workflows, BRDs/requirement documents
    • Zoho Analytics & Zoho Creator - Modified Time value

      I'm trying to use the Zoho Creator system field 'modified time' in Zoho Analytics, but it's consistently showing 12 hours 'out' In Zoho Creator In Zoho Analytics Is this a constant difference that I just need to correct with a timezone change - or is
    • Zoho CRM - Option to create Follow-Up Task

      When completing a Zoho CRM Task, it would be very helpful if there was an option to "Complete and Create Follow-Up Task" in the pop-up which appears. It could clone the task you are closing and then show it on the screen in edit mode, all the user would
    • Portal For Different Apps

      I found some older threads on this but didn't see anything very recent. I'm new to Zoho One so forgive me if my terminology is off a bit. I was hoping set up a single point of entry into Zoho One. So, many of the apps could be found in one single place
    • Calls undetected

      Zoho Voice records indicate my last call ended at 6:00 PM. All incoming and outgoing calls occurred between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
    • Unable to Select Authenticated Domain as Sender

      We’ve already authenticated our domain, but it’s still not appearing in the sender list when we try to run a campaign. Could you please check what might be causing this issue?
    • Zoho Projects - Project Details on the Project Menu

      Hi Project's team, I've helped may businesses setup and use Zoho Project and one thing I see time and time again is confusion on where to find the Project Details information. I would be much more intuitive if Project Details was on the menu before Dashboard.
    • Introducing WhatsApp integration in Bigin

      Greetings! In today's business landscape, messaging apps play a significant role in customer operations. Customers can engage with businesses, seek support, ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, read reviews, and even make purchases—all
    • Zoho Projects - Show Task List as dropdown field on Task records

      Hi Project's Team, I noticed today that there is no field on a task record related to the task list it belongs to. A dropdown would be helpful for quickly moving tasks between lists while in a task. I know that you can go to "Other Actions" and choose
    • My followed tickets extension is not working under the All departments view

      Hi. I've installed the My followed tickets extension. However, when I try to open the extension under the all departments view, I get the following message: 'Sorry, this extension is not supported in the All Departments view.' How can I solve this p
    • Ticket Time Entry to Timesheet

      The title just about sums it up. I have searched here and not found anything relevant, but If I overlooked, then please set me straight.  We have staff that do nothing but close tickets in desk all day long. These tickets represent their timesheet. Is there a way to have this information sync or for a tech to go into their timesheet themselves and sync it with their tickets of the same timeframe?? We waste a ton of time doing timesheets and the old "Clock in/Clock out" isnt detailed enough for us!!
    • Calls undetected.

      The call is not showing on the call log.
    • Calls undetected

      Zoho is not reading calls made.
    • Multi-currency and Products

      One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support.  However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK.  However, we maintain different price lists for each. 
    • Missing information data Zoho inventory

      there some missing data in Zoho inventory connection. pick list stock counts bin location we have requested it via mail and the support team doesn’t gove feedback. has anyone achieve to get these info or to ask other ya les
    • Calendar Events Issues

      Not able to view scheduled events on my calendar
    • Extensions 101 webinar series: Build, integrate, and monetize with extensions

      Attention developers! Are you ready to take your extension development skills to the next level? We're excited to bring back the Extensions 101 webinar series with an expanded lineup of Zoho products and an introduction to more platform features. Last
    • Custom Related List Inside Zoho Books

      Hello, We can create the Related list inside the zoho books by the deluge code, I am sharing the reference code Please have a look may be it will help you. //..........Get Org Details organizationID = organization.get("organization_id"); Recordid = cm_g_a_data.get("module_record_id");
    • Where are recordings stored?

      I have hosted a couple of test meeting, used the "record" button to start and stop the recording but I am unable to find where are those recordings saved?  Can anybody help? Thanks
    • Zoho Desk's integration with Microsoft PowerBI delivers advanced analytics insights

      Hello everyone, Gaining advanced insights through reports and dashboards is one of the critical requirements of every business. In addition to key metrics tracked in Zoho Desk, such as agent performance, SLA adherence, and ticket lifecycle, businesses
    • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

      Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple
    • IMAP error message in Zoho mail

      I cannot send emails today. Everything fine for years until today. Get a message: "You are yet to enable IMAP for your account. Please contact your administrator". Does anyone know how to correct this?
    • IMAP stopped working today

      Hello! I've been a paid customer for more than 10 years, IMAP was always working fine. But today this is the error I've got on my iPhone: I've tried toggling the IMAP for my account (Mail -> Settings -> Mail accounts) off and on again, but that did not
    • Next Page