Featurecast Story 17 - IM via the Desk mobile app

Featurecast Story 17 - IM via the Desk mobile app

IM'ing (Instant Messaging) Feature Story Series 

Featurecast Story 17 - IM via the Desk mobile app

Carry your support desk wherever you go! 



We're delighted to introduce you to our Zoho Desk's IM mobile software development kit (SDK). Zoho Desk is the first app to integrate the instant messaging SDK.

These days, comprehensive mobile app development means there are apps for just about everything: shopping, travel, fitness, gaming, entertainment, and much more. There are also many business apps to support productivity, planning, and communication. There are multiple factors that have contributed to the growing popularity of mobile apps, including convenience, the growth of broadband network availability, and the increasing power of mobile devices.

It's also important to realize that apps are so popular because they empower people to take control of their lives and manage their work more effectively. Let me illustrate this with a short story.

Mobile apps empower business users

Once upon a time, a busy professional named Kia had many tasks to complete every day. She found it challenging to keep track of everything and often felt burned out at the end of the day. One day, she discovered a mobile app that promised to simplify her life and make things easier.

At first, Kia was hesitant to use the app. She wondered whether setting it up and learning how to use it would be worth her time and effort. But eventually, she decided to try it, and she was pleasantly surprised by how helpful it was.

The app allowed her to track her tickets, set reminders for important tasks, and manage her activities. As she continued to use the mobile app, Kia found that it saved her a lot of time and stress. She no longer had to worry as much about deadlines because she felt more organized and in control of her life.

At Zoho Desk, we love to make it easier for people to succeed at work! So, if you're like Kia and feel overwhelmed by your daily job, why not try the IM mobile SDK for your business communication needs?

Integrated messaging boosts mobile app development

Technology must constantly evolve to maintain a modern appearance and keep up with changes in users' requirements. That's why we've provided the SDK with access to the IM features on your Desk mobile apps.
 
We have introduced the easy click-to-send option, enabling you to send templates through the Desk mobile app.
 
You can seamlessly integrate your favorite messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE, WeChat and Facebook Messenger with Zoho Desk. You can also choose templates and send them to your mobile device's preferred platform.

Desk's IM mobile SDK offers advantages for customer support

Real-time communication

Instant messaging allows rapid communication between customers and support agents, leading to quicker issue resolution and improved customer satisfaction.

Convenience

Customers can access support anytime using their mobile devices, allowing them to get assistance without waiting on hold or sending emails.

Multimedia support

Many messaging apps support multimedia content such as images, videos, and documents. This enables customers to easily share screenshots or videos of their issues, which can help support agents understand and resolve problems more effectively.

Chat history

Messaging apps often maintain chat histories, allowing customers and support agents to refer to previous conversations. This can help track the team's progress toward resolving issues or enable them to review past solutions to similar problems.

Multiple conversations

Support agents can simultaneously handle multiple customer inquiries through instant messaging, increasing efficiency and reducing customer wait times.

Notifications

Instant messaging apps can send notifications to users, alerting them when a support agent responds to their message. This ensures that customers stay informed and engaged throughout the support process.

Integration

Many instant messaging apps integrate with other business tools and systems, such as CRM software or help desk platforms. This streamlines support agents' work and enables better customer interaction management.

Let's review IM SDK features 

Sessions view

The sessions view will list the chat sessions and show the available options for switching between conversation views and integrated channels. Users can also apply status-based filters.

Conversation view

The conversation view shows all the conversations in that chat session with a clean in-and-out message bubble UI. You can also perform chat-specific actions, such as ending a chat, reopening chat sessions, and blocking or unblocking chats. The compose-message view also supports canned messages and pre-approved template messages. By typing the hotkey "#," you can invoke the saved canned messages from your library.

Themes and fonts

You can choose brand colors and fonts in light or dark themes.

Settings

Set the date and time format, the default contact image type, and your contact avatar or the first letter of your name.

Options

You can control the contacts' names, messages in a conversation, URL handling, attachment selection, and presentation style.

Push notifications

The client apps can receive push notifications.

Privacy

Our mobile SDK was developed with a focus on ensuring privacy and data protection. Any data that is of concern is sent to the client app via the error listeners and direct callbacks.

Database encryption

Database encryption is functional in Android and iOS.

Benefits of using the mobile SDK

    •    Facilitating teams' communication and productivity
    •    Remaining "top of mind" with customers
    •    Ensuring ease of use
    •    Capturing data

I hope you found this story helpful. Start using the IM SDK via the Desk mobile apps to accelerate your business communications and provide comprehensive support to your customers.

There's more to come, so please watch this space for more IM feature stories.
 
Until next time,


Kavya Rao
The Zoho Desk Team

      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

            With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features
          • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

            Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 
          • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

            Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 
          • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

            Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here
          • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

            With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

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

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Autofill address using smart fields mapped over the pdf document

                                    Hi, I'm using mail merge to map smart fields onto PDF documents I plan to distribute for signing. I already have a Zoho Sign subscription. When mapping smart fields from the Employee form, I only see the permanent and current addresses which include the
                                  • Live Chat for user

                                    Hi everyone, I’m new to Zoho Creator and wanted to ask if it’s possible to add a live chat option for all logged-in portal users so they can chat internally. I’m trying to create a customer portal similar to a service desk, but for vehicle breakdowns,
                                  • How do I cap employee leave accrual

                                    HI there, How do I cap an employee's leave accrual? The policy is that you accrue 15 days leave annually (1.25 days a month) and once you reach 15 days, you wont accrue more until you take leave. Thank you!
                                  • Open sub form from a button as a popup form

                                    Is there a way within a form to use similar code as below to show a button in the form when clicked opens the subform for data to be added to the record being viewed in the form OpenUrl("#Form:<Customer_Delivery_Address>?<Delivery_Address>=" + input.ID,"popup
                                  • Dont have backup option in setting

                                    Hi guys. I started using zoho book a week ago. I bought premium package yet I don't have backup option in setting. I hope anyone can help me find a solution. Thanks in advance
                                  • Making Tags Mandatory

                                    When creating an expense, is it possible to make the Tags field mandatory?  I see the option in settings to make other fields mandatory, like Merchant, Description, Customer, etc, but nothing about Tags. Thanks! Kevin
                                  • Is there a plan to integrate zoho voice with zoho books?

                                    Hello, Is there a plan to integrate zoho voice with zoho books? Right now we are using the Twilio SMS integration into zoho books, but have recently decided to switch to zoho voice for calls and sms. Is there a plan to integrate zoho voice natively into
                                  • Pass variables to Zoho Desk via URL to create a fast new ticket landing page

                                    We are integrating our phone system into Zoho Desk. Currently when a helpdesk agent answers the phone, a soft client opens a new tab with zoho desk at the new case page. https://desk.zoho.com/support/companyname/ShowHomePage.do#Cases/new We would like
                                  • Zoho Books Extension: What Happens If Custom Fields Already Exist?

                                    When developing Zoho Books extensions, what happens if the target Zoho Books organization already has a custom field with the same API name as one defined in the extension? I’m asking because we originally created an on-Books version of this functionality,
                                  • Modular Permission Levels

                                    We need more modular Permissions per module in Books we have 2 use cases that are creating problems We need per module export permission we have a use case where users should be able to view the sales orders but not export it, but they can export other
                                  • ¡Vuelven los Workshops Certificados de Zoho a España!

                                    ¡Hola usuarios de Español Zoho Community! Hace ya unos días que hemos dado la bienvenida al 2026, y promete ser un año de lo más emocionante. Y es que nos gustaría haceros nuestro particular regalo de Reyes, aunque lleguemos un poco tarde. 🎁 ¡Nos gustaría
                                  • Free Webinar on 21 January: Looking back at Zoho Mail in 2025

                                    Hello Zoho Community! Curious about how Zoho Mail evolved in 2025? Wondering how these updates can make your everyday email work simpler? We’ve got a session you won’t want to miss. In our Zoho Mail 2025 recap webinar, we’ll walk you through the key features
                                  • Cliq Networks users can see all other network users contact information

                                    Is there a way to hide user contact information from each user in networks? I would only like the users to see the admin's contact information, not other users. Network users information shared by default
                                  • Zoho Sheet - Printing - Page Breaks and Printing Customization

                                    I think the title is descriptive enough in that I cannot find help documentation on a simple task of adding in page brakes for separating pages on print. Thanks
                                  • Missing the "Find & Merge Duplicates" choice

                                    Hi, I am missing the "Find & Merge Duplicates" choice. I looked under the "More Actions" menu in Contacts, Accounts, Vendors, and Leads and it is not there. I have full permissions. Please assist me on finding this feature. Thanks!
                                  • OAuth integration issues

                                    I'm experiencing persistent OAuth errors when trying to connect Make with Zoho API. I've tried multiple approaches but keep encountering the following issues: First error: 'Invalid Redirect Uri - Redirect URI passed does not match with the one configured'
                                  • Marketing Tip #16: Ideal sizes and formats for adding images to your online store

                                    Images can make (or break) your storefront experience. When your banners and product photos follow the right sizes and aspect ratios, your store looks cleaner, loads faster, and feels more trustworthy—especially on mobile. Here are recommended image sizes
                                  • Improve WhatsApp Module in Zoho CRM

                                    The current WhatsApp module UI in Zoho CRM feels cluttered and complex, especially when handling high volumes of conversations. It would be great to enhance the WhatsApp module UI/UX by adopting a clean and simplified interface similar to Bigin CRM’s
                                  • Blueprint transitions on locked records

                                    We use the ability to automatically lock records (quotes, sales orders, etc.) based on criteria, such as stage. For instance, if a quote has been sent to a client, the quote is then locked for further edits. Our ideal quote stage process is: Draft>Sent>Won.
                                  • Enhance productivity with the revamped Zoho Sheet View

                                    Hello folks, For some time now, you've been able to use the Zoho Sheet View to quickly edit multiple records or to insert a batch of new records. Its tabular interface allows users to engage in these tasks productively. Despite this, the existing Sheet
                                  • No OR Filter for Views with a Related Modules Criteria

                                    We would like to create a Deal View where the User can see all their deals. For that, we would need an OR to connect the criteria. One of the Fields is a "multiselect User", these (Related Modules Criteria) can only be Filter with an AND. Even between
                                  • Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

                                    Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities
                                  • Chat to Lead

                                    Can I convert a Chat to a Lead?
                                  • Limit maximum entries for subform - depending on fields entry

                                    Hi Zoho! I have a form with a subform in it. I'd like to have limitation for the row number depending on an entry in a drop-down field in the main form (If the field in the main form is marked "Answer1" - Limit the entries to 1 row, if the field is "Answer2" to have 2 rows limitation, "Answer3" = no limitation at all) Can this be done? Thanks Ravid
                                  • Save HTML Snippet Page as PDF with Dynamic Data in Zoho Creator (Working Solution)

                                    Hi Zoho Creator Community 👋, I faced a common challenge while working with HTML Snippet Pages — I needed to generate a PDF with dynamic data and save it back into the record automatically. Here’s the working solution that might help others. Use Case
                                  • Make Camera Overlay & Recording Controls Visible in All Screen-Sharing Options

                                    Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an improvement to the screen-recording experience in Zoho WorkDrive. Current Limitation: At the moment the recording controls are visible only inside the Zoho WorkDrive tab. When
                                  • Cannot connect to imap.zoho.eu on iOS26

                                    Hey, I recently migrated to another iPhone and since then use iOS26. Every since then, I was not able to connect to "imap.zoho.eu" from Apple Mail. I tried deleting the account and adding it again, did not work. I tried creating an app password, didn't
                                  • Rebranding Options for Zoho One

                                    We need the addition of rebranding and white-labeling settings directly within the Zoho One Admin Panel. This feature should allow organizations to customize the unified portal with their own logo, brand colors, and custom domain mapping (e.g., portal.company.com).
                                  • Tip #57- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Mobility- 'Insider Insights'

                                    Remote support should be easy to navigate for everyone. For users with mobility-related accessibility needs, long sessions and complex navigation can be challenging. Zoho Assist’s Mobility Accessibility Controls simplify interaction through keyboard-based
                                  • To print Multiple delivery notes in batches

                                    In Zoho Books, we can print a Delivery Note from an Invoice using the Print Delivery Note option, but it is non-editable and always prints all line items from the invoice. Our requirement is to deliver invoiced items in batches and print delivery notes
                                  • UPLOAD A CREATED PDF AUTOMATICALLY

                                    Using the html header pdf+print button, I have managed to find a way to have a user create a pdf using entered form data. Using the schedule button, I can have a "file uploaded" pdf mailed to someone as an attachment. The missing piece is to be able to add the pdf, created in that html page to a file upload field automatically? Right now one has to save it to computer and then upload it in a FILE UPLOAD FIELD. Any help would appreciated !  
                                  • Consolidated Department-wise Payroll Cost Summary Report

                                    Hello Zoho Payroll Team and Community, I am writing to discuss a reporting requirement regarding department-level expense tracking within Zoho Payroll. As we scale and manage salary distribution for employees across multiple departments, such as Accounts,
                                  • Write-Off multiple invoices and tax calculation

                                    Good evening, I have many invoices which are long overdue and I do not expect them to be paid. I believe I should write them off. I did some tests and I have some questions:  - I cannot find a way to write off several invoices together. How can I do that,
                                  • How to remove chat icon from knowledge base?

                                    I have set up a knowledge base to hold FAQs and documentation. It is currently standalone, and not integrated into our website. On every page there is a chat button in the bottom left corner that says "We're offline, please leave a message." How can I
                                  • Missed chats on WhatsApp closing after one minute

                                    Hi, we have added WhatsApp as a channel. However, if a chat is not picked up within 2mins, the chat is marked as missed and is closed within a minute. Why are they not staying in our "missed" queue for 24 hours as per our WhatsApp preference settings?
                                  • [ZohoDesk] Improve Status View with a new editeble kanban view

                                    A kanban view with more information about the ticket and the contact who created the ticket would be valueble. I would like to edit the fields with the ones i like to see at one glance. Like in CRM where you can edit the canvas view, i would like to edit
                                  • Automated Dismissal of Specific Notifications and Centralized Control of Toast Notification Settings

                                    Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. We would like to request two enhancements related to notification handling within Zoho Desk: Automatic Dismissal of Specific Notifications: Currently, when certain actions are taken in the ticket list
                                  • Show field in spreadsheet view depending on other field value

                                    Hello. Not sure if this is possible but let's say i have spreadsheet view in Creator with four different fields Field A, B, C and D Then i have a field named Response which for one record could contain only one of the pre-definde choices below A, B, C
                                  • Intergrating multi location Square account with Zoho Books

                                    Hi, I have one Square account but has multiple locations. I would like to integrate that account and show aggregated sales in zoho books. How can I do that? thanks.
                                  • Zoho Learn Zapier Integration

                                    Hello all, Is there any plan to integrate Zoho Learn with Zapier? It seems almost all Zoho products are in Zapier, with the exception of Learn and Marketing Automation.
                                  • Next Page