Discussions from Ask The Experts 19: Inside Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 : Zia in Focus

Hello everyone,  
We had insightful discussions in both the sessions of Ask the Experts(ATE) 19, diving deep into engaging conversations around Zia and the spring release. Your enthusiastic participation and thought-provoking questions brought the sessions to life!  
In this post, we’re spotlighting the Q&A highlights focused exclusively on Zia.

1. Why are Zia Answer bots not performing as intended after integrating them with the internal Knowledge Base (KB)? Why is the bot unable to provide relevant answers when questions are asked in natural language?

Zia's Answer bot's response is based on how closely the user's query matches the content of your Knowledge Base(KB) articles. Zia operates using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, which combines AI search and AI-generated responses. For AI search, we use AI training models specifically implemented for your knowledge base, while ChatGPT/Zia is used for generating the responses based on the service you select. Refer Setting up Generative AI Services: Zia or ChatGPT.

A. To improve this, we recommend following our best practices for training Zia Answer Bots. These include:
      i. Use simple and commonly-used phrases rather than jargons/isolated keywords in your help documents.
      ii. Include clear headings or sub-titles within your help documents to improve searchability and matching accuracy.
B. If you still do not receive relevant answers, we offer an improved Zia search powered by a new training model. If you would like to use it, please drop your request to support@zohodesk.com.

Additionally, we have introduced Generative AI powered by Zia, that is powered by open-source and run in Zoho's environment. To enable this, go to Setup(S) >> Zia >> Generative AI >> Services >> select Zia, under Choose service.  This is hosted entirely within Zoho's environment and is included at no additional cost and works with the Enterprise edition or Zoho bundles supporting Enterprise features.

 

2. How to optimize and incorporate the Zia bot within the Professional Edition?
Zia offers its complete range of functionalities exclusively within Zoho Desk Enterprise Edition and Zoho's bundle services.
However, there are specific Zia features available on the Professional Edition:
  a. Zia powered by ChatGPT: This integration is accessible within Zoho Desk, enabling responses based on open-domain data. In the Professional edition, Zia will  respond using information from the public domain, and the "Reply with Knowledge Base" feature is not available.

Additionally, Zia supports enhanced ticket handling through features like Ticket Summary, Zia Insights, Writing Assistance, and AI-generated content.
  b. Content Analysis: Launched in the recent spring update, this feature improves upon the existing spell-check capability and is accessible across all paid editions..

 

3. Is it possible to train Zia to provide answers based on resolutions from closed tickets rather than solely relying on the Knowledge Base?
Currently, Zia can only be trained using your Knowledge Base and not from tickets or their resolutions.
Tickets often contain sensitive customer data and personally identifiable information (PII), which should not be accessible to all agents or customers. Due to this privacy constraint, we currently do not train Zia using ticket data.
However, there's an option to add information from the Resolution under the Ticket tabs. While creating a resolution, the agent can select "Save And Add Article" to add the resolution to the Knowledge Base thereby giving Zia an option to train on the article. 
 

We plan to introduce a feature allowing agents to generate replies based on similar tickets. In this approach, Zia will reference similar tickets and their corresponding responses to suggest an answer. Instead of directly training Zia on potentially sensitive ticket data, this reply assistance feature will help agents by leveraging responses from comparable tickets.

4. Will Zoho offer additional AI models beyond Zia and OpenAI?  

Yes, we plan to introduce more AI models, primarily those hosted and managed by Zoho, considering the B2B nature of our services and ensuring data security and privacy.

5. How is data currently handled with OpenAI and Zia?  

Currently, when using OpenAI, fields marked as PII  are masked on the User Query or KB articles before sending them to Open AI for response generation alone and not for training. Similarly, Zia, powered by open-source models like Lama 3.1, uses data strictly for generation purposes. We've fine-tuned Lama 3.1 specifically for Zoho Desk requirements.

6. Which additional open-source models does Zoho plan to support in the future?  

Besides Llama, we plan to soon support additional models such as Qwen, and Mistral.

7. Will Zoho Desk allow users to integrate their own AI models?  

Yes, we are working towards creating a platform within Zoho Desk that allows users to bring their own open-source models or custom LLMs for various features.

 

8. How do we use the Zia GenAI-powered chat? Do we need to set it up with predefined answers?
To create an Answer bot, navigate to Setup > Zia > Answer Bot.The Answer Bot operates by learning from your existing knowledge base data. The Answer Bot leverages generative AI, which can either be powered by Zia using open-source technology or through OpenAI's ChatGPT integration, for which you would need an API key. In our recent spring release, we extended the availability of the Answer Bot across instant messaging (IM) channels. You can now deploy the generative AI-powered Answer Bot, trained specifically on your knowledge base, across IM channels such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and your own website. You can also deploy the Answer Bot through ASAP within your Mobile App (SDK). The AI-powered Self-Service with Answer Bot can be powered with Zia(Llama) or ChatGPT.

9. I'm using Zia to predict the"Issue Theme" field automatically, and it shows as successful. However, when I open a ticket, it doesn't suggest any value for me to confirm. Why is this happening?
Regarding Zia's field predictions, there are two available options:
     i. Auto-update predicted value.
     ii. Allow agents to confirm the predicted values manually ("Let me confirm predicted value manually" option).
        To enable Field predictions, navigate to Setup (S) >> Zia >> Field Predictions >> Create A Field Prediction. In the Field Update mode field, you can choose to  predict the field automatically or confirm the predicted value manually.
If you're using the "Let me confirm" option, you need to manually confirm the predicted values. To do this, navigate to the Field Prediction section within the Ticket Detail View. You'll find a wand (star) icon in the sidebar (ibar). Click this icon to view the predicted values from Zia. Here, you can either confirm or reject the suggested value, and your choice will help improve Zia's training data.
We're actively working on integrating this feature directly into the ticket properties, so that Zia's recommended values will appear directly within the field itself.

 

10. Does Zia learn from our responses to tickets as well?
Currently, Zia does not learn from the responses you send. It does not have the capability to learn from the messages you type and send. We are working on expanding the capability for Zia to respond in the business tone based on the custom instructions added by agents for each feature.

11. Do I need to upgrade all licenses to Enterprise to use the new Zia LLM if I'm currently on Zoho One?
Yes, you have to upgrade Zoho Desk to the Enterprise edition to use Zia powered by open-source models. Zia is available by default in the Enterprise plan and all Zoho bundles supporting the Enterprise edition of Zoho Desk.
 

12. How does Zia determine that an agent needs to intervene in a ticket? Does it instruct the user to contact support, or can it notify agents to own the ticket?
Currently, Zia cannot request an agent to intervene in a ticket.
However, we have a feature called Field Predictions, which uses your historical ticket data to predict and assign ticket ownership. When a customer replies, Zia analyzes the customer's message and, based on its training data, assigns the ticket to an appropriate agent who has previously handled similar conversations. Currently, we do not have a feature that proactively prompts an agent to intervene.

13. While managing multiple departments, can we enable Zia Reply Assistance for just one department?
Currently, the Zia Reply Assistance is configured at the organization level, meaning it applies to all the departments. However, we are actively working on making it department-specific.

14. As I understand, does Zia use ChatGPT for translation purposes?
No, Zoho uses its own translation model. In our recent spring release, we introduced a feature called Writing Assistance. This feature allows you to draft replies in your preferred language (for example, English) and translate them into other languages like Spanish or Italian using Zia. In this scenario, Zia does not utilize ChatGPT. However, for summarizing content or providing reply assistance, we rely primarily on ChatGPT to generate responses directly in languages such as Spanish or Italian.
Additionally, Zia uses open-source models without any associated charges.

 

15. How can we utilize AI to analyze data and generate reports?
Currently, Zia is not available for the Reports module. We do have Zia dashboards to monitor Zia's performance, however, we are developing a feature that will allow you to interact with Zia conversationally to create reports on the go.
If you have a subscription to Zoho Analytics, you can already leverage AI to generate reports. Zoho Analytics integrates with Zoho Desk, allowing you to ask questions in natural language and receive AI-generated reports.

16. Can we obtain customer tone reports from Zia Insights?
Currently, Zia Insights, powered by open-source models, is in its initial phase and does not yet support sending insights directly to reports.
Another way to obtain customer tone reports from Zia insights is using Zia API. Identify the tone and record it on a custom field. Generate reports based on the custom field to get insights on customer tones. We are working on this capability to send Zia Insights results from individual tickets to reports and dashboards. 

17. Could you please clarify how Zoho ensures the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in relation to data retention and Zia’s learning processes?
Regarding data retention, Zoho does not retain your data for training the generative AI models. Zia and ChatGPT utilize your data temporarily for generating responses. For other features, such as field predictions, all data remains within our Zoho ecosystem and does not share data externally for training purposes. Zoho complies with GDPR and HIPAA and sends data to Open AI only after masking Personally Identifiable information.

18. What permissions can be configured when creating knowledge base articles for use with the Answer Bot?  
The Answer Bot operates on two channels: one for agents and the other for customers, and uses permission-based generation. When creating knowledge base articles, you can set permissions such as "All Users," "Agents Only," or "Registered Users." Agents accessing the Answer Bot through the Ticket Detail view will have access to all articles, while end-users accessing via ASAP will only see articles marked for "All Users." Currently, the "Registered Users" permission is supported only for agents. Based on these permissions, the Answer Bot determines which articles it can use to generate responses.
We also have a private beta available for a new AI training model: New Retrieval System. If you're interested, please email us your details, and we can enable this feature to further enhance your Answer Bot's accuracy.

 

19. I currently have Generative AI enabled. What is the difference between ChatGPT and Zia? Should I switch to Zia under Generative AI?
ChatGPT is an integration with OpenAI, where you need your own API key and add credits to your wallet. With ChatGPT, your Zoho Desk data is sent outside Zoho servers to OpenAI for generating responses. On the other hand, Zia is powered by open-source language models, such as Llama, and your data remains within Zoho's servers.
If you switch to Zia under Generative AI, it will be included in your existing Enterprise plan without any additional cost. Zia also offers greater contextual intelligence regarding your data. For example, ChatGPT supports summarizing only up to five conversations per ticket, whereas Zia can summarize up to 30 conversations. Refer here for details. 

Here are the recordings from our Ask the Experts 19 sessions: 

ATE19 Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 Session 1 | ATE 19 Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 Session 2

Stay tuned on the Ask the Experts Community for more updates as we gear up for the upcoming sessions focussed exclusively on Zia and AI in Zoho Desk. 
Regards, 
Lydia | Zoho Desk

• Topic Participants

• Lydia | Zoho Desk

  

• Sticky Posts

• Ask the Experts 10: A 5-hour online Q&A on Zoho Desk Best Practices

  Welcome to Zoho Desk's Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion on our forums; wherein a panel of experts will take on questions specific to topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and will answer any

• Ask the Experts 7: A 5-hour online Q&A on Telephony and Call Module

  Welcome to Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 5: Online Q&A on Zoho Desk Extensibility

  Welcome to Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 4: A 5 hour online Q&A on agent productivity

  Welcome to Ask the expert session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 3: A 5 hour online Q&A on reports and dashboards

  Welcome to Ask the expert session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Recent Topics

• How to Send Automatic Warning Email After 3 Late Arrivals in Zoho People?

  I’m looking to set up an automation in Zoho People where a warning message is automatically sent to employees who have 3 or more late arrivals within a specific time period (like the past 30 days). Here’s what I’m trying to achieve: Monitor employee check-in

• Is it possible to set create deal checked by default when converting a lead?

  In our company whenever a lead is converted we make a deal. It is a pain to have to check the box every time. I would prefer if it was just a default behavior and the box wasn't even there. But it would be fine if the box could be checked by default.

• Is it possible to use filters in zohosite.

  Is it possible to use filters in zohosite. Example: we uploaded video, audio, pdf in one page. If I want to see only the video. Then, I will select the video which is shown in the filters.

• Poor Search Results on Zoho CRM

  The search on Zoho CRM is quite poor. Salesforce has now published a new search, when will get this on Zoho? https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_hybridsearch_index.htm&type=5

• Getting error while while deleting from Activities Object

  I am trying hit this endpoint: - DELETE https://www.zohoapis.in/crm/v2.1/Activities?ids=725820000001141076%2C725820000001143056 HTTP/1.1 But getting the below error: - {"code":"INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD","details":{},"message":"The http request method type

• Unveiling Zoho CRM's New User Interface - The NextGen UI

  Hello Everyone, Last Wednesday, May 14th,2025, we announced the public release of Zoho CRM For Everyone, our most significant update yet. This release brings a modernized CRM experience with a redesigned user interface, new capabilities for cross-functional

• Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | April 2025

  Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this April. Zoho Mail Filters for incoming emails in Shared Mailbox Simplify the management of incoming emails in your Shared

• Deluge script for purchase receive

  Trying to create purchase receives.... receive.put("purchaseorder_id",poId); // purchase order associated ... receive.put("line_items",itemList); result = zoho.books.createRecord("purchasereceives", orgId, receive); info result;...... {"code":9,"message":"Purchase

• Renew an expired subscription

  Hey Zoho officer, My subscription was expired yesterday, but I did not notice until just now. How can I renew the subscription even it is expired? The website is really important for our publicity. So I hope I can still review the domain and website. Thanks!

• How to normalize CRM module when integrating with Survey?

  This question is about the problem with many-to-many relationships and Survey. One of the things our organization does is track people in our program and their jobs. We get new information from the people three times annually through Zoho Surveys. Survey

• ZOHO CRM reverting contacts details

  Hi! Anyone else had a problem where +- at 20:00 NZT email addresses and company details reverted back to the ones that was previous changed? We had about +- 30 odd notification come through last night and had to go and change all back manually.

• Announcing Zoho Community Developer Bootcamps in India – Extensions

  Hey everyone! We're back with another line-up of Zoho Community Developer Bootcamps in India! Following the success of the first leg of bootcamps on Extensions, we're now ready with the second leg. These bootcamps focus on empowering developers of all

• ZOHO Sheet View for Activities

  Hello I am beginning to look at importing previous events into activities as utilizing events as timeslips for engagements, we have added fields such as duration, billable, etc. However to use Events on a regular basis would require the ability to use

• Invalid URL error when embedded sending url into iframe for my website when using in another region

  Hi team, My site is currently working on integrating your signature feature as part of the system functionality, it's working great but recently there's been a problem like this: After successfully creating the document, i will embed a sending url into

• Custom Serial numbers in Inventory tied to customers

  Hello, We have both software and hardware serial numbers that we need to track for active customers in the field. We do not know the serial numbers for the software until the customer buys it as its not a stock item but something we order and deploy for

• Issue with inventory and shopify

  Hello! We're having some issues with Inventory not synchronizing all our products with our shopify store. We've tried multiple times to synchronize them. We have multiple locations and it seems to just be getting a part of the inventory. When we sell

• Automatic Pick LIst

  The pick should have the feature to send you to the FIFO location and tell you from wich bin you should get the product. Depending on FIFO LIFO or what we choose

• Picker users

  Hi FOr bin location we are starting to use Android app. The users are allowed to chance the asignee, but they are the Asigneed persons. We should have the avility to choose or setup these fields.

• Zoho Inventory MobileApp compatible with barcode scanners such as Zebra

  Hi, Although the Zoho Inventory App is working with a scanner mode taken directly through the cell phone which I do not consider it as efficient, I would like to know when are you planning an update on the app so it can be compatible with bar code scanners

• More Payment Gateways For South Africa

  Hello, please add more payment gateways that cater for South Africa to the Zoho ecosystem. Yoco - pay now with card (integrated but there is a problem) Others to consider Payflex.co.za - pay now with card or pay later using credit from payflex Float.co.za

• Sync Zoho Docs and Google Drive

  Sync Zoho Docs and Google Drive -  how can I do it?

• Is it possible to link a CRM field or Zoho User to a ticket auto assign function.

  Dear Support, I have a unique situation at our company. So I know it might be able to link a ticket to the client account owner from the CRM. However, is it also possible to link an email field, username or other field in the CRM to a new ticket created

• Drill Down - Pivot Table

  Is there anyway to have drill down options in pivot tables like in the chart function?

• Allow Zoho form to send to one of our ogranizations groups

  All emails from the form submission are being held for moderation. I have permissions set to organization members, and I think I have the forms setup in our DMARC

• Kanban view - which modules support this view?

  Recently (a few days ago), we started exploring Zoho Recruit and like to use Kanban view to visualise the data in different modules. I just found out from emailing Zoho Support that they need to enable Kanban view for different modules (why?). Which modules

• Email notification for followers

  Is there a way to enable email notification for followers of a support ticket? ie: Ticket #123 is owned by Agent#1, Agent#2 adds themselves as a follower. Whenever ticket #123 receives an email from the customer, Agent#1 receives an email. Agent#2 would

• Remove the dot menu and + sign on sub form

  If I don't want the user to be able to add more entries on a subform, am I able to remove the dot menu and the + sign?

• Writing Checks to Employees for Reimbursable Expenses

  I couldn't find a way to write a check through books or expense to an employee for reimbursable expenses. The expense created an entry in the system with a debit (expense) credit (liability). I entered a bill and used the liability account so it would

• Peppol Malaysia API

  Hi Zoho Books, my country Malaysia will going to implement "Peppol" (E-Invoicing), starting 1 Jul 2025 for all businesses. The government intends to provide API for accounting app. The workflow involves creating an invoice from accounting app, triggers

• Error "The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated. The server response was: 5.5.1 Authentication Required"

  Hi, I'm trying to send an email via the SMTP server using C# code but getting the following error: "The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated. The server response was: 5.5.1 Authentication Required" I know the username

• Free webinar! The Zoho Sign Masterclass: The basics, latest features, and mobile apps

  Hi, Are you new to Zoho Sign or looking to brush up on its capabilities? This webinar will help you master Zoho Sign from the ground up, covering everything from the basics to the latest features. Whether you're an individual managing personal documents,

• Home and Reports Tabs Not Loading

  Hello, I've been trying to view the home and report tabs since yesterday but the same issue persists. While the Home view appears, the data will not load (see screenshot). The Report view does not load at all. Clicking the tab elicits no response; the

• Introducing the Zoho CRM Lead Magnet plugin for Wordpress

  In this digital era, websites are the most important source of leads. That means your CRM system should be well integrated with your website to contextually capture each and every visitor to turn them into a lead. Introducing the Zoho CRM Lead Magnet plugin for WordPress.  The plugin lets you to: Create webforms using Zoho CRM forms/ Contact form 7 plugin Embed them in your website hosted using Wordpress Automatically capture leads into Zoho CRM with zero attenuation. Not only is the integration

• Team Modules in Zoho CRM: Empower Every Team, Break Silos and Boost Collaboration

  Hello Everyone, The ultimate goal of every business is to achieve customer delight—and achieving customer delight cannot happen with the effort of a single person or team. At Zoho CRM, we believe that it’s a shared mission that spans across your entire

• Trying to integrate gmail but google keeps blocking Zoho access for integration??

  hi i am trying to integrate a gmail account so can track/access business emails this way. I have followed the instructions but after selecting my email account it gets re-routed to this message (screengrab below) Can anyone advise a way around this or

• Zoho Projects - Give Project access to developer (external)

  We have a client using Zoho Projects and would like to invite several external users and assign the Projects because the Project tasks are outsourced to other companies. What is the best way to give access to external Users and is there any limitations

• Introducing the Germany Tax Edition !

  Whether you're operating within Germany, trading outside the country, or dealing with customers within or outside the EU, our new Germany Tax Edition makes navigating the complexities of VAT management a cakewalk. Our Germany tax edition allows you to

• Centralized Organization Information Management in Zoho One

  Dear Zoho One Support, I'm writing to propose a feature that would significantly improve the user experience and streamline data management within Zoho One. Current Challenge: Currently, managing organization information across various Zoho One apps requires

• Including attachments with estimates

  How can attachments be included when an estimate is sent/emailed and when downloaded as a .pdf? Generally speaking, attachments should be included as part of an estimate package. Ultimately, this is also true for work orders and invoices.

• Add Hebrew Support for Calendar Language in Zoho Forms

  Dear Zoho Forms Team, Greetings! We are using Zoho Forms extensively and appreciate its versatility and ease of use. However, we’ve noticed that the Calendar Language settings currently do not include Hebrew as an option. We would like to request the

• Next Page